Water testing
SimpleLab’s 53-parameter certified lab panel. You order the kit and take the sample; Neil reads the report with you, free.
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Service area
Water Treatment & Plumbing in Dewey-Humboldt, AZ
Dewey-Humboldt sits on the Agua Fria headwaters between Prescott Valley and the Bradshaws, and most homes here draw from a private well. It is also the one town in Yavapai County with a federal Superfund site inside its boundaries — which makes what is in your water a question worth answering with a lab test rather than a guess.
Dewey-Humboldt
What the water is like here
A Superfund town where testing is not optional
The Iron King Mine – Humboldt Smelter Superfund site takes up roughly 153 acres of old mine west of State Route 69 and about 182 acres of old smelter east of it — both inside Dewey-Humboldt. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality lists arsenic, lead and other heavy metals in the site’s soil and groundwater, and in January 2025 EPA formally added manganese to that list. EPA signed its $85 million cleanup plan in October 2023 and is now working out the engineering.
ADEQ’s advice to anyone with a private well near the contamination is simple: test it. That is the single most important thing a homeowner here can do. When the state health department looked at well samples taken near the site in 2004–2006, it rated two drinking-water wells a Public Health Hazard for arsenic — the higher at 50 µg/L, five times the federal limit. (A microgram per liter, µg/L, is the same as a part per billion, ppb.) Its advice to every household in Dewey-Humboldt on a private well: test every year for bacteria and nitrate, and at least once for metals such as arsenic, copper and lead (ADHS health consultation, 2009). Arsenic and lead have no taste, no smell and no color; a certified lab panel is the only way to know what your well is producing.
On top of the site-specific question, Dewey-Humboldt shares the county’s baseline problem. A peer-reviewed analysis of 33,099 Arizona water samples found 43.6% of Yavapai County samples above the EPA’s 10 ppb arsenic limit — the second-highest rate of any county in the state. Local wells also run hard: in our own field testing, commonly 22 to 32+ grains per gallon, which is what shortens water heaters and scales fixtures out here.
Nothing gets recommended for a Dewey-Humboldt home until a test comes back. The $185 Premium Water Test is a certified lab panel covering 53 parameters including arsenic, lead, manganese and bacteria, and every system recommended here is sized from those numbers. For a well close to the old mine or smelter, SimpleLab’s Level 2 + Bacteria panel adds a much wider metals sweep — the testing page explains which to order.
Sourced, not estimated
The published numbers for Dewey-Humboldt
| Measure | Published figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Superfund site | Iron King Mine about 153 acres west of State Route 69; Humboldt Smelter about 182 acres east of it | ADEQ, Iron King Mine – Humboldt Smelter |
| Chemicals of concern | Arsenic, lead and other heavy metals in soil and groundwater; manganese added by an Explanation of Significant Difference dated January 16, 2025 | ADEQ, Iron King Mine – Humboldt Smelter |
| Cleanup plan | Record of Decision dated October 20, 2023: an $85 million cleanup moving mine and smelter wastes into two covered repositories. Now in remedial design, the engineering stage | EPA, October 24, 2023 |
| Drinking-water wells near the site | 2 rated a Public Health Hazard for arsenic, the higher at 50 µg/L (samples from 2004–2006) | ADHS / ATSDR health consultation, 2009 |
| Arsenic, Yavapai County | 43.6% of 5,705 county samples over 10 ppb, against 20.7% statewide (1990–2017) | Jones et al., 2020 |
| Humboldt Water System | 825 people on 414 connections, from groundwater | EPA drinking water inventory, AZ0413052 |
| Population | 4,326 at the 2020 census | U.S. Census Bureau |
Every figure above is reproduced from the linked report. The agencies’ findings are about the site and the wells they sampled; whether your own well is affected is a question only a test at your tap answers.
Local detail
Dewey-Humboldt is ZIP codes 86327 (Dewey) and 86329 (Humboldt): about 4,300 people (4,326 at the 2020 census), about 20 minutes from Prescott. Dewey, Humboldt, Blue Hills, Prescott Country Club and the Highway 69 corridor are all at Prescott prices, with no trip fee. Some homes in Humboldt are on the small Humboldt Water System; most of the town is on private wells.
Common Dewey-Humboldt Water & Plumbing Issues
These are the problems we see most often in Dewey-Humboldt homes.
- Arsenic in private wells — the county-wide problem, plus proximity to the Iron King Mine site.
- Lead and manganese questions for homes near the former smelter footprint.
- Very hard well water, commonly 22–32+ grains per gallon in our field testing.
- Iron staining and sediment from older wells and pressure tanks.
- Above-ground pump and pressure-tank failures on 1970s–80s systems. A submersible pump down in the well goes to a pump installer.
- Water heaters failing early from untreated hardness.
Whole-house systems for a Dewey-Humboldt well
- Arsenic removal. The Jaguar Package, $4,750 installed: an AdEdge Medallion system with Bayoxide E33 media, targeting under the EPA’s 10 ppb limit. If your test shows the water needs an extra step first, that is quoted up front, not found later.
- Private well treatment. The Cougar Package, $6,475, when the well also has iron, sediment or bacteria: sediment filter, iron filter, softener and UV as one system.
- Water softener installation. Sized from your lab numbers, typically 48,000 to 64,000 grain on water this hard: The Tiger 48 at $2,590, or The Bobcat from $1,799.
Not bookable yet. This work costs more than $1,000, which puts it outside what CreekWell can take on until its Arizona contractor licenses issue. The details here are accurate so you can plan and compare. Why
Nearby Yavapai County communities we serve
Same published prices, no trip fee and the same two-year workmanship warranty anywhere in the county.
Prescott · Prescott Valley · Chino Valley · Paulden · Mayer · Kirkland · Congress & Yarnell · Black Canyon City · Bagdad · Seligman & Ash Fork · Sedona · Cottonwood · Verde Valley · All of Yavapai County
What we do in Dewey-Humboldt
Reverse osmosis
Under-sink drinking water, installed, hole drilling included.
from $829InstalledDetailsDrain clearing
Sink, tub, shower and laundry drains up to 2-inch pipe and 75 feet, and toilet stoppages. Main-line cabling waits on new equipment.
$179Flat rateDetailsWater heater service
Flush $79, anode rod $245, valves. Tankless descaling $250.
from $79Flat ratesDetailsAlso bookable: reverse osmosis systems — The Kitten at $829, or The Ocelot at $999 — which reduce arsenic and lead in the water you drink and cook with; the $185 Premium Water Test, which you order from SimpleLab and we read with you free; and plumbing & water heaters — a tank flush at $79 is worth doing every year on water this hard, anode rod $245, leaks and fixtures at the flat rates on the pricing page. Drain clearing covers branch drains up to 2-inch and 75 feet; main-line cabling, sewer camera and hydro jetting are not available until new equipment arrives. Every job carries the two-year workmanship warranty plus the manufacturer’s warranty.
Service status — September 2026
Rebranding, and adding licenses
Aqua Cat Plumbing & Water Treatment is now CreekWell Plumbing & Water Treatment. Same owner, same phone number.
We are adding Arizona contractor licenses, and we are not booking new work until that is done. New work restarts the first week of November. Jobs already on the schedule are not affected.
For new work, request a November visit or call or text 928-228-5770. Bookings go in the order they come in, at the prices published on this site. No deposit.
Straight answers
Questions we get asked
Can you come out right now?
Not for new work. We are rebranding and adding Arizona contractor licenses. New work restarts the first week of November, once the licenses are issued. Jobs already on the schedule are not affected.
Leave your name on the list or call or text 928-228-5770. Bookings go in the order they come in, at the prices published on this site, with no deposit.
My well water is hard enough to ruin fixtures. What fixes it?
A properly sized softener.
Wells around Dewey-Humboldt commonly test 22 to 32+ grains per gallon in our field testing, which needs 48,000 to 64,000 grain capacity for a typical four-person home — not the 32,000 grain unit sold as a default. Undersized softeners regenerate constantly and waste salt. We size from your lab numbers, not from a county average. Whole-house softeners start at $1,799 and are priced for planning until the contractor licenses issue.
What does arsenic removal cost for a Dewey-Humboldt well?
The Jaguar Package is $4,750 installed.
It is an AdEdge Medallion system running Bayoxide E33 media that adsorbs both arsenic III and arsenic V with no routine chemical feed, targeting under the EPA limit of 10 ppb. The media is more effective on arsenic V, so if your lab test comes back heavily arsenic III we add a pre-oxidation stage and quote it up front. If the well also has iron, sediment or bacteria, the Cougar Package covers the complete setup at $6,475. Both are over $1,000, so they are priced for planning until the contractor licenses issue; under-sink reverse osmosis from $829 covers the drinking water and is bookable now.
Should I be worried about the Iron King Mine Superfund site?
You should test, not panic.
ADEQ lists arsenic, lead and other heavy metals in soil and groundwater at the Iron King Mine – Humboldt Smelter site, and manganese was added as a chemical of concern in January 2025. The agencies encourage private well owners near known exceedances to test. A certified lab panel tells you whether your specific well is affected — and if it is clean, you stop worrying with evidence rather than hope.
Do you service Dewey-Humboldt?
Yes. Dewey-Humboldt is about 20 minutes from Prescott.
That covers Dewey, Humboldt, Blue Hills, Prescott Country Club and the Highway 69 corridor. Water treatment and plumbing prices are the same here as in Prescott — there is no rural surcharge and no trip fee. New work restarts the first week of November.
The list
Request a November visit in the first round of appointments
New work restarts the first week of November, once we finish rebranding and the contractor licenses are issued. Jobs already scheduled are not affected.