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 Paulden, AZ
Paulden is Big Chino country — no city water system, deep private wells for most of the area, and some of the most documented arsenic in Arizona. CreekWell is owner-operated in Prescott, about 30 minutes up Highway 89, and testing and treating private well water is exactly the work it knows best.
Paulden
What the water is like here
Paulden has the most documented well arsenic in the county
This is not a general warning. Most of the area is on private wells; a small private utility, Abra Water, serves part of it — about 1,900 people on 840 connections, in EPA’s drinking water inventory. In July 2005 the Arizona Department of Health Services sampled four private wells in the Paulden area and took seven samples. Six of the seven exceeded the EPA’s 10 µg/L arsenic standard, and the highest was 3,400 µg/L — 340 times the federal limit for public water systems. (A microgram per liter, µg/L, is the same as a part per billion, ppb.) ADHS classified three of those wells as a Public Health Hazard.
The same sampling found boron above the 100 µg/L screening guideline in six of seven samples (up to 76,000 µg/L) and sodium above guidance in all seven. The report adds two things worth knowing: ADHS concluded the boron levels it found did not pose a health hazard, and the sodium guidance is the level set for people on a 500 mg-a-day sodium-restricted diet. Either way, it is a chemistry profile a generic softener does not address — a softener adds sodium.
The geology explains it. Paulden sits over the Big Chino Subbasin, and the U.S. Geological Survey sampled 22 groundwater sites there between 2011 and 2018 (SIR 2020–5094). Thirteen of the 22 came back above the 10 µg/L arsenic standard — and the split matters more than the headline. Wells finished in the deep carbonate aquifer were all over the limit but one, with a median of 37 µg/L. Wells in the shallower basin-fill aquifer ran a median of 4.3 µg/L, with two samples above the limit. Which of those two your well draws from is not something you can tell by looking at it.
None of this is visible. Arsenic is colorless, odorless and tasteless, and boron and sodium are no different. The $185 Premium Water Test covers 53 parameters including arsenic, and anything recommended for a Paulden home is sized from those results. ADHS gave Paulden well owners the same advice in 2005: test every year for bacteria and nitrate, and at least once for metals such as arsenic.
Sourced, not estimated
The published numbers for Paulden
| Measure | Published figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Arsenic, July 2005 | 7 samples from 4 private wells; 6 over 10 µg/L; highest 3,400 µg/L; 3 wells rated a Public Health Hazard | ADHS / ATSDR health consultation, 2006 |
| Boron, same sampling | Up to 76,000 µg/L; 6 of 7 above the 100 µg/L screening guide. ADHS concluded these levels did not pose a health hazard | ADHS / ATSDR health consultation, 2006 |
| Sodium, same sampling | All 7 above 20 mg/L, the guidance level for a 500 mg-a-day restricted diet | ADHS / ATSDR health consultation, 2006 |
| Arsenic, Big Chino Subbasin | 13 of 22 groundwater sites over 10 µg/L, 2011–18. Median 37 µg/L in the carbonate aquifer, 4.3 µg/L in the basin-fill | USGS SIR 2020–5094 |
| Fluoride, Big Chino Subbasin | One basin-fill site above the 4 mg/L primary standard, one carbonate site above the 2 mg/L secondary standard. Both were monitoring wells, not drinking-water wells | USGS SIR 2020–5094 |
| Abra Water Company | About 1,932 people on 840 connections, from groundwater | EPA drinking water inventory, AZ0413001 |
| Population | 5,567 at the 2020 census | U.S. Census Bureau |
Every figure above is reproduced from the linked report. The 2005 state sampling was one event at four wells, three of them within half a mile of each other — it tells you the problem exists here, not what is in your well.
Local detail
Paulden is ZIP code 86334: about 5,600 people (5,567 at the 2020 census), about 30 minutes from Prescott up Highway 89. The same prices apply out through Del Rio Springs, Big Chino Valley and the Drake area, with no trip fee and no rural surcharge.
Common Paulden Water & Plumbing Issues
These are the problems we see most often in Paulden homes.
- Arsenic — the highest documented concentrations in Yavapai County.
- Boron and sodium above health guidance in Big Chino aquifer wells.
- Fluoride — the USGS survey found one basin-fill site above the 4 mg/L primary standard and one carbonate site above the 2 mg/L secondary standard.
- Very hard water from deep, mineral-rich groundwater.
- Iron, manganese and sediment varying well to well on the same road.
- Pressure tanks and above-ground pumps on rural properties. A submersible pump down in the well goes to a pump installer.
Whole-house systems for a Paulden well
- Arsenic removal. The Jaguar Package, $4,750 installed: an AdEdge Medallion system with Bayoxide E33 adsorption media, targeting under the EPA’s 10 ppb limit. Adsorption media, ion exchange or reverse osmosis are the three ways to do it; the test decides which.
- Private well treatment. The Cougar Package, $6,475: sediment filter, iron filter, softener and UV disinfection as one system, sized from a certified lab panel, never from a guess.
- Water softener installation. The Bobcat from $1,799, sized to your actual Paulden hardness reading. On Big Chino water a softener adds sodium to a supply that already tests high, so the kitchen tap should get reverse osmosis too.
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 · Dewey-Humboldt · Mayer · Kirkland · Congress & Yarnell · Black Canyon City · Bagdad · Seligman & Ash Fork · Sedona · Cottonwood · Verde Valley · All of Yavapai County
What we do in Paulden
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 with remineralization at $999 — which reduce arsenic, boron, sodium and fluoride at the kitchen tap; the $185 Premium Water Test, which you order from SimpleLab and we read with you free; and plumbing & water heaters — tank flush $79, 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.
What about boron and sodium in my Paulden well?
Neither is removed by a standard softener, and softening actually raises sodium.
Reverse osmosis is the practical answer for drinking and cooking water — it reduces arsenic, boron, sodium, fluoride and dissolved solids together, and an under-sink system from $829 is bookable. For a whole-house approach on this chemistry we size from the lab panel and usually pair it with reverse osmosis at the kitchen. For perspective: in the 2005 sampling ADHS concluded the boron did not pose a health hazard, and the sodium guidance all seven samples exceeded is the level for people on a sodium-restricted diet — worth a word with your doctor if that is you.
Will a water softener remove arsenic?
No.
A softener exchanges calcium and magnesium for sodium. It does nothing for arsenic, and on Big Chino water it can add sodium to a supply that already tests high. Arsenic needs adsorption media, ion exchange designed for arsenic, or reverse osmosis. The Jaguar Package is $4,750 installed and uses an AdEdge Medallion with Bayoxide E33 media, which handles both arsenic III and arsenic V without chemicals — priced for planning, because it is over $1,000 and waits for the contractor licenses. Under-sink reverse osmosis from $829 is bookable now.
How bad is arsenic in Paulden wells, really?
Documented and severe in the wells that were sampled.
The Arizona Department of Health Services sampled four private wells in the Paulden area in July 2005, and six of seven samples exceeded the EPA’s 10 microgram-per-liter arsenic standard, with one reading 3,400 micrograms per liter. ADHS classified three of those wells as a Public Health Hazard. That is one sampling event, not every well in Paulden — which is exactly why you test yours rather than assuming either way.
Do you service Paulden and the Big Chino?
Yes. Paulden is about 30 minutes north of Prescott up Highway 89.
That covers Paulden, Del Rio Springs, Big Chino Valley and the Drake area. The prices are the same as in Prescott, with no trip fee and no rural surcharge. 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.