Aqua Cat Plumbing
& Water Treatment
Prescott • Sedona • Phoenix, AZ
(480) 228-8282
Over 40% of private wells in Yavapai and Pinal Counties exceed the EPA’s 10 ppb arsenic limit. Aqua Cat designs arsenic-removal systems tested to non-detectable levels — whole-house adsorption or point-of-use reverse osmosis, sized to your specific water.
Arsenic in Northern Arizona groundwater is geological. It leaches from the volcanic and granitic bedrock that underlies most of Yavapai and Pinal Counties, and it shows up in measurable concentrations in roughly half of private wells. The numbers are not small.
Peer-reviewed sampling published in Science of the Total Environment and the Arizona Department of Health Services’ Cornville Health Consultation found:
Arsenic is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. There is no DIY way to detect it — certified lab testing is the only path. Long-term ingestion at levels above 10 ppb is associated with bladder, lung, and skin cancers, cardiovascular disease, and developmental effects in children. The EPA, ATSDR, and World Health Organization all classify it as a Group 1 human carcinogen.
There are three proven technologies for residential arsenic removal, and Aqua Cat installs all three depending on what your water test shows:
If your well water is dominated by arsenic III (less common in Yavapai), we add a pre-oxidation stage to convert it to arsenic V before the adsorption media — this is a step generic plumbers regularly miss. Aqua Cat tests post-installation to confirm the system reaches non-detectable levels.
Pricing depends entirely on which technology fits your water test and home:
Every system includes a 2-year parts-and-labor warranty and a post-install lab confirmation that arsenic is below detection. Annual media replacement on whole-house systems runs $200–$400 depending on usage.
Aqua Cat installs arsenic removal systems for private well owners across all of Yavapai County: Prescott, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley, Williamson Valley, Dewey-Humboldt, Mayer, Paulden, Sedona, Cottonwood, Camp Verde, Cornville, Rimrock, Lake Montezuma, and Flagstaff.
Related: complete well water treatment, reverse osmosis, premium water testing.
The only way is a certified lab test. Arsenic is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. Peer-reviewed sampling found that over 40% of private wells in Yavapai and Pinal Counties exceed the EPA 10 ppb arsenic limit, with some Cornville-area wells testing up to 952 µg/L. Aqua Cat's $179 Premium Water Test detects arsenic at low ppb levels alongside 30+ other contaminants.
The EPA Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for arsenic in public drinking water is 10 parts per billion (10 µg/L). The World Health Organization recommends the same limit. Many private wells in Yavapai County exceed this, and in Cornville some samples have measured 95× the legal limit. Long-term exposure above 10 ppb is associated with bladder, lung, and skin cancers.
Whole-house arsenic removal in Prescott runs $2,500 to $4,500 fully installed using an iron-based arsenic-selective adsorption media. Point-of-use reverse osmosis (drinking water only) runs $800 to $1,800. The gold-standard combined approach — whole-house adsorption plus under-sink RO — runs $3,500 to $6,000. All include a 2-year warranty and post-install lab confirmation.
Yes — a properly installed reverse osmosis system rejects arsenic V at 95+% across the membrane. RO is one of the EPA's listed Best Available Technologies for residential arsenic treatment. For wells with arsenic III, Aqua Cat adds a pre-oxidation stage to convert it to arsenic V before the membrane, since RO membranes don't reject arsenic III as effectively.
Whole-house arsenic adsorption media typically lasts 1 to 3 years depending on water usage and arsenic concentration. A 4-person Prescott household with 20 ppb arsenic usually replaces media every 18 to 24 months at $200 to $400 per replacement. Aqua Cat schedules a free annual lab test to confirm the system is still performing before replacement is needed.
If your test came back above 10 ppb arsenic, do not drink, cook with, or use it to make ice or coffee until treatment is in place. Bottled or RO-filtered drinking water is the right interim step. Showering and laundry water is generally fine — arsenic is a long-term ingestion risk, not a contact risk. Aqua Cat can install an emergency under-sink RO in a single morning visit while a whole-house system is sized.
Order the $179 Premium Water Test. Lab-certified arsenic results in 7–10 days, with a free Aqua Cat consult to size the right removal system for your home.
