Fluoride concentrations in a crystalline bedrock aquifer Marathon County, Wisconsin

Water samples from 2,789 private water-supply wells in Marathon County, Wisconsin reveal that fluoride concentrations in the crystalline bedrock range from <0.01 to 7.60 mg/L, with 0.6% of the values exceeding the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) maximum contaminant level of 4 mg/L, and 8.6% exceeding the EPA’s secondary maximum contaminant level of 2.0 mg/L. Roughly a quarter of the wells contain dissolve fluoride within the range considered optimal for human health (between 0.5 and 1.5 mg/L), whereas 63.3% fall below 0.5 mg/L. Consistent with studies conducted in other regions, felsic rocks have significantly higher fluoride concentrations than mafic and metasedimentary rocks. Syenites yield the most fluoriferous groundwaters, but the highest median concentration occurs in a sodium-plagioclase granite. A relationship between plagioclase composition and fluoride concentrations suggests that dissolved fluoride levels are controlled by fluorite solubility and that higher fluoride concentrations are found in soft, sodium-rich groundwater.

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