ERIE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA · 71 MIN FROM OUR GREENVILLE OFFICE
Around McKean, depth is predictable and flow isn't. The 1,269 logs within 5 miles cluster tightly, with three in four wells finishing at 72 feet or less. Yield is another matter: a quarter give 3 gallons a minute or less and a quarter 15 or more, so the pump is chosen once the flow test is done.
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WHAT WE DO IN MCKEAN
Whether you’re on a private well or city water, the same crew handles the water source, the pressure, and what comes out of the tap.
On EPA's map, McKean's town center lies within the Erie City Water Authority's service area. The authority treats Lake Erie water and adds an orthophosphate corrosion inhibitor, and its lead rounds were all under the action level. Private wells are tested for iron, manganese and hardness.
The Chadakoin Formation, siltstone, shale and sandstone, is the rock mapped at the town center. Rock is shallow in most logs, 15 feet or less in a quarter of the 786 that note it, so casing often runs short and the rest of the hole is drilled in rock.
With the middle half of yields running from 3 to 15 gallons a minute, a pump that suits one well can be wrong for the next. A weak well gets a smaller submersible and more tank capacity; a strong one can take a constant-pressure setup.
WELLS AROUND MCKEAN
The 1,269 domestic wells on file within 5 miles of McKean, from the state’s drilling logs: your neighbors’ wells, and the best guide to this ground.
middle half 50–72 ft
middle half 3–15 gpm
middle half 15–39 ft
PaGWIS records
Source: PaGWIS (PA DCNR), domestic wells within 5 miles, retrieved 2026-09-30; older paper-record locations are approximate.
The McKean figures rest on a large sample: 1,269 logs that record a depth and 1,164 that record a yield. Depth barely strays. A quarter of wells stopped at 50 feet or less and a quarter went to 72 or more, and by median the town ties for 7th of 16 in Erie County, squarely mid-county.
Yield strays a lot. A well of typical depth can still come in at 3 gallons a minute or less, which is why the pump is picked from the flow test. On a slow well the submersible pump is rated under the tested flow so it never out-draws the ground, and a pressure tank limits how often it starts. On an existing well, a well inspection checks the flow, the pump and the tank before anything changes.
The Erie City Water Authority treats surface water drawn from Lake Erie and Presque Isle Bay for 63,820 connections. Among the steps EPA lists are an orthophosphate inhibitor, added to protect pipes from corrosion, along with filtration, chlorine and fluoride. Homes on its lines get their water report from the authority.
EPA's lead 90th percentiles for the system were 0.00118 mg/L for the round ending 2016, recorded as zero for 2019, and 0.00108 for both 2022 and 2025, every one under the 0.015 action level. The result is measured across taps in the service area, and one home's can differ. A home test settles it, and reverse osmosis at the kitchen sink is the usual answer if lead turns up. For private wells, see Erie County water treatment.
WATER IN ERIE COUNTY
In USGS samples from across Erie County, taken 1927–2023, 68% of wells were hard or very hard, 33% carried iron above the staining line, 83% had manganese above 0.05 mg/L. The full record, and what it means for treatment, is on the Erie County page; your own well gets its own test.
WHY MCKEAN CHOOSES CHATFIELD
Rated 4.7 on Google across 104 reviews. Here is what working with us looks like, in a customer’s words.
“I had the pleasure of having Sam and Hunter for the installation of my new water softener, and I couldn’t be more impressed. The system is working great, and I can already notice a difference in the water quality.”
NEARBY
We send the same crews to each of these towns. If you’re between towns, pick the closest one; the service doesn’t change.
A LITTLE CLARITY
Our Greenville office (854 Mercer Rd., Greenville, PA 16125) is about 71 minutes and 55 miles by road from McKean. Service calls for McKean are scheduled from there.
McKean and the municipalities around it: McKean Township, Summit Township, Fairview Township, Franklin Township, Washington Township, Millcreek Township, Edinboro, Waterford Township, Erie, Waterford. Beyond those, the rest of the 16 Erie County communities on our service map, from the same office.
Pennsylvania’s groundwater database (PaGWIS) lists 1,269 domestic wells within 5 miles of McKean: the median is 60 feet deep, and the middle half fall between 50 and 72 feet. The median well was logged at 6 gallons per minute. Drillers reached bedrock at a median of 23 feet. Your own well's depth depends on the ground under your lot.
Usually not. The median yield across 1,164 logs is 6 gallons a minute, and a quarter give 3 or less, so most wells here suit a modest submersible and a well-sized pressure tank. A well in the top quarter, at 15 or more, can carry a bigger pump or constant pressure. The flow test settles which.
It can be worth it. The authority's lead results were all under the 0.015 action level, but they describe a set of sampled homes, not yours, and the plumbing inside your house is part of the picture. A home test answers the question for your tap, and a reverse osmosis unit at the kitchen sink is the usual fix if lead shows up.
Talk with the Chatfield team.
(724) 588-2652A LITTLE KNOWLEDGE GOES A LONG WAY
WATER TESTINGWhat a test measures, what the results mean, and what happens next.
WELL DRILLINGWhat drives the price of drilling a well in our region, and what to ask before you sign.
WATER PROBLEMSChlorine or chloramine, how to tell which, and the whole-home fix.
YOUR NEXT STEP
Tell us what you’re noticing. We’ll come out from Greenville, test your water, and walk you through the next step.