Well Water Testing Basics

The annual minimum

Test every year for total coliform bacteria, nitrates, and pH through a state-certified lab. A basic panel costs roughly $25–$100. Test immediately — not annually — after floods, nearby construction or fracking, a new baby or pregnancy in the house, or any change in taste, odor, or color.

Every few years, or when buying

A broader panel: lead, arsenic, manganese, iron, hardness, total dissolved solids, and (regionally) radon or uranium. Comprehensive panels run $100–$400+. Worth it at purchase and every 3–5 years after.

Reading the results

• Total coliform present: a pathway for contamination exists (often a cracked cap or bad casing seal). Shock-chlorinate, fix the entry point, retest. Not an emergency by itself.
• E. coli present: boil water now, call your county health department, do not wait.
• Nitrates above 10 mg/L: unsafe for infants (blue baby syndrome). Common near agriculture or failing septics — including your own.
• pH below 6.5: corrosive water that eats copper plumbing and can leach lead from old solder.

Fixes, in order of sanity

Fix the source first (well cap, casing, grading away from the wellhead, distance from the septic field). Then treat: sediment filters for particulates, softeners for hardness, reverse osmosis or distillation for nitrates/metals, UV for bacteria. Buy treatment for a confirmed problem, not a feared one — test first.

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