Contaminants could show up in your drinking water, potentially putting your family's health at risk. Because you may not taste, smell, or see many types of contaminants, the state Department of Health (DOH) believes regular water testing is very important.
If you own a private
well, you are responsible for testing your own water. In most counties when you
buy or sell a home with a private well, the county health or planning
department, or the lending institution involved, may require the seller to
provide water-sampling results to show the water is safe to drink.
DOH recommend that private well owners test their drinking water at least once a year for coliform bacteria and nitrate. These two contaminants rapidly could affect a person's health-possibly even with just one drink of water. If your nitrate level is 5 milligrams per liter (mg/L) or higher, you may want to re-test in six months.
At least twice, while you own the well, we also suggest testing for arsenic – once in summer and again in winter – to check any seasonal influences that may occur. Though arsenic does not cause rapid health effects, continued consumption over a relatively short time could lead to health concerns.
If you believe you may have hard water or excessive mineral levels in your well, testing is available. The mineral buildup of scale on pipes and fixtures can affect water pressure, build up deposits on dishes and utensils and lower the efficiency of water heaters and other water filters.
The Benton-Franklin Health District maintains an accredited laboratory that performs bacteriological monitoring and limited water chemistry. The most commonly performed drinking and well water quality tests are coliform bacteria, nitrate, total hardness and fluoride. The Lab is also accredited for various wastewater tests. For a full list of water tests that can be run by our Lab, click here.2023-2024 Scope of Accreditation