{"id":4043,"date":"2017-03-28T19:07:23","date_gmt":"2017-03-28T19:07:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/?page_id=4043"},"modified":"2025-06-20T09:03:07","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T13:03:07","slug":"water-testing","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/water-testing\/","title":{"rendered":"Private Well Water Testing"},"content":{"rendered":"

What Should I Test For?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Maybe it\u2019s something about the taste.\u00a0 Maybe it just looks cloudy.\u00a0 Maybe you are wondering about that nearby gas station, onsite sewer treatment system, factory, or farm.\u00a0 There are many legitimate reasons to be concerned about your private well water quality.\u00a0 Luckily, there are answers.<\/p>\n

Some common contaminants are concern for \u201cnuisance\u201d reasons only \u2013 a funny taste or smell that has no health ramification, or something else that will stain porcelain or clothes.<\/p>\n

Some have significant, even serious, health ramifications.<\/p>\n

You need to know what\u2019s in your water in order to respond<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here is the U.S. EPA\u2019s list of reasons to test your water.<\/p>\n

EPA Well Test List<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

EPA Drinking Water Standards<\/h3>\n

All Virginians should be concerned about groundwater protection and private well owners need to be vigilant about threats to their water supply. The Virginia Department of Health recommends that private well owners consider treatment or investigate alternative sources if they find contaminants in their well exceeding any Primary Maximum Contaminant Levels (PMCL) as found at Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s Primary Maximum Contaminant Level.<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Do you need more detailed information? \u00a0Here it is:<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Arsenic in private wells<\/a><\/td>\nNitrate in private wells<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bacteria in private wells<\/a><\/td>\nRadionuclides in private wells<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lead in private wells<\/a><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\nCLICK to Learn Where You Can Get Your Water Tested<\/strong><\/span>
\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This is a good question; most people don\u2019t use laboratories in everyday life.<\/p>\n

The Virginia Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services is responsible for the accreditation of commercial laboratories under the Virginia Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (VELAP).\u00a0 You can find a current listing of accredited laboratories HERE<\/a>.\u00a0 Most commercial laboratories can provide you with everything you need for your well sampling event, including sample containers, preservatives, and detailed instructions on the procedure to collect the sample.<\/p>\n

Another source is the Virginia Household Water Quality Program<\/a> administered through the Virginia Cooperative Extension, which offers low cost annual water well testing\/drinking water clinics at various locations throughout Virginia.<\/p>\n

Your next question might be what do these results mean?\u00a0 It\u2019s one thing to find your results to be non-detectable, it\u2019s something else if a particular result is so many parts per billion or parts per million.\u00a0 Is it good or bad?<\/p>\n

One way to understand your results is to ask the lab that did the testing. An alternative approach is to ask your Local Health Department (LDH).<\/p>\n

A third option is to use an online tool that allows you to type your water test results into the tool to automatically get simple explanations about the potential health risks, treatment options and more.\u00a0 The Ohio State University Extension, the\u00a0Ohio Department of Health, and the Ohio EPA developed a service called\u00a0Water Test Interpretation Tool<\/a>. \u00a0With this tool, you can enter your test result to quickly obtain general information, recommendation regarding response, health effects, treatment options, and resource listings for further information.
\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What Should I Test For? Maybe it\u2019s something about the taste.\u00a0 Maybe it just looks cloudy.\u00a0 Maybe you are wondering about that nearby gas station, onsite sewer treatment system, factory, or farm.\u00a0 There are many legitimate reasons to be concerned about your private well water quality.\u00a0 Luckily, there are answers. Some common contaminants are concern […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":161,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4043","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nPrivate Well Water Testing - Environmental Health<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/water-testing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Private Well Water Testing - Environmental Health\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What Should I Test For? Maybe it\u2019s something about the taste.\u00a0 Maybe it just looks cloudy.\u00a0 Maybe you are wondering about that nearby gas station, onsite sewer treatment system, factory, or farm.\u00a0 There are many legitimate reasons to be concerned about your private well water quality.\u00a0 Luckily, there are answers. 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