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Basement well (C) Daniel FriedmanChoices of Water Tests
How to decide what water tests to order?

Drinking water test choices and costs:

How to decide what drinking water contamination tests you should order: this article describes the types of water testing available, outlines common water test fees, describes the details of what parameters are included in various water test options, and gives advice to assist you in deciding what tests to order.

To avoid any conflict of interest we recommend that home inspectors and water testing companies follow (as some do) a simple fee policy: a flat fee, for example, $75.00 is charged plus whatever lab fees apply for whatever water tests you select. By this method you can be assured that any water test selection advice you hear is motivated only by your interest and not by possible profit on various lab fees.

We mention the warning just above because a few water test companies aggressively market "selling water tests" to building inspectors as a way to increase their bottom line. Inspectors are required to avoid conflicts of interest with those of their clients.

InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.

Drinking Water Test Types, Parameters & Test Selection Advice

Photograph of  this antiquated laundry sink with several unsanitary plumbing violations in view. at COLIFORM STANDARDS for DRINKING WATER we explain that virtually all standards, world wide, for water potability require that the level of both total coliform and E-coli in drinking water be at 0 per 100 ml of water.

So what should you do if your water test finds either or both of coliform and E-coli in the drinking water?

The presence of E-coli means that sewage bacteria (and pathogens) are in the drinking water. That's an immediate health hazard to people drinking the water.

If E-coli is absent but the total coliform test still detects coliform bacteria (at a level of more than 0 per 100 ml of water) the drinking water safety still needs to be addressed.

Watch out: the presence of bacteria in drinking water from a well has more significance than just the possibility of a bacterial health hazard itself.

That means that bacteria testing is a check for a well-contamination indicator.

Before installing a well-water disinfection system such as a UV ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT WATER TREATMENT

or before installing CHLORINATORS & CHARCOAL FILTERS it is essential to perform further tests to screen for other contaminants in the bacteria-contaminated well. Otherwise you may be treating just the indicator organism and leaving other contaminants in your water.

Because the most-common source of bacteria in well water is the entry of surface-runoff into the well water supply, any other contaminants (besides bacteria) that are on or near the ground surface may also be contaminating the well water.

A list of other possible contaminants in a bacteria-contaminated well is very long - far too long to make exhaustive water testing economical or even feasible.

8 Steps to Take Before Choosing Additional Water Tests

Map of superfund and other toxic sites in the United States - at InspectApedia.com cited in detail in this article - orignial source toxicsites.usOf the small, private and un-regulated drinking water wells serving 43 million people in the United States, one in every five wells in the U.S. has been found to contain drinking water contaminants. [NY Times reporting in 2018 on USGS data cited below]

If your well has "failed" a bacteria test, before ordering specific water contamination tests in response to a failed bacteria test, it makes sense to try to make some intelligent guesses about which water tests to choose.

That's because, unfortunately, there is no single comprehensive "water test for everything" - at any price.

We suggest going through these eight steps to investigate the condition of your well.

First Look at the Type of Water Supply You Have

  1. Inspect your well itself for sources of contamination. Some common examples of surface water leaks into a drilled well include:

    Cracked or damaged well casing

    Flooding - recent floodwaters inundated the well - see FLOOD CONTAMINATED WELL RESTORE & PROTECT

    Missing or damaged well casing cap above ground, close to ground, or in a well pit.

    Leaks at the Pitless Adapter connecting water pipes to the casing side (buried well casing tops)

    If you find a simple and obvious source of surface water leakage into your well, fix that, shock the well, and re-test.

    See

    FAILED WATER TESTS - WHEN to RE-TEST

    And
    WELL CHLORINATION SHOCKING PROCEDURE

  2. Note the type of water source you are using: some private water sources are more likely to be contaminated and may be impossible to keep sanitary, requiring a permanent water treatment system.

    Also shallow wells, at 25 ft. or less, even if drilled or driven-point type, are more-likely to become contaminated with surface water or surface runoff.

    CISTERNS


    DRIVEN POINT WELLS

    DUG WELL POTABILITY TEST

    SPRINGS as WATER SUPPLY

  3. Inspect your property for possible sources of contamination such as

    The location of your septic system, tank and absorption or soakaway beds and test and inspect the septic system for proper operation

    The present or previous use of fertilizers or pesticides on your property or on adjoining properties that drain onto your property.

    Nitrates, from fertilizer or from spreading manure on the land, are one of the most-commonly-found contaminants in private drinking water wells.

    Check the history of use of your property and of adjoining properties.

Next Get Advice on Local Sources of Water Contamination

  1. Ask your local water testing laboratory for advice on what water tests should be performed.

    The water test lab, having performed thousands of water tests of various types, can often tell you which water contaminants have been found in water wells nearby to your own well or water source.
  2. Ask your neighbors. Depending on the population density where you live, neighboring wells may be close to your own, often even tapping into the very same aquifer.

    Ask neighbors if they have found any contaminants in their wells.

    Using this approach at a rural property a neighbor was able to tell us that years ago a local business had dumped acetone onto the property across the street from a well we were testing.

    A test for acetone detected high levels still in the well's water supply. Nobody would have thought of testing for acetone without that informal research.
  3. Check USGS or other maps of known water contamination sources to see if one is near your well.

    In the U.S. the USGS has published an interactive map consolidating water quality data over many areas. However in our OPINION, while this is critical data for government and community water quality management, it may not reflect smaller or very local contaminant sources that affect your well.

    USGS Website: https://www.usgs.gov/news/first-its-kind-interactive-map-brings-together-40-years-water-quality-data [as of 2018/11/05]
    Excerpt:
    A new U.S. Geological Survey interactive map provides a comprehensive, long-term look at changes in the quality of our nation’s rivers and streams over the last four decades.

    For the first time, monitoring data collected by the USGS and 73 other organizations at almost 1,400 sites have been combined to provide a nationwide look at changes in the quality of our rivers and streams between the 1972 passage of the Clean Water Act and 2012.
  4. Check local toxic site maps and superfund sites to see if one is near your well. However as with the USGS maps, the U.S. toxic sites maps will not include all local toxic dumps or fills or spills that could affect your well.

    US Toxic Sites Website: http://www.toxicsites.us/
  5. If you do not find a specific or likely contaminant for which to test, order a common screening test that combines often-found water contaminants

    such as the FHA/Hud Short Series (Coliform, Lead, Nitrite, Nitrate, Iron, Manganese, Sodium, pH, Hardness (Ca, Mg), Alkalinity, Turbidity).

    Your water test lab can give further advice about these test packages.

Choices of Water Tests and Fees

Here are some typical water test lab fees for the minimum test (bacteria presence/absence) and more popular comprehensive water tests which look for groups of common water contaminants:

Note: these tests and fees will vary depending on lab chosen and subject to lab rate changes.

Check the License of Your Water Test Lab

Be careful: some laboratories doing business in some U.S. States are NOT fully certified for all of the tests they are offering and in some cases are not certified at all.

More tricky, an out of state lab may hold a testing license in New York for one type of test, such as lead or asbestos, but may be selling other services, typically bacteriological testing, for which they are specifically not licensed.

Tests by such agents could be illegal and may also be conducted improperly. Discuss any concerns with your home inspector or test consultant.

One Connecticut "water test lab" offering water test services in New York, for example, is not licensed to offer bacteriological test services but does so, claiming that they are "licensed" because they have N. Y. license to perform certain other tests.

Even if the lab's technology and procedures are sound, this can be more serious than a technicality if a later issue arises about the water quality and the tests that were performed at a property. Or you could risk losing a mortage commitment at the last minute.

Watch out: also when using a distant water test lab to whom you plan to mail your water samples. To be valid and even to permit processing at all, some water tests must be delivered to the water lab within 24 hours of collecting the water sample. Check with your water test lab about their requirements for speedy sample delivery.

Water Quality Tests vs. Other Water Ingredients

Watch out: this discussion and the list of water tests below focused on well water quality - what is "in" the well water that may make it unsafe or unpalatable to drink.

Water tests that focus on water potability (is the water safe to drink) as we do on this page may miss other important water conditions, such as water that is too high in mineral content, clogging pipes and water heaters.

Water hardness and mineral content are discussed at MEASURE WATER HARDNESS.

Water that is too acidic or corrosive can cause leaks in copper piping.

See WATER ACIDITY CORROSIVITY.

Water Quality vs. Water Quantity

Testing water quality (what's in the water or is it nice to drink) tells you nothing about how much water you can actually obtain from your well.

At least as important as water quality is the question is "does the well provide enough water" - a topic discussed

at WELL FLOW RATE

and at WELL FLOW TEST PROCEDURE

Really? I suppose if you run out of water it won't matter if the water you can't obtain would have been safe to drink or not. But it'll be annoying.

Common Water Quality Tests

These articles describe the parameters in each test.

Watch out: we do not advise simply ordering these tests arbitrarily. Discuss your concerns with your water test laboratory. Otherwise you're "shooting in the dark" and risk failing to test for something important, falsely assuming your drinking water is safe.

Contamination of Drinking Water Wells - Research


...

Continue reading at WATER TESTING ADVICE - when to test your drinking water, or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see WATER QUALITY TEST CHOICES & WATER TEST FEE FAQs - questions and answers posted originally on this page.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

Suggested citation for this web page

WATER QUALITY TEST CHOICES & WATER TEST FEES at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.


Or see this

INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to WATER TESTING

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