- Pennsylvania has no statewide rules for private wells, so nobody tests your water unless you do.
- Test for coliform bacteria every year, and run a broader panel every three to five years.
- Use a laboratory accredited by the Pennsylvania DEP, and follow its sampling instructions exactly.
- A positive bacteria result is fixable, but it needs action, not a wait-and-see approach.
More than a million Pennsylvania homes get their water from a private well, and a large share of them are here in the southeast. Chester and Bucks counties alone have tens of thousands of wells, and the rural parts of Berks, Lancaster, and upper Montgomery counties have many more.
If your home is on public water, a utility tests it constantly and reports the results to the state. If your home is on a well, none of that happens. Pennsylvania is one of the few states with no statewide construction or testing standards for private wells. The water coming out of your kitchen tap has likely never been checked by anyone unless you or a previous owner paid for it.
That is not a reason to panic. Most wells produce perfectly good water most of the time. But wells change. Groundwater moves, casings age, seals crack, and nearby land use shifts. Testing is the only way to know where you stand, and it is far cheaper than dealing with a problem you did not know you had.
Why well water deserves its own plan
Public water systems are required to meet federal drinking water standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Those standards cover dozens of contaminants, from bacteria to metals to industrial chemicals. Private wells are not covered by that law. The standards still matter as a benchmark, but meeting them is the homeowner’s job.
Surveys of Pennsylvania wells by Penn State Extension have found, again and again, that a meaningful share of private wells fail at least one drinking water standard. Coliform bacteria is the most common failure, often showing up in a third or more of wells tested. Many of those owners had no idea, because contaminated water usually looks, smells, and tastes completely normal.
What to test for
There is no single test that covers everything, and there is no need to test for everything every year. Think of it in three tiers.
Every year
- Total coliform bacteria, with E. coli confirmation if coliform is present. This is the most important test for any well.
- Nitrate, especially if you are near farmland, a septic field, or a heavily fertilized lawn.
Every three to five years
- Hardness, which drives most decisions about softeners.
- Iron and manganese, the usual causes of orange and black staining.
- pH, since acidic water corrodes copper plumbing.
- Total dissolved solids, a broad measure of everything dissolved in the water.
- Sodium and chloride, particularly if your well is near a road that is salted in winter.
- Lead and copper, measured at the tap, since they usually come from plumbing rather than the aquifer.
At least once, and again if something changes
- Arsenic, which occurs naturally in some Pennsylvania rock formations.
- Radon and uranium, especially in areas with known radon problems such as parts of Berks County.
- PFAS, particularly within a few miles of a military base, airport, fire training site, or industrial facility.
- Volatile organic compounds, if you live near a gas station, dry cleaner, landfill, or industrial site.
When to test outside your normal schedule
Annual testing is the baseline. Certain events call for a test right away.
- After any flooding near the wellhead.
- After work on the well, pump, pressure tank, or nearby plumbing.
- When the water changes in taste, color, smell, or clarity.
- When someone in the home is pregnant, a new baby arrives, or anyone has a weakened immune system.
- When a household member has recurring stomach problems with no other explanation.
- When you buy or sell a home. Most lenders and buyers will ask, and you want to know first.
- When nearby construction, drilling, or land use changes.
How to take a sample that gives you a real answer
A bad sample produces a misleading result, and bacteria samples are especially easy to get wrong. Whether you sample yourself or have us do it, these are the rules that matter.
- Use a laboratory accredited by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The DEP publishes a list of accredited labs, and results from them carry real weight with lenders and buyers.
- Use the bottles the lab provides. Bacteria bottles are sterile and often contain a preservative. Do not rinse them.
- Sample from a cold water tap that does not have an aerator, or remove the aerator first. Avoid swivel faucets and outside spigots.
- For bacteria, sample before any treatment equipment unless you are specifically testing whether that equipment works.
- Run the water for several minutes before filling so you are sampling water from the well, not water that sat in the pipes.
- Do not touch the inside of the bottle or cap. Fill to the line, close it, and keep it cold.
- Get it to the lab within the holding time, which for bacteria is usually 30 hours or less. Plan your sample around the lab’s drop off hours.
How to read your results
Lab reports can be confusing. Units vary, and labs list dozens of numbers without saying which ones matter. Here are the benchmarks most worth knowing, based on federal drinking water standards. Primary standards protect health. Secondary standards address taste, staining, and plumbing.
| What was tested | Benchmark | Type of concern |
|---|---|---|
| Total coliform bacteria | Absent | Health |
| E. coli | Absent | Health |
| Nitrate as nitrogen | 10 mg/L | Health |
| Arsenic | 10 µg/L | Health |
| Lead | As low as possible, with no known safe level for children | Health |
| Iron | 0.3 mg/L | Staining and taste |
| Manganese | 0.05 mg/L | Staining and taste |
| pH | 6.5 to 8.5 | Corrosion and taste |
| Total dissolved solids | 500 mg/L | Taste and scale |
| Hardness | No standard. Above about 120 mg/L is considered hard | Scale and soap use |
A few notes on units. One milligram per liter (mg/L) is the same as one part per million. One microgram per liter (µg/L) is one part per billion. Hardness is sometimes reported in grains per gallon. To convert, divide mg/L by 17.1.
What to do when something comes back high
Coliform or E. coli
Total coliform without E. coli means something is getting into your well that should not be. It is a warning sign rather than an emergency, but it needs attention. E. coli means fecal contamination and is more serious. Use bottled or boiled water for drinking and cooking until the problem is solved.
The usual fix starts with a physical inspection. A cracked or missing well cap, a casing that ends below ground level, or surface water pooling around the wellhead are common culprits. After repairs, the well is shock chlorinated and retested. If bacteria keep coming back, a UV disinfection system provides continuous protection without chemicals.
Nitrate
Nitrate is a particular risk for infants under six months, and boiling does not remove it. In fact, boiling concentrates it. Reverse osmosis at the kitchen tap is one of the most effective home treatments. It is also worth looking at what might be feeding nitrate into the groundwater, from septic systems to field and lawn fertilizer.
Iron, manganese, and sulfur
These are rarely health problems at typical levels, but they cause the stains and smells that send most people to us in the first place. They respond well to oxidizing filtration, which converts the dissolved minerals into particles a filter bed can trap.
Low pH
Acidic water slowly dissolves copper and can pull lead from older solder and fixtures. An acid neutralizer raises the pH before the water reaches your plumbing. If you see blue-green stains in sinks or tubs, test pH and copper.
Arsenic, radon, uranium, or PFAS
These need treatment matched to the specific contaminant, and the right choice depends on the level found. Reverse osmosis handles arsenic, uranium, and PFAS well at the drinking tap. Radon in water is usually handled with aeration. A follow-up test after installation confirms the treatment is working.
Keeping your well healthy between tests
- Keep the well cap secure and vermin proof, and make sure the casing extends above the ground.
- Grade the ground so rainwater drains away from the wellhead, not toward it.
- Keep fertilizer, pesticides, fuel, and pet waste well away from the well.
- Pump your septic tank on a regular schedule, typically every three to five years.
- Seal any abandoned wells on your property. They can be a direct path for contamination.
- Keep a folder with every test result. Trends over time tell you more than any single number.
The bottom line
Owning a well means owning your water quality. The good news is that keeping it safe is straightforward. Test for bacteria every year, run a broader panel every few years, test after anything unusual, and act on what you find. If you want a hand reading results or deciding whether treatment is worth it, that is exactly what we do, and we will tell you honestly when the answer is nothing at all.