Well Water Testing in PA

Diane -- Did she say what you need to have it tested for? That will affect where you send it for testing. I could dig up the name of the company that did our test when we bought the house, but they only tested for coliform bacteria, not pollutants or lead, etc. A coliform test is pretty cheap, but the money starts to add up as you add on the other tests. You could probably get the name of a company near you that does testing by asking at a local realtor's office. They do this all the time when houses are sold. But if you don't find anyone, I'll get the name of our testing service for you. Alison

Social Worker just said that it has to be 'safe' ( I have been able to find out that is really not a very good answer!) I know our water would have been checked when we bought the house - but that was 7 years ago and no one seems to have the records (father in law handled the purchase and he is now decreased) Diane

Have you tried looking under Water Analysis in your yellow pages? You should test for bacteria, lead, flouride (so you know if your child will need supplements). If you're not in an industrial area or a place where there's the possibility of contamination, I'd say you can skip the pollutants. People with wells should test every year or so for bacteria--just to make sure nothing has changed (like your neighbor's septic tank leaking).

Try looking up a local one at [url]http://www.dep.state.pa.us/labs/.[/url] These are the labs that are certified by the state, so your social worker should accept their results. The lab may be able to recommend a reasonable set of tests for you. If you're not in an area where MTBE contamination is an issue, you can maybe get by with coliform and lead.

I don't know about PA, but here in CO all I had to do was contact my local health department and they provide a little bottle and instructions, then I had to take the sample to the health department and give them a check, and they had a courier that takes the samples to the nearest state lab. The sample has to be less than 24 hrs old when it is tested, but the instruction sheet (and the health dept) explained all those details. If your health dept doesn't provide the service, try calling a real estate agent. If they handle rural properties they will know all the steps, phone numbers, etc. Your social worker may not be very helpful because s/he doesn't know either. After I got my well tested my s/w asked me how to get it done and took notes, so I think she must have had other families asking her how to do it.

God love Chlorox bleach, we knew 7 years ago when we bought our house, we had a slight water problem, so we dumped some bleach down our well before our water test, we passed with flying colors!!! Lol Lol Don't try it unless you know what yr doing! Bostonbeagle

We have been through this in two states. You might have had a test done if you bought your home because with a well it is always a good idea. A home inspection agency will do them or can tell you who will. When we lived in State College, PA there was a place in town my husband took the water to. That test was for bacteria, lead and a few other components. It was about $25.00. New Jersey requires testing and certifies thier labs. They test for Volatile Organic compounds VOC as well as bacteria, lead ect and the test costs $500 because of the VOC I believe. It is a recent requirement and it may be required the seller do this when they sell a house in NJ but I don't think any other states. You probably need the cheaper testing if you are in PA. I strongly encourage you to install a whole house filter if the water fails. We did it in PA and it was not extremely expensive. It was worth the peace of mind. Girardia is not fun, sometimes not diagnosed easily, and poses the danger of dehydration due to diarhea for young children.