Moving to a House With Well Water

Moving to a house with well water: what to test

Moving to a house with well water makes the water test your job. CDC says the EPA rules that protect public drinking water systems do not apply to private wells, and that a well owner is responsible for testing the well. The best time to get the first result is before you buy, while you can still ask questions of the seller.

Start with the yearly baseline CDC recommends for every well: total coliform bacteria, nitrates, total dissolved solids and pH. Our water bacteria test and nitrate water test guides explain the two health-related tests in that list.

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Then add the tests that fit the area. CDC says to ask your local health or environmental department which other germs or chemicals to test for where you live, and names volatile organic compounds, lead, arsenic, mercury, radium and pesticides as examples to ask about. A move can itself be a reason to test more: CDC also advises testing when a child starts living with you, when someone in the home becomes pregnant, after flooding or land disturbance near the well, after any part of the well system is repaired or replaced, and when the water's taste, color or smell changes. To turn this into a list for one address, build a test plan in a few questions.

This page covers the water test only. Septic system inspections and well mechanical inspections are separate checks and are outside its scope.

Who should take the water sample

Four people can end up holding the sample bottle, and the choice matters more than it seems.

• The seller. A seller may hand you a recent result. Check which tests it covers, when the sample was taken, and that a state-certified laboratory ran it, which is the kind of lab CDC tells well owners to use. For an FHA loan, HUD's handbook says the owner may never collect or transport the sample, so a seller's own sample will not count.
• You, the buyer. Outside a loan, you can usually collect the sample yourself with a kit from a certified lab or your local health department. Michigan's health department stresses following the lab's sampling, packing and shipping instructions, because water samples are easily contaminated.
• A home inspector. Some inspectors offer to collect a water sample. Ask which state-certified lab will run the tests, and ask for the lab's own report, not a summary of it.
• A certified lab or the health department. CDC says local or state health departments often test well water, and can point you to state-certified labs. In Michigan, EGLE lists county health departments that test water and offers testing through its own laboratory.

For an FHA or VA loan, both handbooks say a disinterested third party must collect the sample and take it to the lab. VA's handbook says the Veteran or any other interested party may never do it.

When to test: timing it in the contract

Put the water test into your offer. A purchase contract that makes the sale depend on an acceptable water result, with a deadline, gives you time to test, read the report and retest before you are committed. Ask your real estate agent or attorney how that condition is usually written where the home is.

Then work back from the deadline:

1. Book the test first. Call the lab, the health department or the collector as soon as the offer is accepted.
2. Plan around the bacteria sample. A bacteria sample has to reach the lab within a short holding window, and some labs receive samples only on certain days. Our water bacteria test guide explains the window.
3. Ask about turnaround. Ask the lab how long results take, so the report arrives before your deadline.
4. Leave room for a retest. If the first result misses a benchmark, you need time for a fix and a new sample.

If a loan is involved, timing has one more edge. VA's handbook says a water test result is valid for 90 days^[2] from the date the local health authority certifies it, unless that authority says otherwise, so a sample taken too early can expire before closing.

FHA and VA lender rules for well water

Loan programs add their own rules about when a test is needed and who takes the sample. Neither HUD nor VA publishes its own list of tests. Requirements are set by your local health authority (or EPA standards where none exist); confirm with your lender. Ask the lender for its list in writing before you book the sample.

FHA. HUD's Handbook 4000.1 lists when an FHA loan needs a well water test, including newly built homes, homes where the appraiser reports a deficiency with the well or its water, and homes close to dumps, landfills, farms or other sites that could hold hazardous waste. The list is a minimum, not the whole story. HUD's handbook also says a home served by springs, lakes, rivers, sand-point wells or artesian wells is not eligible for FHA mortgage insurance. Our FHA well water rules page covers the full list and the well distance table.

VA. VA's Pamphlet 26-7 says the water from a private well must meet the requirements of the health authority having jurisdiction, or EPA guidelines where that authority has none. Some water sources, and any filtration system, need the Veteran's written acknowledgement rather than ruling the home out. Our VA well water rules page explains each point, including the validity period above.

If the water test fails

A result that misses a benchmark does not have to end the purchase, but it needs an answer before closing.

• Get the result explained. CDC says your local health or environmental department can help you understand the result and what to do next, and may recommend testing more often. Our guide on how to read your lab report explains units, limits and non-detects.
• Find the cause first. The result tells you what to look for. Ask the lab or the health department what it means for the well before anyone buys equipment.
• Decide on treatment only from a certified result. Choose any treatment from a certified lab result, not a home kit or a guess. If the certified result meets the benchmark, no treatment is needed.
• Retest after the fix. A new certified result is what shows the problem is solved. For an FHA or VA loan, a disinterested third party collects that sample too.
• Settle who pays. Whether the seller fixes the problem, credits the cost or the sale ends depends on your contract; your agent or attorney can explain the options.

Until the problem is solved, CDC suggests considering bottled water or another water source. If a result raises a health question for someone in the home, talk to a health professional.

What Michigan and Pennsylvania agencies say

State agencies set out what they recommend for well owners. Neither state's pages cited here names a water test that a home sale requires, so ask the local health department where the home is whether a local rule applies.

• Michigan. The Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) tells private well owners that they own their water system, and that a well must be tested when it is built. It recommends testing every year for coliform bacteria and E. coli, nitrate and nitrite; every 3 to 5 years^[4] for arsenic and lead; and for PFAS at least once.
• Pennsylvania. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) says it does not regulate private wells. It advises testing every year for total coliform bacteria, nitrates, total dissolved solids and pH, and always using a state certified laboratory.

Our state lab pages list certified labs in Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania and how to get a sample to them.