Well Water Testing

[Ted Summey]

How often do you get your water tested if your water comes from a well? Ours was tested years ago but not in the last 20. Should I be testing more often? We are several hundred yards from the nearest house and our home is on one of the highest points for a couple of miles.

 

[DKCDKC]

Good question. I've not had my well tested for 18 years... Since it was dug. But we are a mile from any other home or anything. Given the cost, I think I may get one of the self-testing kits on Amazon sometime in the next year to check. If it shows anything, I'll go with a lab test. Once the well is dug and sealed, it would seem hard to get anything in to contaminate it. My well is 360 feet deep.

 

[KYErik]

It has been about 10 yrs since I had mine tested, but the county health department just charged $20 or so. It came back as slight contaminated by sewage bacteria (OK for healthy adults but no good for elderly or young kids) so I switched over to county water.

If there are any sinkholes in your area, you should get it checked for bacteria more often (at least every 5 years or so). Someone 2 miles away could throw a dead animal in a sinkhole or run hogs around one and you would be drinking that stuff in a few weeks/months since the sinkhole give the surface water a quick/direct route down to the water table.

 

[Ted Summey]

No sink holes to worry about here. We are on a separate ridge from our cows with a major hollow between us and them. And no hogs to worry about yet.