Your professional well system inspection may include water testing. If not, you can test your water yourself.

There are several common well water contaminants that you can test for:

• Coliform bacteria – which could be disease-causing and are very dangerous in a drinking water supply
• Iron, sulfides, water hardness, manganese, and other impurities that may damage your water well system and home’s plumbing.
• Nitrates, which are common in groundwater sources and can have serious health effects.

You should perform well water testing once a year, or any time you notice a change in your water’s taste, odor, or quality. You should also test your well’s water if members of your family get sick, even if you don’t believe your well water to be the cause.

Your local health department should be able to give you information about any water quality issues in your area. You should test for any contaminants that are known to be present in your local groundwater.