When buying a home what should you know about water testing?

Purchasing a home can be an overwhelming task at best.  Concerns over the health and safety of your water should not be of added worry.  Many questions about homes with private wells are presented to us daily here at Statesville Analytical.  To add piece of mind when purchasing a home with a private well there are several things to consider.

First, is the construction of the well.  Does the well meet today’s standards and is the well in good working order? The age of the well along with materials used in the construction of the well will provide valuable information.  This information about the well is usually readily available on the well itself.  Take a look at the well and see if you can locate the metal plate that should be attached to the exterior of the well shaft. This plate will supply information that includes the construction date, depth of the well, diameter of the well and the well drilling company name.

Second, testing of the water in your well is a good idea and is most of the time a requirement when obtaining a mortgage loan.  Deciding which parameters to test for can as be a task.  If a mortgage lender is involved we routinely see a request for a Total Coliform bacteria and E.coli testing.  In addition, VA, USDA, FHA lending usually require Total Coliform bacteria, E.coli, Nitrate, Nitrite and Lead to be performed.  Most VA, USDA and FHA loans require that a third party sample the water.  These tests are also a good starting point for someone purchasing a home with a private well or anyone concerned with the water quality of their water system.

Other factors playing into testing considerations is to look at what is surrounding your home to determine if there are any contaminates that are present that may have the ability to convey to your well.  If there are potential contaminates in your area you may what to consider testing for those.  It is a good idea to pay attention to odors, tastes, or stains in fixtures when deciding what to test for.

Third, after gathering all of the information mentioned above call Statesville Analytical and speak with our highly trained staff about your water testing needs.  We can guide you in your testing needs, provide sampling, analytical and reporting services to you. We are here to serve you.