Quick Answer: A full residential well water test checks whether the water is safe to drink and how it will treat your plumbing. Our Residential Water Testing Package covers total coliform and E. coli bacteria, nitrate/nitrite, lead, fluoride, hardness, pH, iron and chloride. The first four are health questions. The rest explain staining, scale, taste and corrosion, the everyday problems that rural North Country wells are known for.
Most rural homes in St. Lawrence and Franklin County draw their water from a private well. Unlike a village water system, nobody tests a private well on a schedule. The New York State Department of Health leaves that to the owner, and when a house changes hands, to the buyer. A lender may only ask for a short list of tests. If your family will drink the water every day, it's worth knowing the whole picture.
We're Edith and Payen Ashley of A2A Home Inspections. We collect well water samples for buyers and homeowners across the North Country, and this is how we explain the full panel when people ask what they're paying for.
The health items
Total coliform and E. coli
Coliform bacteria are indicator organisms. Most aren't harmful themselves, but their presence means surface water or something else is reaching the well. The result is reported as present or absent, and the goal for drinking water is absent.
E. coli is the more serious finding. It comes from human or animal waste, so a positive E. coli result means the water shouldn't be drunk until the well has been disinfected and a follow-up test comes back clean. Common causes in our area are a loose or damaged well cap, an older dug well, surface runoff pooling at the wellhead after snowmelt, and a well that sits too close to a barnyard, manure storage or a household septic system.
Nitrate and nitrite
Nitrate gets into groundwater from fertilizer, manure and wastewater. In farm country it's one of the most common reasons a well fails. The federal drinking water standard is 10 milligrams per liter for nitrate (measured as nitrogen) and 1 milligram per liter for nitrite.
Nitrate matters most for infants. Formula mixed with high-nitrate water can interfere with how a baby's blood carries oxygen. If you're expecting or have a baby in the house, this result deserves your attention.
Lead
Lead rarely comes from the well itself. It usually comes from plumbing: older solder, brass fittings and fixtures, or old service pipe. That's why older farmhouses and camps converted to year-round use deserve this check. Lead has no taste, color or smell, and health agencies agree there is no safe level for children. A result above the lab's reporting limit is a reason to look at the plumbing and talk to a water treatment professional.
Fluoride
Some North Country wells have natural fluoride, some have almost none. A moderate amount helps protect teeth. Too much over many years can stain children's teeth, and the federal limit is set to prevent bone problems at high levels. Knowing your well's number also helps your dentist decide whether your children need a supplement.
The water quality items
These don't usually make anyone sick, but they explain most of the complaints we hear from rural homeowners.
Hardness
Hard water carries dissolved calcium and magnesium. It leaves white scale on faucets, shortens the life of water heaters and makes soap hard to rinse off. There's no health standard for hardness. The result tells you whether a softener is worth the cost.
pH
pH measures how acidic or alkaline the water is. The recommended range for drinking water is 6.5 to 8.5. Water below that range can be corrosive, slowly dissolving copper and lead from the plumbing. Blue-green stains in sinks are a common sign. A low pH result and a lead result belong together: one often explains the other.
Iron
Iron is common in Northern New York groundwater. Above about 0.3 milligrams per liter, it causes orange and brown stains on fixtures and laundry, a metallic taste and, in some wells, slimy buildup in toilet tanks. It's a nuisance rather than a health risk, and filters handle it well once you know the level.
Chloride
Chloride gives water a salty taste above about 250 milligrams per liter, and it speeds up corrosion. In the North Country, a high chloride result often points to road salt from a nearby road or driveway, or to a water softener backwashing near the well.
Reading the lab report
The certified lab reports each result next to the standard it's measured against. Health limits are the numbers to focus on first. The secondary, or aesthetic, numbers tell you what treatment would make the water more pleasant.
When something comes back high:
- Bacteria: fix the cause, disinfect the well, then retest. A licensed well contractor can check the cap, casing and grading around the wellhead.
- Nitrate, lead or fluoride over the limit: talk to a water treatment professional about treatment, and use bottled water for drinking and formula until it's sorted out.
- Hardness, iron, pH or chloride: these are treatment decisions, not emergencies. Compare a softener, filter or neutralizer against the results.
If you're buying, a high result is a negotiating point, not necessarily a reason to walk away. Your real estate agent can help you ask the seller to treat and retest before closing.
How it fits with the rest of your inspection
A home inspection looks at the visible plumbing, the pressure tank and the well equipment we can see. Only a lab test tells you what's in the water. Most rural buyers book water testing at the same visit, and many add radon testing too, since St. Lawrence County sits in EPA Radon Zone 2.
If your lender only needs the basics, our guide to well water testing for your mortgage explains the shorter Mortgage Package.
Frequently asked questions
Is the residential panel more than I need?
If a lender only needs a coliform, nitrate and lead result, the Mortgage Package covers that. The Residential Package adds the items that tell you how the water will live day to day.
Can my water look clear and still fail?
Yes. Bacteria, nitrate and lead have no color, smell or taste at the levels that matter. Clear water is not proof of safe water.
Does a water softener affect the test?
It can. A softener changes hardness and chloride results. We note any treatment equipment we see so the results are read in context.
Do you test the well's flow or yield?
No. Our water testing is about the quality of the water. Questions about how much water the well produces go to a licensed well contractor.
Related Reading
- Well Water Testing for Your Mortgage in Northern NY
- Pre-Purchase Inspection Checklist for Northern NY Buyers
- Radon Testing in St. Lawrence County, NY
Want the full picture of your well water? A2A Home Inspections collects samples for buyers and homeowners across St. Lawrence County, Franklin County and the North Country. See our water testing packages, call (315) 869-8560, or contact us to schedule.