Landowner Guidance

United States · Private Well Testing and Maintenance

Private Well Testing and Maintenance: What to Check and When

Use this guide to set a routine for private-well testing, recognize when conditions call for another test, and keep the maintenance history together.

Practical guide

What should I know?

Required or recommended?

Recommended guidance. The items below are recommendations; this page does not present them as legal requirements.

Routine testing

Guidance

EPA advises annual private-well testing for total coliform bacteria, nitrates, total dissolved solids, and pH.

Applicability, timing, evidence, and source

Applicability

U.S. household property owners using the described private system.

Audience: household property owner

Supporting evidence

Test your private well annually for total coliform bacteria, nitrates, total dissolved solids, and pH levels.

Official source

Test again when conditions change

Guidance

EPA advises immediate private-well testing after specified changes or warning signs.

Applicability, timing, evidence, and source

Applicability

U.S. household property owners using the described private system.

Audience: household property owner

Timing and triggers

Trigger conditions: known local groundwater or drinking-water problems; significant nearby condition changes; well-system replacement or repair; change in water odor, color, or taste

Supporting evidence

You should also test your private well immediately if: - There are known problems with ground water or drinking water in your area - Conditions near your well have changed significantly (i.e. flooding, land disturbances, and new construction or industrial activity) - You replace or repair any part of your well system. - You notice a change in your water quality (i.e. odor, color, taste).

Official source

Keep the maintenance history

Guidance

EPA advises keeping accurate records of well maintenance.

Applicability, timing, evidence, and source

Applicability

U.S. household property owners using the described private system.

Audience: household property owner

Supporting evidence

Keep accurate records of well maintenance, such as disinfection or sediment removal, that may require the use of chemicals in the well.

Official source

Recordkeeping

What records should I keep?

Maintenance history

  • well maintenance activity

Practical next step

What should I do next?

  1. Use the annual-testing guidance as the routine baseline, then check the trigger-event guidance whenever conditions or warning signs change.
  2. Keep completed maintenance records with the well history.
  3. Open the official source below when you need the underlying agency language or more context.

Official sources

Sources used on this page

Verification

Verification status

The latest recorded approval for every statement on this page is system validation, not founder manual review.

Latest validation/review date: 2026-08-14.

How review provenance and source validation work

Related guidance

California Rental-Property Domestic Wells: Testing, Disclosure, and Replacement Water Read source-backed guidance Florida Private Well Testing: Recommendations and Requirement Status Read source-backed guidance Texas Private Well Testing and Local-District Checks Read source-backed guidance Septic Maintenance: Inspection, Pumping, and Records Read source-backed guidance