Oct 26
Newest page. Well water testing in Worcester County, Massachusetts (Oct 26, 2026), our sixth county page, for an estimated 69,000 households on private wells: the town Board of Health rules that require a test before a sale in Leicester and Harvard, the Title 5 well test near cesspools, MassDEP-certified labs nearby with posted prices ($30 bacteria and $155 comprehensive at Nashoba Analytical), arsenic and uranium along the Clinton–Newbury fault, and PFAS in Westminster and Princeton.
Three places to get a well tested
If the person holding the bottle also sells the filter, that is not a directory listing. It is a sales call. We list the other three.
The table scrolls sideways on a phone.
| County health | Certified drop-off lab | Mail-in kit that emails a PDF | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | County environmental health, or the public-health lab they use. Annual bacteria and nitrate, sometimes a short extra list. | A lab certified by your state for drinking-water methods. You drop a bottle. You ask for the report. | You collect at home. An independent lab analyzes it. The file lands in your inbox. We name Tap Score / SimpleLab and National Testing Labs. |
| PDF? | Usually a written or emailed county report. Ask how they send it. | Yes, if you ask. That is a normal lab. | Yes. That is the product. |
| Sales visit? | No. | No. | No, if you stay with an independent lab. We do not list in-home treatment pitches. |
| Catch | Short menu. Hours. Some counties do not offer it. Still the right first call for a yearly bacteria check. | Many certified labs only serve utilities. Call before you drive. EPA’s “list” is still a PDF of state programs. | Costs more than county. May not satisfy a lender who named a local lab and a chain-of-custody form. |
Remind me to test my well every year
CDC and EPA say to test a private well at least once a year. We’ll send one email a year, about when your test is due, with your state’s lab options.
Thanks, you’re on the list. We’ll email you once a year when it’s time to test your well. Nothing else.
What this site is not pretending
About 43 million people in the United States drink from a private well — EPA’s figure is around 15 percent of the population, more than 23 million households. The Safe Drinking Water Act does not cover those wells. You are the utility.
CDC and EPA both say to test at least once a year for total coliform bacteria, nitrates, total dissolved solids, and pH, plus whatever is a local problem. There is no national consumer directory of labs that will take your bottle. The official “list” is still a government PDF of state certification programs, written for public water systems.
We will add one state or lab page a night. Up now: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, plus county pages for Oakland County, MI, Chester County, PA, Rockingham County, NH, Fairfield County, CT, Suffolk County, NY, and Worcester County, MA, and guides for how to read a report, PFAS (533 / 537.1), after a flood, and home purchase / lender. Until your state is listed: call county environmental health, read the mail-in vs county cost table, or the comparison page if someone already handed you a free kit.