Pennsylvania well water testing
Pennsylvania does not regulate private household wells, so testing is up to you. The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) still tells owners what to test for, sells bacteria test kits at its regional offices, and keeps lists of accredited labs. Penn State runs an accredited lab with fixed-price test packages.
Does Pennsylvania regulate private wells?
No. DEP’s private wells page answers the question directly: “The PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) does not regulate private wells.” There is no state requirement to test a household well, so no one will remind you. Your township or county may have its own rules, so check locally if you’re drilling a new well or selling a home.
Penn State says Pennsylvania has over 1 million private wells serving about 3.5 million people, that about half of the wells tested in the state have had at least one water quality problem, and that only about half of the state’s wells have ever been tested.
Sources: PA DEP: Private Water Wells; Penn State Agricultural Analytical Services Lab: Drinking Water Testing.
What to test for, and how often
The two main Pennsylvania sources give slightly different schedules:
| Source | Every year | Less often |
|---|---|---|
| PA DEP | Total coliform bacteria, nitrates, total dissolved solids (TDS), and pH | Other contaminants if you suspect them |
| Penn State lab | Coliform bacteria | pH and TDS every three years; more testing if you have staining, taste, or odor problems or nearby mining, farming, industry, or septic systems |
DEP’s schedule is the stricter of the two and matches CDC’s national advice (bacteria, nitrate, TDS, and pH every year). DEP also says to always use a state-certified lab, and because some tests are expensive, to spend some time identifying likely problems first.
Penn State suggests choosing extra tests based on what’s near your home. Its lab packages (below) are organized that way: farming or septic systems point to nitrate, mining to aluminum, iron, manganese, and sulfate, and gas or oil drilling to barium and chloride.
Sources: PA DEP: Water Testing; Penn State AASL: Drinking Water Testing; CDC: Guidelines for testing well water.
Where to buy a DEP bacteria test kit
DEP says bacterial test kits can be purchased from the offices below. DEP’s page does not list a price, so call the office for your county to ask about cost and how to return the sample.
| Office | Counties served | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Southeast Regional Office | Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Philadelphia | 484-250-5106 |
| Northeast Regional Office | Carbon, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Northampton, Pike, Schuylkill, Susquehanna, Wayne, Wyoming | 570-826-2511 |
| Pottsville District Office | Schuylkill | 570-621-3118 |
| Southcentral Regional Office | Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Fulton, Juniata, Lebanon, Mifflin, Perry, York | 717-705-4700 |
| Altoona District Office | Bedford, Blair, Huntingdon | 814-946-7290 |
| Reading District Office | Berks, Lancaster | 610-916-0100 |
| Northcentral Regional Office (Williamsport) | Bradford, Columbia, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga, Union | 570-327-3636 |
| Moshannon District Office | Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton | 814-342-8200 |
| Southwest Regional Office | Allegheny, Beaver, Greene, Washington | 412-442-4209 |
| Cambria District Office | Cambria, Somerset | 814-472-1920 |
| New Stanton District Office | Fayette, Westmoreland | 412-442-4302 |
| Northwest Regional Office | Armstrong, Butler, Clarion, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, Indiana, Jefferson, Lawrence, McKean, Mercer, Venango, Warren | 814-332-6945 |
Between them, these 12 offices cover all 67 Pennsylvania counties (Schuylkill appears under both the Northeast Regional Office and the Pottsville District Office).
Source: PA DEP: Water Testing (office list and phone numbers as shown on October 25, 2026).
Penn State lab: test packages and prices
Penn State’s Agricultural Analytical Services Laboratory (AASL) is accredited by DEP for drinking water analysis and sells homeowner test packages. You first get a Drinking Water Test Kit, which Penn State says is available at many county extension offices.
| Package | Good fit for | Tests included | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| WD01 Standard | Routine testing | Total coliform, E. coli, pH, TDS | $60 |
| WD04 Agriculture / Septic | Near farms or septic systems | Standard plus nitrate-nitrogen | $70 |
| WD06 Gas / Oil Drilling | Near gas or oil drilling | Standard plus barium and chloride | $75 |
| WD05 Mining | Near current or future mining | Standard plus aluminum, iron, manganese, sulfate | $80 |
| WD02 Aesthetics / Corrosivity | Staining, bad taste, scale | Standard plus hardness, alkalinity, corrosivity index, copper, iron, manganese | $85 |
| WD03 Aesthetics / Corrosivity plus lead | Older plumbing | WD02 plus first-draw and running-water lead and copper | $125 |
| WD07 Trace | Near industrial or dump sites | Standard plus arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, nickel, zinc | $130 |
| WD08 Extensive | Broadest single package | Standard plus hardness, alkalinity, corrosivity, arsenic, barium, copper and lead (first draw and running), iron, manganese, sodium, chloride, sulfate, nitrate-nitrogen | $220 |
Single tests are also available, for example bacteria (total coliform and E. coli) for $40, arsenic for $30, lead for $25, and nitrate-nitrogen for $15.
How the Penn State kit works
- The kit includes a cooler, shipping box, sample bottles, instructions, and a submission form.
- You ship it back by overnight mail with payment. For the bacteria test, the lab must receive the sample within 30 hours of sampling, and it can’t accept bacteria samples on a Friday.
- Results generally take 10 to 14 business days after the lab receives the sample.
- Penn State also publishes summaries of its drinking water results by county since 2007, which can hint at what’s common near you.
Source: Penn State AASL: Drinking Water Testing (packages, fees, and kit rules as listed on October 25, 2026). Contact: aaslab@psu.edu, 814-863-0841.
Finding another accredited lab
DEP publishes two lab lists for private well owners, both PDFs:
- Labs accredited for chemical contaminants (report dated June 11, 2024)
- Labs accredited for bacteria (report dated June 13, 2024)
Those reports are over a year old, so confirm a lab’s current accreditation for the specific tests you want before you order. Some labs are accredited for many tests and others only for a few, like bacteria.
Mail-in kits from companies such as Tap Score are another option. If you go that way, check that the lab analyzing the sample is accredited by Pennsylvania for each test, especially if a lender, buyer, or legal matter depends on the result.
Sources: PA DEP: Water Testing; Penn State Extension: Chain of Custody Water Testing.
Testing before gas drilling, mining, or construction
If you want a record of your water before nearby drilling, mining, or construction starts, Penn State Extension recommends “chain of custody” testing. A professional collects the sample and delivers it to a state-accredited lab, and everyone who handles it is documented. Penn State notes that not every accredited lab offers this service, so ask first. A self-collected sample from a homeowner kit may not hold up as documentation.
Sources: Penn State Extension: Chain of Custody Water Testing; Penn State AASL (note on the gas and oil drilling package).
Reading your results
DEP points well owners to Pennsylvania’s maximum contaminant level (MCL) chart, which lists the limits the state’s regulated public water systems must meet, and says that if your results are above those levels you should install a treatment device for that contaminant. For treatment, DEP points to NSF’s home water treatment guide, which advises checking a product’s packaging for both the certification standard (such as NSF/ANSI 53 or NSF/ANSI 58) and a claim for the specific contaminant you need to reduce, such as lead.
If a test shows bacteria, nitrate, arsenic, or lead, talk to your county health department or a health care provider about drinking water use until it’s fixed, and retest after any treatment or repair.
Sources: PA DEP: Water Testing; NSF: Home water treatment.