Well Water Testing Clinics

2023 Well Water Clinic

Virginia Cooperative Extension will be holding a Well Water Testing Clinic in 2023.

Dates/Time TBA

To be added to the notification emai list please send an to email Glenn Sturm at gjsturm@vt.edu

Three Things to Know about Well Water

1. We’ve heard a lot about lead and other metals in drinking water recently, but what you may not know is that it is incredible rare for these metals to be naturally found in groundwater. Instead, water that is either too low in pH, and/or has other corrosive elements, is leaching the metal from plumbing components. The water doesn’t have to be all that corrosive or acidic to leach metals either, it’s generally recommended that drinking water have pH above 6.5 to prevent corrosion, which means regular rain water is more than acidic enough to leach metals from your pipes!

2. There are quite a few different sources of potential contaminants to drinking water; surface contaminants could be getting into your drinking water, especially if the well head or grouting is not well maintained, metals could be leached from your plumbing, sodium may be added from your softener, and many contaminants come naturally from the groundwater if they aren’t addressed with treatment devices.

3. How often should you test your drinking water? Generally, it’s recommended to test for bacteria annually, and do more comprehensive tests every three years or so, including testing for pH, total dissolved solids and other local concerns. Testing is particularly important since some of the contaminants most detrimental to your health (E. coli, nitrates, lead, among others), may be at high enough levels to cause serious health issues without you ever noticing a different smell, taste, or appearance.