Acreage Guide Practical guides for rural homeowners.
Free tool

Well Water Test Panel Picker

What should you actually test your well water for? Answer five questions — your situation, symptoms, plumbing age, what's nearby, and household risk factors — and get a custom test panel: the annual baseline, the right add-ons, and what each round should cost.

When did you last test your water?
Noticing anything? (tap all that apply)
How old is the home's plumbing?
What's nearby? (tap all that apply)
Any of these apply? (tap all that apply)
Your test panel

How to use this tool

  1. Answer the five questions above — situation, symptoms, plumbing age, surroundings, and risk factors.
  2. Take the shopping list to your county health department or a state-certified lab. Not a treatment vendor's free test — the lab works for you; the vendor works for the sale.
  3. Run the numbers through our Water Test Interpreter — plain-English verdicts on every parameter, benchmarked against EPA standards.
  4. Keep every report. The trend across years matters more than any single result — nitrate creeping upward year over year points to a developing source problem worth investigating before it crosses a threshold.

Honest limits

  • This picks tests, not diagnoses. Symptoms point; lab results decide. Nothing here replaces a certified lab result or a water-treatment professional's judgment.
  • Some serious problems have no symptoms. Arsenic, nitrate, and lead are tasteless and odorless. If you've never tested, the full panel matters more than any symptom check.
  • Hot-water-only smells are usually the heater, not the well. A rotten-egg smell from hot taps only is the classic anode-rod reaction — check that before you blame the aquifer.
  • Costs are public-lab ranges. County and state labs are usually the cheapest option ($25–$65 for the annual four); private certified labs cost more. Prices vary by state — call two labs before you assume.
  • Your state may say more. The CDC's baseline is national; your state or county health department may recommend extra tests for local geology or land use. Ask them — that call is free.
  • Private wells aren't regulated. EPA's standards legally apply to public water systems. For private wells they're the best available yardstick — which is how our interpreter uses them.

Frequently asked questions

I've never tested. Where do I actually start?

Run the tool with “Never tested” and you'll get the full panel — that's your baseline. After that, the annual four (coliform, nitrate, TDS, pH) every year, and the full panel again every 3 to 5 years. Start with your county health department; many sell the baseline cheap.

Can't I just use a home test kit?

Home kits give rough readings on a few parameters, but they can't substitute for a certified lab result — especially for health decisions or a real-estate transaction. Use a kit for curiosity; use a lab for decisions.

Do I need to test if my water looks, tastes, and smells fine?

Yes. The most serious contaminants — arsenic, nitrate, lead, radon — are invisible, tasteless, and odorless. Clear water is not safe water by default; it's just clear.

How much should I budget per year for testing?

The annual four runs $25–$65 at most county or state labs. The full panel every 3 to 5 years runs $90–$250 at a public lab. Add-ons like a VOC scan (~$130 at one municipal lab) or a PFAS panel (call for a quote) only apply when your situation triggers them.

Sources

New to well water? Start with the well water hub. Noticing symptoms instead? Try the Water Symptom Checker — then come back here to build the panel.