About 1,885 private wells exist in Mesa County, but less than 20 percent of those are tested annually for bacteria. Testing your private well water is an inexpensive way to ensure you and your family are drinking safe, healthy water.
Pollution from human activities, poorly maintained septic systems and improperly abandoned wells can affect your water if you’re drinking from a private well. It’s impossible to tell if your water is contaminated just by looking at it, so testing is important.
“I always recommend testing the well, whether I’m working with a buyer or a seller,” said Lynn Gross with Chesnick Realty. “It’s essentially cheap insurance, cheap peace-of-mind.”
Bacteria in your water doesn’t necessarily mean there’s something wrong with the well itself. One of Gross’ clients simply needed to shock a cistern to rid their samples of bacteria.
You should test your well annually, but you should consider testing more often if:
- There are known problems with well water in your area.
- If you’ve experienced problems, such as flooding, waste disposal, land disturbances, etc., near your well.
- You notice a change in water quality – either in taste, color or odor.
- You replace or repair any part of your well system.
Mesa County Public Health offers private well testing through our Regional Lab and has information on how to shock wells if your test comes back positive for bacteria. Visit health.mesacounty.us or call (970) 248-6900 to request a water test kit.