Well Owner's Checklist

These simple steps will help protect your health and your water well system.

  1. Regularly test your water and inspect your well. Contaminants may come from naturally occurring substances or the result of chemical or bacterial contamination such as animal waste, release of chemicals, sewage disposal systems, poorly maintained wells, or plumbing systems. Consider installing a water treatment device for your safe water use.
  2. Environmental Health Services recommends an initial test for primary drinking water standards and total coliform bacteria. If the initial test indicates contaminants of concern, then specific tests for those contaminants should be tested annually. The EPA also recommends that well owners perform an annual test for total coliform bacteria and nitrate in their water. If your well is near a potential source of pollutants (such as a landfill or other industrial/commercial businesses such as machine shops, dry cleaners, gas stations, or automobile repair shops), you should also test for volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), metals, total dissolved solids (TDS), and petroleum hydrocarbons or other potential pollutants of concern. It is also important to have your well tested whenever you suspect contamination or notice a change in taste, odor, or appearance of your water.
  3. Keep hazardous chemicals, such as paint, fertilizer, pesticides, and motor oil far away from your well.
  4. Periodically check the well cap on top of the casing (well) to ensure it is in good repair. Take care in working around your well. A damaged casing could jeopardize the sanitary protection of your well. Also routinely check water connections and your storage system, if applicable.
  5. Always maintain proper separation between your well and buildings, waste systems or chemical storage facilities. Your professional contractor should know the rules.
  6. Don’t allow back-siphonage. When mixing pesticides, fertilizers, or other chemicals, don’t put the hose inside the tank or container.
  7. When landscaping, keep the top of your well at least one foot above the ground. Slope the ground away from your well for proper drainage. Don’t pile soil, leaves or other materials around your well.
  8. Always use licensed or certified water well drillers and pump installers when a well is constructed, a pump is installed, or the system is serviced.
  9. Keep your well records in a safe place. These include the construction report, as well as annual water well system maintenance and water quality testing results.
  10. When your well has come to the end of its serviceable life, have a qualified water well contractor decommission it after constructing your new system.

Checklist adapted from www.wellowner.org/water-well-maintenance/homeowners-checklist/