How to Test Your Drinking Water

Test your drinking water regularly.

Drought is happening now in Vermont. If you use a private well, look for signs of low water supply like sediment, a difference in the color of your water or other changes to your water. Learn what to do if your well is running dry.
See if there are water shortages in your area or report a shortage.

It is important to regularly test your private well or spring for contaminants to make sure your water is safe to drink.

If you get a water bill, you are on public water. The Health Department recommends testing your water for lead. Learn about testing recommendations for public water

How to Test Your Private Drinking Water

The Health Department recommends testing your water with the Homeowner Testing Package every five years, and for bacteria every year. This package includes tests for bacteria, inorganic chemicals and gross alpha radiation, which are the most common drinking water contaminants in Vermont.

Follow these steps to test your water and find out if you need to treat it.

1. Order test kits

You can order the Homeowner Testing Package from the Vermont Department of Health Laboratory or another certified drinking water lab. You can also order test kits for newly drilled wells and individual contaminants.

How to order from the Health Department Lab

Order the Homeowner Testing Package through the Lab's online webstore or by calling 802-338-4724. This package includes:

Bacteria (Kit A) $14 – test for bacteria every year
Inorganic chemicals (Kit C) $100 – test every five years
Gross alpha radiation (Kit RA) $45 – test every five years

If you divide this cost over five years, it equals $3.60 per month.

Order the Bundled Kit: Homeowner Testing Package

Do you have a new well or spring? Vermont law requires different steps for new groundwater sources for single-family residences. Learn more about new drilled well testing before ordering test kits.

Order the Bundled Kit: New Well or Spring Testing Package

You can also order tests for individual contaminants, such as lead, through the webstore's a la carte menu.

Order a la carte

2. Collect your water samples

Your test kit will come with instructions on how to collect water samples. Follow the instructions closely to make sure the lab will accept your sample. Collect samples from the faucet you most often drink and cook from, usually your kitchen sink.

If you ordered the Homeowner Testing Package from the Health Department Lab, you will receive four plastic sample bottles:

1 medium (250-milliliter) bottle - do not use the water in your home for at least 8 hours before taking this sample. We recommend collecting the sample first thing in the morning before you use any water for the day.
1 small (100-milliliter) bottle - this bottle has a preservative in it, so do not rinse it out. We recommend sanitizing your faucet with rubbing alcohol before collecting this sample.
2 large (1-liter) bottles

Watch the video below for an example of how to collect your samples. The instructions for the test kit you ordered may be different, so be sure to follow the instructions that came with your kit.

3. Return your samples

Plan to drop off or ship your water samples the same day you collect them. Some samples may need to remain cold for testing. If you ordered tests through the Health Department Lab, you can get your samples to the Lab in three ways:

Drop them off in person at the Health Department Lab.
- The Lab's physical address is: 359 South Park Drive, Colchester VT.
- Hours are Monday - Thursday, 7:45 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. and Fridays 7:45 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
- The Lab is closed on state holidays.
Drop them off in person at an Office of Local Health.
- Find a list of Local Health Offices that participate in the Drinking Water Drop-Off Program.
- These offices accept samples Monday through Thursday except for state holidays and the day before a state holiday.
Mail or ship your samples to the Lab
- Make sure your shipment will get to the Lab within the timeframe in your sample instructions.
- Mail samples to:
  - USPS: P.O. Box 1125, Burlington, VT 05402-1125
  - FedEx or UPS: 359 South Park Drive, Colchester, VT 05446

Learn more about preparing and dropping off samples

If you ordered tests through another certified drinking water lab, follow their instructions to return your samples.

4. Get your test results

If you ordered from the Health Department Lab, your water test results will be emailed or mailed to you as soon as they are ready. You may get results at different times depending on the type of tests you ordered.

If you ordered the Bundled Kit: Homeowner Testing Package or the Bundled Kit: New Well Testing Package you will get four sample bottles and four sets of results.

Bacteria results are typically sent within 1-2 business days.
First draw lead results are typically sent within 3 weeks.
Gross alpha results are typically sent within 2 weeks.
Inorganic chemicals, including uranium, fluoride and nitrate results are sent within 2-4 weeks.

If you provided an email address, your results will be emailed to you as soon as they are ready. This means you could receive multiple emails. Your results will be mailed to you if that's what you requested or if you did not provide an email address. Mailed results are sent after all the tests are complete, which is about 3-4 weeks after the Lab receives your samples.

Questions about the tests you ordered or about an unaccepted sample? If you ordered from the Health Department Lab, call 802-338-4724 or 800-660-9997 (toll-free in Vermont). If you ordered kits from a different lab, contact them directly.

5. Read and review your test results

Bacteria (Kit A)

You will see a result for both Total Coliform and E. coli in bacteria test results. If either Total Coliform or E. coli are detected, you have bacteria in your system and should disinfect your well or spring.

An example test result for coliform bacteria. The bold text shows that coliform bacteria has been detected.

Inorganic Chemicals (Kit C or Kit ID for new wells)

This kit tests for multiple chemicals. If a chemical is at a level of concern, you will see "Above Threshold" written in the far-right column.

See an example of inorganic chemical results

Gross Alpha Radiation (Kit RA)

Gross alpha radiation measures the radioactivity of water caused by naturally occurring elements like uranium and radium. Results under 5 picoCuries per liter (pCi/L) are not considered a health risk. Check the uranium level measured in Kit C if your gross alpha result is above 5 pCi/L.

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Questions about your results? Call the Private Drinking Water Program at 802-489-7339 or email [email protected].

6. Understand what's in your water

Be sure to wait until you get all your test results back so you can fully understand your water quality and overall health risks.

If you ordered the bundled testing packages, you could receive test results over several weeks. Some of the individual results need to be read with other results to fully understand what’s happening with your water quality.

For example, if you ordered the Homeowner Testing Package from the Health Department Lab, you will receive two results for lead. The first result is a “first draw” and the second is a “flush." You will get the first draw result first, and the flush result will come up to 2 weeks later with the inorganic chemical results. Lead is detected more frequently in first draw samples than in flush water samples.

To fully understand the risks and best treatment options for gross alpha radiation, you will need to wait until you get the uranium level with the inorganic chemical results, which can be 1-2 weeks after you get the gross alpha radiation results.

7. Determine if you need to treat and retest your water

Use the table below to help you decide if you need to treat your water. Treating your water means lowering the levels of contaminants in your water, or removing them.

Treat your water if any of your results are above the level listed in the middle column. If you ordered tests from the Health Department Lab, those results will be in bold. Learn more by clicking the name of each contaminant in the table below.

If you install a treatment system, it is important to test your water again. Retesting your water for the contaminant (or contaminants) will make sure the treatment is working. You do not need to buy the bundled Homeowner Testing Package again. You can order individual tests.

To retest your water for individual contaminants, you can order a la carte tests through the Health Department Lab’s online webstore. Individual tests range in price from $10 to $25. If you can't order online, call 802-338-4724 or 800-660-9997 (toll-free in Vermont).

You can use the Water Treatment Table to decide the best treatment for your water system based on which contaminants are in your water. Learn how to treat your water

Questions about treatment options? Call the Private Drinking Water program at 802-489-7339 or email [email protected].

Private Drinking Water Contaminants

Contaminant	When to Test	Treatment Recommended if Above this Level	Why You Should Test	Possible Causes
Coliform Bacteria (Kit A)	Every year	Any amount detected	Stomachaches, diarrhea, GI (gastrointestinal) diseases	Surface water intrusion, septic leachate, agriculture runoff
Arsenic (Kit C)	Every five years	0.001 mg/L	Increases risk of bladder, lung or skin cancer	Naturally occurring in some bedrock and soils in Vermont
Chloride (Kit C)	Every five years	250 mg/L	Chloride may indicate other contaminants are present in the water	Septic leachate, road salt
Copper (flush) (Kit C)	Every five years	1.3 mg/L	Stomachaches, vomiting, diarrhea, liver damage in young children	Leaches from plumbing and fixtures due to corrosive water
Fluoride (Kit C)	Every five years	0.7 mg/L	Fluoride levels above 4 mg/L can cause bone disease. Fluoride levels above 2 mg/L can cause staining or pitting of teeth. Optimal fluoride levels of 0.7 mg/L prevent tooth decay.	Naturally occurring in some bedrock and soils in Vermont
Hardness (Kit C)	Every five years	No health risk, but you may choose to treat above 150 mg/L for aesthetic reasons	Causes scale buildup in pipes and fixtures, gray staining of washed clothes	Naturally occurring in some bedrock and soils in Vermont
Iron (Kit C)	Every five years	No health risk, but you may choose to treat above 0.30 mg/L to improve taste and appearance of water	Unpleasant odors, stains and tastes	Naturally occurring in some bedrock and soils in Vermont
Lead (first draw and flush) (Kit C)	Every five years	0.001 mg/L	Damage to brain, kidneys and nervous system	Leaches from plumbing and fixtures due to corrosive water
Manganese (Kit C)	Every five years	0.300 mg/L	Damage to the nervous system (memory, attention and motor skills) when consumed over a long period of time, infants may develop learning and behavior problems	Naturally occurring in some bedrock and soils in Vermont
Nitrate/Nitrite (Kit C)	Every five years. If present above 5 mg/L: Every 3-6 months	Nitrate: 10.0 mg/L Nitrite: 1.0 mg/L	Methemoglobinemia (blue baby syndrome) in infants	Fertilized agricultural fields, septic leachate, compost piles
Sodium (Kit C)	Every five years	250 mg/L, or 20 mg/L for people on low-sodium diets	Sodium may indicate other contaminants are present in the water, can be harmful to those on limited sodium diets	Septic leachate, road salt, water softeners
Gross Alpha Radiation (Kit RA)	Every five years	Use the adjusted gross alpha calculator for any amount above 5 pCi/L for further evaluation	Cancer risk	Naturally occurring in some bedrock and soils in Vermont
Uranium (Kit C)	Every five years	0.020 mg/L	Kidney damage	Naturally occurring in some bedrock and soils in Vermont

Other Concerns for Private Drinking Water

Other concerns for your private drinking water system may be:

These contaminants are not part of the Health Department's recommended Homeowner Testing Package. However, you may want to test for these contaminants depending on the land use around your well or spring or other potential sources of contamination. Click on each contaminant above to learn more about the source, health risks, and testing and treatment options.