Private well guide

Well Water in Virginia: Testing, Rules, Labs and Licensed Contractors

623,249 households in Virginia get their water from a private well. Here is what the state requires, where to get it tested, and who is licensed to work on it.

Find a certified labLicensed contractorsPick my county
225Licensed contractorschecked against state records
36Certified labsfrom the state certified list
114Counties covered
623,249Households on wells23% of households (est.)

Close to one Virginia household in five drinks from a private well, and in the rural counties of the Piedmont, the Northern Neck and the Southside it is almost everyone. Virginia is one of the few states that inspects a new well and tests its water before it is used, and one of the few with a standing low-cost testing program for the years after.

Who is in charge of a Virginia well

The Department of Health owns private wells through its local health departments. Before a well is drilled you (or your contractor) apply to the local health department for a construction permit; the department sets the site, the setbacks from septic systems and property lines and the casing and grout, and an environmental health specialist inspects the finished well and takes a bacteriological sample. The well is not approved for use until that sample passes. The contractor must hold a Class A, B or C license from the Board for Contractors with the Water Well/Pump specialty, and the person on the rig must be a certified water well systems provider, both under the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation. Labs are certified by the Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services.

What is required, and what is left to you

A health department permit, a licensed contractor, construction to the Private Well Regulations, an inspection and a passing bacteria test. That is more than most states ask, and it is also the last time anyone official looks at the water. Nothing is required when a home is sold, and nothing is required in the decades between. The state’s advice, carried by the Virginia Household Water Quality Program, is a coliform test every year and nitrate every three, with a broad first panel because Virginia’s problems are quiet ones: corrosive water that pulls lead from pipes, radon in the Piedmont, sodium in the Coastal Plain.

At a glance

Water test for a new wellRequired

Yes. A private well needs a construction permit from the local health department before drilling, must be built by a DPOR-licensed contractor with the Water Well/Pump specialty to the Private Well Regulations (grouted casing, setbacks of 50 ft from septic tanks and 100 ft from drainfields), and after completion the health department inspects it and requires a bacteriological sample that passes before the well is placed in service. The inspection statement is your record of the well.

Water test when a home is soldNot required statewide

No statewide requirement. The Residential Property Disclosure Act does not require a water test. FHA, VA and USDA loans normally require a bacteria, nitrate and lead sample from a certified lab before closing, and buyers can ask the local health department for the well's construction permit and inspection file.

What the state recommends

The Virginia Department of Health and the Virginia Household Water Quality Program recommend a coliform bacteria test every year and nitrate at least every three years, with a broader first test for hardness, iron, manganese, pH, sodium, copper, lead, arsenic and fluoride. Add radon and uranium in the Piedmont and Blue Ridge, sodium and chloride in Coastal Plain wells, and test again after flooding, well work or a change in taste, color or smell.

Free or low-cost testingAvailable

The Virginia Household Water Quality Program (Virginia Tech and Virginia Cooperative Extension) runs county drinking water clinics through the year: you pick up a kit from the Extension office, drop the sample back, and get results for 14 tests (bacteria, nitrate, metals, hardness, pH and more) with an interpretation meeting, for about $65, free in counties with grant funding. Local health departments and the VDACS regional animal health laboratories also run a bacteria test for a small fee.

What the water is like

Virginia has five groundwater provinces and each has its own habit. East of I-95, Coastal Plain wells draw from sand aquifers and give soft water that turns salty and high in sodium and fluoride with depth. The Piedmont, from Fairfax to Danville, drills into fractured granite and gneiss: yields are modest, the water is often acidic enough to corrode plumbing (lead and copper at the tap are a Piedmont problem, not a well problem), and radon and uranium follow the granite. The Shenandoah Valley and the Valley and Ridge sit on limestone, which means hard water, fast-moving groundwater and the state’s highest rates of bacteria and nitrate from farms and septic systems. The Blue Ridge and the southwest coalfields add iron, manganese and, near old mines, sulfate and metals. Bacteria is the test most Virginia wells fail; a first broad panel sorts out the rest.

DCLS-certified labs and public labs

Virginia certifies drinking water labs through the Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services. The labs below hold current certification for at least the tests a well owner needs. For the yearly bacteria test the cheapest routes are the local health department, the VDACS regional animal health laboratories in Harrisonburg, Lynchburg, Warrenton and Wytheville, and the Extension drinking water clinics; the commercial labs handle metals, radon, uranium and the wider panel, and most mail bottles anywhere in the state.

36 certified labs

See all 36 certified labs in Virginia

Licensed water well contractors

Every contractor below holds a current Virginia contractor license with the Water Well/Pump specialty, checked against the DPOR regulant list, which covers drilling, pump work, repairs and abandonment. Where the state record ties certified water well systems providers to the business, they are named on the profile with their certificate numbers and expiry dates. Class A licenses have no project limit; Class B and C are limited to smaller jobs, which rarely matters for a household well.

225 licensed contractors

Adam R Hensley

Verified license

Virgilina, VA · Halifax County

License 2705118707 Active

  • Pump Installation
  • Pump Repair
  • Well Abandonment
  • Well Drilling
  • Well Repair

Allan B Mitchell

Verified license

Dinwiddie, VA · Dinwiddie County

License 2705012587 Active

  • Pump Installation
  • Pump Repair
  • Well Abandonment
  • Well Drilling
  • Well Repair

See all 225 licensed contractors in Virginia

By county and city

Well use runs from almost nobody in Fairfax County, Norfolk and the other cities to more than 80% of homes in Grayson, Madison, Floyd, Powhatan and Appomattox counties and more than 90% in Patrick, Mathews, King and Queen and Rappahannock. Virginia’s independent cities are listed alongside the counties; the ones with almost no wells are left out. Each page carries its well population, the nearest certified labs and the licensed contractors based there.

Virginia well water questions

Do I need a permit to drill a well in Virginia?

Yes, from your local health department, before any drilling. The permit covers the site, setbacks and construction, and the well is inspected and its water tested for bacteria before it can be used. Your licensed contractor normally handles the application.

Is a water test required when I sell my house?

No. Virginia has no statewide requirement. Government-backed mortgages require a bacteria, nitrate and lead test before closing, so most sales include one anyway.

How do I find the record for my well?

Ask the local health department for the well’s construction permit, completion report and inspection statement; records for wells drilled since the 1992 regulations are usually on file, and many districts can search by address. Older wells often have no record.

Where can I get a cheap, reliable test?

The Virginia Household Water Quality Program’s county drinking water clinics give you 14 tests for about $65 with an explanation of the results, and they are free where grant money covers them. For a bacteria-only check, the local health department or a VDACS regional laboratory is the cheapest route.

Which lab should I use?

Any lab on the DCLS certified list with drinking water scope. Use a health department, VDACS or Extension clinic for the routine check and a commercial lab for metals, radon or a full panel.