Well Water in Barbour County, AL: Testing, Contractors and Rules
About 761 households in Barbour County, 7% of the county, rely on a private well. Nobody tests that water unless the owner does.
About 761 homes in Barbour County are on a private well. That is 7% of households, enough that every township has well owners and few of them have had the water tested recently.
Local rules for wells in Barbour County
The rules that apply in Barbour County are set at the state level in Alabama. The state does not require a test on a new well, and nothing is required at sale. Some counties and townships add permits or setbacks of their own, so check locally before drilling. The state's own recommendations are below.
At a glance
No statewide water test and no state permit for the owner. The Water Well Standards Act requires the well to be drilled by an ADEM-licensed water well driller to the 335-9 construction standards (grouted casing, sanitary seal, setbacks from septic tanks, drainfields and other contamination sources), and the driller must notify ADEM before drilling and file a well completion report afterward. The driller is required to disinfect the new well; a few county health departments ask for a bacteria sample before a well serves a new home, and lenders usually do.
No statewide requirement. Alabama is a caveat emptor state with no mandatory seller's disclosure form, so nothing about the well has to be disclosed unless the buyer asks. FHA, VA and USDA loans normally require a bacteria, nitrate and lead sample from a certified lab before closing.
The Department of Public Health and the Alabama Private Well Program at Auburn recommend testing a private well every year, preferably in spring, for coliform bacteria, and every few years for nitrate, pH, hardness, iron, manganese, lead and copper (Auburn's W1 Total Water Analysis covers the chemistry). Add radon in the Piedmont, arsenic in the Black Belt and coastal plain, chloride and sodium near the coast and in deep Black Belt wells, PFAS in the Tennessee Valley around Decatur and near airfields, and test again after flooding, well work or a change in taste, color or smell.
No statewide free program, but two cheap routes. Every county health department sells the Department of Public Health bacteria kit (total coliform and E. coli, a few dollars per sample, results in a few days from the Mobile or Prattville branch laboratory), and any county Extension office will take a sample for Auburn University's W1 Total Water Analysis for a small fee, with the county agent explaining the result. The Alabama Private Well Program at Auburn (888-844-4785) runs periodic free screening events.
Getting your water tested near Barbour County
Barbour County has no certified lab within 40 miles, so most owners here test by mail. Order bottles from a certified lab, sample from the cold tap before any treatment, and ship the same day with an ice pack.
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Licensed well contractors serving Barbour County
No licensed contractor lists Barbour County as a home base or service area yet. The finder below searches the whole state; most drillers travel several counties for a job.
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Well depth and water chemistry
Well depth and water chemistry in Barbour County follow the rock underneath it. Typical wells here run 100 to 400 ft in the sands of the Coastal Plain across the southern half of the state, deeper (300 to 800 ft) where the Black Belt's chalk has to be drilled through to reach the Eutaw and Gordo sands; 100 to 400 ft in the fractured granite, gneiss and schist of the east-central Piedmont, where yields are modest; 50 to 300 ft in the limestone, sandstone and shale of the Tennessee Valley, Cumberland Plateau and Valley and Ridge in north Alabama, where karst makes depth and yield unpredictable. Contaminants worth testing for in this part of Alabama include coliform bacteria (the most common failure statewide, worst in north alabama karst wells and shallow coastal plain wells), iron and manganese (coastal plain sands and the plateau, nearly universal).
Varies by location. Check the state well record search for logs of nearby wells.
- Coliform bacteria (the most common failure statewide
- Worst in north Alabama karst wells and shallow Coastal Plain wells)
- Iron and manganese (Coastal Plain sands and the Plateau
- Nearly universal)
- Acidic corrosive water that pulls lead and copper from plumbing (Piedmont and Coastal Plain sands)
- Hardness (limestone across north Alabama)
- Nitrate (shallow wells in the Wiregrass
- Sand Mountain poultry country and farm bottoms)
- Hydrogen sulfide (deeper Coastal Plain and Black Belt wells)
- Radon and uranium (Piedmont granite)
- Arsenic (locally in the Black Belt and coastal plain)
- Saltwater and chloride (Baldwin and Mobile counties near the coast
- Deep Black Belt wells)
- PFAS (Tennessee River corridor around Decatur and near airfields)
Neighboring counties: Henry County, Bullock County, Pike County, Dale County.
What well work costs in Barbour County
National ranges from published 2025 to 2026 contractor pricing. Local quotes vary with depth, access and materials.
Questions Barbour County well owners ask
How many homes in Barbour County are on a well?
About 761, or 7% of households, based on Census housing data and state well surveys. The share is highest outside the towns with public water.
Where is the closest certified lab to Barbour County?
There is no certified lab within 40 miles. Use a mail-in kit from a Alabama certified lab, or the county health department if it collects samples.
Do I need a permit to drill a well in Barbour County?
No statewide water test and no state permit for the owner. The Water Well Standards Act requires the well to be drilled by an ADEM-licensed water well driller to the 335-9 construction standards (grouted casing, sanitary seal, setbacks from septic tanks, drainfields and other contamination sources), and the driller must notify ADEM before drilling and file a well completion report afterward. The driller is required to disinfect the new well; a few county health departments ask for a bacteria sample before a well serves a new home, and lenders usually do.
What does a well test cost near Barbour County?
A bacteria and nitrate test runs $25 to $75 at most certified labs; a full panel with metals is $150 to $400. Mail-in kits cost about the same as walking in.