Henry Well Co
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Missouri county well guide
Well Water in Worth County, MO: Testing, Contractors and Rules
About 55 households in Worth County, 7% of the county, rely on a private well. Nobody tests that water unless the owner does.
of households on a private well
Share on wells, county vs state
1licensed contractors serve the county
40+ mito a certified lab; mail-in kits recommended
Nostatewide test required when a home is sold
Roughly 7% of Worth County households, about 55, get their water from a private well rather than a utility. They are concentrated in the rural parts of the county, and they are on their own for testing.
Local rules for wells in Worth County
Private wells in Worth County follow Missouri's statewide rules, administered by Missouri Geological Survey, Well Installation Section, in the Department of Natural Resources. A water test is required when a new well is completed. There is no statewide test requirement when a home is sold, though lenders often ask for one. The cards below show the details and the official sources.
At a glance
Water test for a new wellRequired
No permit for the owner, but the well must be built by a Missouri permitted well installation contractor to the 10 CSR 23-3 standards for its drilling area (Missouri has 13 drilling areas with different minimum casing depths, grouted casing, 50 ft from a septic tank and 100 ft from a lagoon or drainfield), and the contractor must disinfect the well, take a water sample for bacteria after construction and file a well certification report with the Missouri Geological Survey within 60 days. The State Public Health Laboratory's New Well Series (pH, fluoride, chloride, nitrate, sulfate, iron, manganese and lead) is the usual chemistry check on a new well.
Water test when a home is soldNot required statewide
No statewide requirement. The Missouri seller's disclosure asks only whether the water supply is a private well and whether the seller knows of problems. FHA, VA and USDA loans normally require a bacteria, nitrate and lead sample from a certified lab before closing.
What the state recommends
The Department of Health and Senior Services recommends testing a private well every year for coliform bacteria, and every few years for nitrate, pH, hardness, iron, manganese, lead and copper (the State Public Health Laboratory's minerals, nutrients and metals panel covers all of these plus arsenic and uranium). Add radon and radium in the Ozarks, lead and cadmium in the Old Lead Belt and Viburnum Trend mining districts, sulfate and chloride in deep northern wells, pesticides in shallow Bootheel wells, and test again after flooding, well work or a change in taste, color or smell. Karst wells and springs in the Ozarks should be retested after heavy rain.
Free or low-cost testingAvailable
No free program, but the cheapest state lab in the country: the State Public Health Laboratory tests a private well or cistern sample for total coliform and E. coli for a $10 handling fee. Pick up the kit from your local public health agency or district health office, collect the sample and hand it back for the lab's free statewide overnight courier. Chemistry panels cost more and are ordered through the same agency or the Bureau of Environmental Epidemiology (573-751-6102).
Getting your water tested near Worth County
No state-certified lab sits within 40 miles of the center of Worth County. That is common in rural Missouri, and the practical answer is a mail-in kit: the lab ships bottles, you sample at the kitchen tap and ship them back cold. The finder below widens the search to the whole state.
No listings yet for this area. Try widening your search.
Licensed well contractors serving Worth County
1 licensed contractor serve Worth County, including Henry Well Co. Each profile carries the state license number and the date we checked it, and the filters below sort them by drilling, pump work or treatment.
1 licensed contractors
Well depth and water chemistry
Wells in Worth County typically reach 300 to 800 ft in the Ozark dolomite of southern and central Missouri, the deepest domestic wells in the Midwest; 400 to 700 ft around St. Louis and in the counties along the Missouri River; 100 to 300 ft on the Springfield Plateau; 30 to 100 ft in the glacial till of northern Missouri, where yields are small and water is poor enough that most homes are on rural water districts; 60 to 200 ft in the alluvium of the Bootheel and the Missouri River bottoms. What comes up with the water depends on the aquifer, and across Missouri the usual suspects are coliform bacteria (the most common failure statewide, worst in ozark karst wells and springs after rain), nitrate (shallow wells in farm country, the bootheel and northern missouri). A first full panel tells you which of them apply to your well.
Typical well depth
Varies by location. Check the state well record search for logs of nearby wells.
Contaminants to test for
- Coliform bacteria (the most common failure statewide
- Worst in Ozark karst wells and springs after rain)
- Nitrate (shallow wells in farm country
- The Bootheel and northern Missouri)
- Hardness (dolomite across the Ozarks)
- Iron and manganese (glacial till
- Alluvium and Bootheel sands)
- Radon and radium (locally in the Ozark aquifer)
- Lead
- Cadmium and zinc (Old Lead Belt
- Viburnum Trend and Tri-State mining districts)
- Sulfate
- Chloride and sodium (deep bedrock wells in northern and western Missouri)
- Arsenic (locally)
- Pesticides (shallow Bootheel and river-bottom wells)
- PFAS near airfields and industrial sites
Neighboring counties: Gentry County, Nodaway County, Harrison County, Andrew County.
What well work costs in Worth County
Basic bacteria and nitrate test$25 to $75lab fee, homeowner sample
Full panel lab test$150 to $400metals, VOCs, radiologicals
Well inspection$250 to $550flow, pressure, visual, water test
Submersible pump replacement$1,200 to $4,500parts and labor
Pressure tank replacement$400 to $1,200installed
Whole-house treatment system$800 to $6,000softener, iron filter, UV, RO
New well drilled$5,500 to $25,000about $25 to $65 per foot
Shock chlorination$80 to $300or about $20 as a DIY job
National ranges from published 2025 to 2026 contractor pricing. Local quotes vary with depth, access and materials.
Questions Worth County well owners ask
How many homes in Worth County are on a well?
About 55, 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 Worth County?
There is no certified lab within 40 miles. Use a mail-in kit from a Missouri certified lab, or the county health department if it collects samples.
Do I need a permit to drill a well in Worth County?
No permit for the owner, but the well must be built by a Missouri permitted well installation contractor to the 10 CSR 23-3 standards for its drilling area (Missouri has 13 drilling areas with different minimum casing depths, grouted casing, 50 ft from a septic tank and 100 ft from a lagoon or drainfield), and the contractor must disinfect the well, take a water sample for bacteria after construction and file a well certification report with the Missouri Geological Survey within 60 days. The State Public Health Laboratory's New Well Series (pH, fluoride, chloride, nitrate, sulfate, iron, manganese and lead) is the usual chemistry check on a new well.
What does a well test cost near Worth 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.