Private well guide

Well Water in New York: Testing, Rules, Labs and Licensed Contractors

999,772 households in New York 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
488Licensed contractorschecked against state records
45Certified labsfrom the state certified list
56Counties covered
999,772Households on wells25% of households (est.)

About a million New York households outside the five boroughs draw their water from a private well, from Long Island’s glacial aquifer to the bedrock of the Adirondacks and the Southern Tier. The state registers the people who drill and keeps the record of every well, but the testing is left almost entirely to the owner.

Two agencies and your county health department

New York splits well oversight three ways. The Department of Environmental Conservation registers water well contractors (the registration number starts with NYRD), requires a preliminary notice before drilling starts, and files the well completion report the driller must send within 30 days. The Department of Health writes the construction standard, Appendix 5-B, that every new residential well must meet, and runs the ELAP program that certifies the labs allowed to test drinking water. Your county health department applies both: in most upstate counties that means a construction permit and an inspection, and in the lower Hudson Valley and on Long Island it usually means a required water test before the well can be used.

What is required, and what is left to you

Every well drilled since 2000 must be built by a DEC-registered contractor and reported, and Appendix 5-B requires the driller to disinfect it before handing it over. Beyond that, the state does not test private well water and does not require a test at sale. The Department of Health’s advice is to test a new well before you drink from it, for coliform bacteria, nitrate and nitrite, arsenic, lead, iron, manganese, sodium, hardness, pH and turbidity, then repeat the bacteria test every year. Some counties put that advice into their sanitary code and will not sign off on a new well without a passing sample.

At a glance

Water test for a new wellNot required statewide

No single statewide rule. The driller must be DEC-registered, file a preliminary notice before drilling, disinfect the finished well under NYSDOH Appendix 5-B, and send a well completion report to DEC and to you within 30 days. NYSDOH says a new well should be tested before use for coliform bacteria, nitrate, nitrite, arsenic, lead, iron, manganese, sodium, hardness, pH and turbidity. Many county health departments (Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, Suffolk and others) require a permit and a passing water test before a new well can be used.

Water test when a home is soldNot required statewide

No statewide requirement. A few counties and towns require a well test or well inspection when a property changes hands, and FHA, VA and USDA loans usually ask for a bacteria and nitrate test. Check with the county health department.

What the state recommends

NYSDOH recommends a coliform bacteria test every year, plus a first-time panel of nitrate, nitrite, arsenic, lead, iron, manganese, sodium, sulfate, hardness, pH, alkalinity and turbidity, then periodic re-testing of whatever showed up. Add radon, uranium, methane or PFAS where they are known in your area.

Free or low-cost testingAvailable

No statewide free program. Several county health departments run their own ELAP-certified labs and sell low-cost bacteria and nitrate tests (Erie, Monroe, Suffolk, Nassau, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Allegany). Others keep a list of local certified labs.

What the water is like

The geology changes fast in New York, and so does the water. Limestone and dolomite across the Mohawk Valley and western counties mean hard water and sometimes sulfur. Shale in the Southern Tier brings iron, manganese, methane and, in places, radon and uranium. Arsenic turns up in parts of central and western New York where glacial deposits sit on certain bedrock. Road salt has pushed sodium and chloride into shallow wells along busy roads for decades. Long Island wells draw from a sandy aquifer that is soft but vulnerable to nitrate and to the industrial solvents and PFAS that county labs now screen for. The lesson is the same everywhere: one broad first test, then a yearly bacteria check, tells you which of these applies to your well.

ELAP-certified labs, including county labs

Only a lab accredited by the NYSDOH Environmental Laboratory Approval Program for potable water may report results a health department will accept. Seven county health departments run their own accredited labs and sell bacteria and nitrate tests at cost, which is the cheapest route for a yearly check; commercial labs cover the full panel. The list below shows each lab’s accredited analytes, and whether it is a county lab or a commercial one.

45 certified labs

See all 45 certified labs in New York

DEC-registered well contractors

A New York water well contractor must hold a DEC registration to drill, deepen, hydrofracture or decommission a well, or to install or service a pump. The profiles below come from the DEC contractor search and show each registrant’s number and the activities DEC lists for them, including out-of-state drillers registered to work in New York. DEC registration is annual, so ask to see the current card before work starts.

488 licensed contractors

See all 488 licensed contractors in New York

By county

Well use runs from under 5% of homes in Westchester and Schenectady to three quarters in Putnam and close to half in Dutchess, Hamilton and Oneida. Each county page carries its well population, the nearest certified labs and the registered contractors based there.

New York well water questions

Do I need a permit to drill a well in New York?

Not from the state, but from your county health department in most counties, and the driller must be DEC-registered and file a preliminary notice with DEC before drilling. Some towns add a building permit for the well and pump.

Is a water test required when I sell my house?

No statewide test is required. Some counties and towns require one, and government-backed mortgages usually ask for a bacteria and nitrate test, so most sales include one anyway.

How do I find the record for my well?

Search the DEC Water Well Information Search or DECinfo Locator by address or town. Completion reports filed since 2000 show the depth, casing, yield and the driller. Older wells often have no record.

Which lab should I use?

Any lab on the ELAP list for potable water. If your county health department runs a lab, start there for bacteria and nitrate; for a full first-time panel, arsenic, lead, radon or PFAS, use one of the commercial labs listed below.