"Water testing" describes at least three different things that answer different questions and come from different providers. Choosing the wrong one is how people end up paying twice.
1. A bacteriological test — county health department
The question: is there coliform or E. coli in the water?
Who: your county health department. They supply the sample container, which matters more than it sounds — a container touched at the rim or a tap that was not sterilised produces false positives, and their instructions exist to prevent exactly that.
Check current fees with your county; they are typically modest.
We do not do this test, and if bacteria is your question we will point you here rather than take the job.
2. A certified laboratory panel — for a mortgage or a legal decision
The question: what does a document that a lender, court or agency will accept say about this water?
Who: a state-certified laboratory, with the sample collected and transported by a disinterested third party. For FHA and VA loans that requirement is explicit, and the results go to the lender rather than to you.
We cannot do this either, and no treatment company can. A business that would sell you equipment is the textbook interested party the rule excludes. The full requirements are here.
3. An in-home screening — us, free
The question: what is this water doing, and does it need treating?
What we read: hardness, pH, chlorine and total dissolved solids, at your tap, with the results explained while we are standing there.
What it is for: deciding whether equipment makes sense and what size. Those four numbers settle most treatment questions — hardness decides the softener question, pH decides whether the water is attacking your plumbing, chlorine decides which kind of carbon, and TDS gives context.
What it is not for: bacteria, legal decisions, or mortgages. It is a screen, not a laboratory, and we would rather say so plainly than let anyone assume otherwise.
Which one you need
| Your question | Go to |
|---|---|
| Is something making us ill? | County health department, and a doctor |
| Is there bacteria in the well? | County health department |
| A lender is asking for a test | State-certified lab, third-party collected |
| Something changed — taste, smell, colour | Start with us; escalate if it points at bacteria |
| Do I need a softener or filter, and what size? | Us |
| I bought a house and know nothing about the well | Health department for bacteria, then us for the rest |
How often, if nobody is asking
Roughly one in five Alabamians drinks from a private supply, and nobody tests it for them. The Alabama Department of Public Health puts the responsibility plainly on the owner.
The common recommendation is annually for bacteria, and more often if the well is shallow, if anything has been worked on, after flooding, or any time the water changes. In a highly permeable aquifer, the case for testing after heavy rain is stronger than it would be elsewhere.
Book the free in-home test, or read more about private wells in coastal Alabama.