Emergency Drinking Water Testing for Private Wells and Springs

Wells and springs should be tested for bacteria and nitrates/nitrites. Other tests may be needed if your well or spring has been affected by a fuel spill. 

Get a flood test kit:

• This kit includes a bacteria and a nitrate/nitrite test.

• You can get a kit mailed to you by calling the Vermont Department of Health Laboratory customer service line at 802-338-4724, or filling out the order form and mailing it. 

Return your water samples:

• Water testing is time sensitive and samples must be taken the same day you return them.

• You can drop them off at your Local Health Office Monday through Thursday within the drop-off time listed below. If the drop-off time is missed, your sample will not be able to be processed.

• You can also bring them directly to the Vermont Department of Health Lab in Colchester. 

• Most tests need to be returned cold; ice packs are provided with the kits.

For bacteria test results, you will see a result for both Total Coliform and E. coli. If either of those are detected, you have bacteria in your system. 

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For Nitrate and Nitrite results, your result will appear one of two ways. You may see Nitrate as N and Nitrate as N listed individually. If you see the “less than” symbol ( < ) on a line, that means nitrate or nitrite was not detected.

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Or you may see it listed as “Nitrate and Nitrite as NO3.”

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Your result is listed in the “Final Result” column. Use the chart in the next section “Steps to take next based on your results” to find out what to do next.

Wait until you get both water tests back. Then look at one of the charts below to understand how you should use your water and what next steps to take.

• Read the first chart if your test shows bacteria were detected in your water.

• Read the second chart if your test shows bacteria were not detected in your water.  

For example, if your bacteria test result shows bacteria were detected. And your test result for nitrate is below 5 and nitrite is below 1. Then you should use a safe water source or you can boil your water before you use it. Next, you should disinfect and retest in 2-3 days.  

If your test results show bacteria were detected:

If your test results show bacteria were not detected:

* Can you use it for drinking, cooking or other activities where water will get in your mouth?

If bacteria were detected, nitrate is above 10 mg/L OR nitrite is above 1 mg/L, do not use the water for making baby formula, drinking, cooking or other daily activities where water will get in your mouth like brushing teeth or making juice or ice. You may use the water for daily activities such as handwashing, flushing toilets, showering (taking extra care to ensure water isn’t swallowed), and doing laundry.

Flushing means turning on an outside spigot to remove any stagnant water. Let the water run for at least 30 minutes, but do not let your well or spring run dry. If cloudy, let the water run until clear. Learn more about disinfecting your well

If you need help understanding results, have a specific question about the integrity of your well or spring system, water quality, or other private drinking water inquiries, call the Private Drinking Water Program at 802-489-7338.

If your results say your sample was "warmer than the test method requirement but the sample was being cooled” your result is still accurate and reliable.

The test will show whether total coliform and E. coli bacteria are in your water (detected) or not present in your water (not detected).

If bacteria are detected:

Your result will show either Total Coliform or E. coli is "detected". 

Do not drink your water. You should continue to use a known safe source of water for drinking, cooking, making juice or ice, washing fruits and vegetables, brushing teeth, and preparing baby formula. You can still use the water for activities where the water doesn’t get in your mouth, such as handwashing, flushing toilets, showering (taking extra care to not to swallow water), doing laundry, and washing dishes. Dishes must be completely dry before you use them. Find out about treatment options.

If bacteria are not detected:

Wait until your nitrate/nitrite test confirms that the levels are within acceptable levels before drinking the water.

If your drinking water is contaminated with Total Coliform or E. coli:

1. Visually inspect your well and water system and make any repairs. Look for leaks, unmortared joints, loose caps, ripped screens in the well cap, etc. Try to find any continuous source of bacterial contamination in the area surrounding the well and remove it. Watch a video on What to Look for When Inspecting Your Well

2. Disinfect your well or spring once floodwaters have gone down. If you help disinfecting your water, contact a local well driller or water quality expert.

3. Retest your water 2-3 days after the smell of chlorine is gone. Call the Vermont Department of Health Laboratory at 802-338-4724 and order a free repeat bacteria test kit (Kit A). 

Before you disinfect your well

Make sure floodwaters have gone down

Get help if you need it

Contact a local well driller or water quality expert.

Get supplies

• Rubber gloves and eye protection
• Household liquid chlorine bleach that contains no scents or additives
• 5-gallon bucket
• Small brush
• Garden hose
• Measuring cup

Find out the depth and dimensions of your well

For drilled wells, most have an “ID” tag attached to the casing. This number can be used to search this database to find the depth of the well. If you do not know the depth of the well, and there is no well ID tag, contact the person or company who drilled your well or reach out to a local well driller.

For dug wells, you will need to know the volume of water stored in the well. If you don’t know the volume, for a cylindrical well, it can be found by finding the radius (distance from the center to the outer circle) and the depth and completing this calculation:

Volume in gallons = (Radius)² (in feet) x 3.1415 x depth (in feet) x 7.5

Do a visual inspection and make repairs

Look for and fix any sources of bacterial contamination around your well such as leaks, un-mortared joints, loose caps or ripped vent screens. 

Have enough water to last 3 to 5 days

Get water from a safe source.

OR

Boil water for one minute to use for drinking, cooking, washing food, brushing teeth, making ice or baby formula. Do not use boiled water if your test shows you have nitrates in your water. 

Flush your system

If the water looks cloudy or full of sediment, turn on an outside spigot and flush water until it begins to run clear. Be careful not to pump the well dry, which could damage it. Flushing may take between 30 minutes or multiple hours before water quality improves depending on the size of the well and the extent of contamination. 

Step-by-step guide to disinfecting your well

If bacteria were detected in your water, or you suspect bacteria are in your water due to flooding, follow these steps to disinfect your well.

Add chlorine bleach directly to your well. Chlorinated water will travel throughout the plumbing and faucets in your home.

1. Disconnect or bypass any water treatment devices, like water softeners or reverse osmosis units, since bleach can damage them. You will need to disinfect these devices separately according to manufacturer’s instructions. 

2. Wear rubber gloves and eye protection whenever you are working with bleach.

3. Keep children and pets away from the area, especially from bleach and chlorinated water. Turn off power to the pump.

4. Remove the well cap. Carefully inspect and fix any exposed wires. You can turn power to the pump back on, but do not get the wires wet.

5. Mix 1 cup of bleach with a half-gallon of water in the bucket. Use this water to clean the well cap and sides of a dug well using the scrub brush. Discard the water away from your septic system and any streams. 

6. Calculate the amount of bleach needed by using the chlorine calculator or use ½ cup of bleach for every 10 feet of depth for a standard 6-inch diameter drilled well or for dug wells, use 1 cup of bleach per 30 gallons of water storage. Carefully pour the bleach into the well.

7. Use the garden hose to run water into the well to mix and circulate the bleach. Run the water along the well casing or sides of the dug well. Do this for at least 15 minutes and up to 1 hour.

8. Reseal the well and (if applicable) install a new gasket if it is brittle or missing.

9. Go to the faucet inside your home that is farthest from the well and run the cold water until you smell bleach. Turn the tap off, then do the same with the hot water. Repeat this step for all faucets, shower and baths, toilets, and outside spigots. Remove any screens on your faucets as they can become clogged by debris dislodged during the disinfection process.

10. Check the manufacturer’s instructions before running the chlorinated water into your clothes washer, dishwasher or refrigerator water filtration system.

11. Leave the chlorinated water in the plumbing for eight to 12 hours to give the chlorine time to disinfect your system.

12. After eight to twelve hours, flush the system until you no longer smell bleach. Start with an outside spigot. Connect a garden hose so it drains onto a gravel driveway or brushy area. Flushing large volumes of chlorinated water into your septic system may damage it. You may want to run the water at less than full flow or turn the tap off periodically to allow the well to recharge so it does not run dry.

13. Flush the taps inside your home by running both the hot and cold faucets until you no longer smell bleach.

14. Remove, clean, then replace any screens on your faucets as they can become clogged by debris dislodged during the disinfection process.

15. Retest your water two to three days after the chlorine smell is gone. Order the bacteria test (Kit A) from the Health Department Lab.

16. Continue to get water from a safe source or boil your water (only if other contaminants, such as nitrate, are not too high), until no bacteria is detected.

Before you disinfect your spring

Get help if you need it

Contact a local well driller or water quality expert.

Take caution

Do not disinfect of the spring box if the spring overflow (the water that does not go to your house) reaches a stream, pond, or wetland area. Chlorinated water may kill fish and damage the environment. If the spring box overflows from flooding, wait for the water level to go down before shocking. 

Get supplies

• Rubber gloves and eye protection
• Household liquid chlorine bleach that contains no scents or additives
• Fast-dissolving 65-70% calcium hypochlorite pellets with no algaecides, chlorine stabilizers/conditioners, acids, or other disinfectants (available at pool supply or hardware stores)
• 5-gallon bucket
• Small brush
• Garden hose
• Measuring cup

Do a visual inspection and make repairs

Look for and fix any sources of bacterial contamination in and around your spring such as visible cracks, blockages at the inlet or outlet, debris inside the spring box, or loose caps or fittings. 

Have enough water to last 3 to 5 days

Get water from a safe source.

OR

Boil water for one minute to use for drinking, cooking, washing food, brushing teeth, making ice or baby formula. Do not use boiled water if your test shows you have nitrates in your water. 

Flush your system

If the water looks cloudy or full of sediment, turn on an outside spigot and flush water until it begins to run clear. Be careful not to pump the spring dry, which could damage it. Flushing may take between 30 minutes or multiple hours before water quality improves depending on the size of the spring and the extent of contamination. 

Step-by-step guide to disinfecting your spring

Follow these steps to disinfect your spring if bacteria were detected in your water, your spring system was repaired, or if the system was flooded or contaminated.

You will add calcium hypochlorite pellets and chlorine directly to your spring. Chlorinated water will then travel throughout the plumbing and faucets in your home.

1. Disconnect or bypass any water treatment devices, like water softeners or reverse osmosis units, since bleach can damage them. You will need to disinfect these devices separately according to manufacturer’s instructions.

2. Wear rubber gloves and eye protection whenever you are working with bleach.

3. Keep children and pets away from the area, especially from bleach and chlorinated water. If pump-operated, turn off power to the pump.

4. Calculate the amount of disinfectant you need for your spring.

   • Use fast-dissolving 65-70% calcium hypochlorite solid pellets.

   • Estimate the volume of water in the spring box – you will need 3 ounces of pellets for every 100 gallons of water.

   • For many spring boxes, two feet in depth is about 100 gallons of water.

5. Flush and drain the spring box and remove debris and sediment. Scrub the interior of the spring box with a strong chlorine solution (1/2 cup of plain, unscented, liquid laundry bleach mixed in 5 gallons of water.

6. Allow the spring box to fill with fresh water. Add 3 ounces (85 grams) of fast-dissolving calcium hypochlorite pellets (with no additives) for every 100 gallons of water in the spring. Keep the overflow outlet open.

7. Go to the faucet inside your home that is farthest from the spring and run the cold water until you smell bleach. Turn the tap off, then do the same with the hot water. Repeat this step for all faucets, shower and baths, toilets, and outside spigots. Remove any screens on your faucets as they can become clogged by debris dislodged during the disinfection process.

8. Leave the chlorinated water in the plumbing for eight to 12 hours to give the chlorine time to disinfect your system. If the flow rate is too high to keep the chlorine solution in the system for the required time, use a tank to feed the chlorine solution into the spring box continuously for at least eight hours.

9. After 8 to 12 hours, flush the system until you no longer smell bleach. Start with an outside spigot. Connect a garden hose so it drains onto a gravel driveway or brushy area away from your septic system and any streams. Flushing large volumes of chlorinated water into your septic system may damage it. You may want to run the water at less than full flow or turn the tap off periodically to allow the spring to recharge so it does not run dry.

10. Flush the taps inside your home by running both the hot and cold faucets until you no longer smell bleach. 

11. Remove, clean, then replace any screens on your faucets as they can become clogged by debris dislodged during the disinfection process.

12. Retest your water two to three days after the chlorine smell is gone. Order the bacteria test (Kit A) from the Health Department Lab. You may want to test again 2 to 4 weeks later to make sure that bacteria are not continuing to enter the spring.

13. Continue to get water from a safe source or boil your water (only if other contaminants, such as nitrate, are not too high), until no bacteria are detected.

Until your water doesn't have bacteria and has a safe level of nitrate and nitrite:

Get your water from a known safe source. 

• Fill food-safe containers with water from a known safe source, like the town library, town hall, fire department, school, church or town office.
• Buy bottled water.
• Buy water from a bulk water hauler and fill up a water tank. Find a list of bulk water haulers or search the internet for "bulk water haulers Vermont."

Visit Vermont211.org for an updated list of flood resource centers and shelters.

If getting water is not possible,

Boil your water for one minute to kill bacteria and other microorganisms that may be in the water.

Boiling water may concentrate some common flood contaminants, like nitrates. These are especially harmful to young children. Do not use boiled water for preparing baby formula. 

Do not boil your water if you smell or see signs of chemicals in your water, think there was a nearby fuel or chemical spill, see that the water is cloudy or full of sediments.

If you see a less than (<) symbol on your result for nitrates or nitrites, they were not detected.

The drinking water standard for nitrates in water is 10.0 mg/L and nitrites is 1.0 mg/L.

• If your final result for nitrate is greater than 10.0 mg/L, do not drink your water. You should flush your well and retest your water after flushing.

• If your final result for nitrate is greater than 5.0 mg/L but less than 10.0 mg/L, the level is getting close to the value that is unsafe for babies under six months old to drink (10 mg/L). If there are babies under 6 months old that consume the water, you should consider flushing and retesting your water retesting ensure the concentration does not increase.

• If your final result for nitrite is more than 1.0 mg/L, do not drink your water. You should flush your well and retest your water after flushing.

If your water results are higher than the limits listed above, do not use the water for activities where water will get in your mouth, like drinking, cooking, making baby formula, washing fruits and vegetables, or making juice or ice. You may use the water for activities where water won’t go in your mouth like handwashing, flushing toilets, showering (taking extra care to not to swallow water), and doing laundry.

The nitrate/nitrite contamination may be coming from flood impacts near your water supply. Additional sources of nitrate include runoff from farm fields, manure piles, septic systems, or compost piles. Consider addressing these sources as well.

If your drinking water is contaminated with nitrate and/or nitrite:

1. Visually inspect your well and water system and make any repairs. Look for leaks, unmortared joints, loose caps, ripped screens in the well cap, etc. Try to find any continuous source of nitrate contamination in the area (compost piles, fertilizer) surrounding the well and remove it.

2. Flush your well or spring system once floodwaters have gone down. Flushing your water involves turning on an outside spigot to remove any stagnant water. Let the water run for at least 30 minutes. If cloudy, let the water run until clear. Flushing the system may help lower the concentration of nitrate/nitrite but may not remove them entirely.  

3. Retest your water for:

• Nitrate (if result > 5.0 mg/L)
• Nitrite (if result > 1.0 mg/L)

Call the Vermont Department of Health Laboratory at 802-338-4724 to order free repeat nitrate/nitrite test kits. 

Read more about nitrates and nitrites in drinking water including health concerns, sources, and permanent treatment options for nitrates and nitrites.

If your nitrate result is greater than 10.0 mg/L or your nitrate result greater than 1.0 mg/L, do not drink your water.

Do NOT boil the water if your nitrate result is greater than 5.0 mg/L or your nitrite result greater than greater than 1.0 mg/L. Boiling water with nitrates/nitrites will not remove the contaminants and will concentrate them. 

Get water from a known safe source:

• Fill food-safe containers with water from a known safe source, like the town library, town hall, fire department, school, church or town office.
• Buy bottled water.
• Buy water from a bulk water hauler and fill up a water tank. Find a list of bulk water haulers or search the internet for "bulk water haulers Vermont."

Visit Vermont211.org for an updated list of flood resource centers and shelters.

If your water continues to show bacteria detected in your water and/or results above drinking water standards for nitrate (10.0 mg/L) and nitrite (1.0 mg/L) after a second or third repeat test: 

• Consider getting the well professionally inspected by a well contractor. They can clean the well or run a camera down to find cracks or other issues. This is generally recommended every 10 years.

• Consider permanent treatment for your water supply. Make sure any treatment device is certified by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF). The Health Department recommends contacting a water treatment specialist to get the most up-to-date treatment information and estimates. It is usually a good idea to get estimates and treatment recommendations from more than one water treatment specialist before you make your decision. Once the system is installed, you will need to maintain it. Be sure to ask for maintenance cost estimates, too. 

• Until testing confirms that both total coliform and E. coli are “not detected” and nitrate is within drinking water standards, continue to use water from a known safe source. 

Insurance

If you have homeowners or flood insurance, contacting your insurance carrier is an important early step. The Department of Financial Regulation has insurance resources for people affected by floods. 

If you are a landlord, the Vermont Rental Housing Health Code requires you to provide potable water to your tenants.

Underinsured or uninsured

Financial assistance for homeowners to repair underinsured, or uninsured home damage caused by the disaster may be available to you. The assistance is intended to repair the home to a safe, sanitary, and functioning living condition. This may include funds to repair a well or spring system used for drinking water that was damaged by a flood. To file a claim and for detailed information, visit www.disasterassistance.gov or call 1-800-621-3362.  

We also encourage you to report damage to your well or spring system by filling out the Vermont 211 flood damage form for residents, or for business owners.