If you aren't sure your house is on a well at all, our guide on finding your Bucks County water or sewer provider shows how to check.
Step 1: The county bacteria kit
Kits are sold weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the county's health offices, and you can pay by cash, check or card. The county's sample procedure says the state DEP lab in Harrisburg runs the test for coliform and mails the results to you. It is not a chemical test.
Drop-off hours are much tighter than the hours for buying a kit, so plan around them:
- Doylestown (Neshaminy Manor, 1282 Almshouse Road): Monday through Thursday, before 2 p.m.
- Quakertown (261 California Road, Suite 2): Tuesday and Thursday, before 1:15 p.m.
- No drop-offs on Fridays or in the two days before a holiday. Take the sample the same morning you deliver it.
Call ahead to confirm, since the procedure sheet was last revised in December 2023. Doylestown is 215-345-3336 and Quakertown is 215-529-7000.
How to collect it without spoiling the result
Germs from your hands or the faucet can end up in the bottle, so follow the county's steps closely:
- Use an indoor cold-water faucet that doesn't leak, and take the aerator (the screen at the tip) off first.
- Run the cold water for 5 minutes, then turn it down to a stream about a quarter inch wide.
- Don't rinse the bottle, don't touch the inside of the bottle or cap, and don't fill past the line.
- Fill out the form that comes with the kit and bring it with the bottle.
The procedure sheet also describes a faucet-cleaning step. Ask the staff how they want the faucet prepared when you buy the kit.
Step 2: The lab tests the county kit skips
For nitrate, total dissolved solids and pH, use a lab certified by Pennsylvania DEP. The county posts a list of accredited drinking water labs, updated in June 2026. Several are close by, in Telford, Bensalem and Horsham, and others are in Reading, Bath and Bryn Mawr. Prices and test menus vary, so call two of them and ask:
- Is your certification current for each test I'm ordering?
- Do you supply the bottles, and do I collect the sample or do you?
- What does the total price include, and how long do results take?
Ask about extra tests when there's a reason for them. CDC lists volatile organic compounds, lead, arsenic, mercury, radium and pesticides as tests to discuss with your health department. Nitrate in well water often traces back to septic systems or fertilizer, so a well near a drain field or farmed land is worth a closer look. Old pipes matter too: our guide to replacing galvanized water pipes covers what to ask when lead or corrosion is a concern.
When not to wait a full year
CDC recommends testing again, outside the yearly schedule, after any of these:
- Flooding or nearby land disturbance, such as construction or a new septic system.
- Any repair or part replacement on the well.
- A change in the water's taste, color or smell.
- Someone in the house becoming pregnant, or a baby or child moving in.
Reading the results
Total coliform is a warning sign that germs have a way into the water. E. coli or fecal coliform means it's likely contaminated with sewage or animal waste. Very low or high pH can corrode pipes and pull lead into the water. The county will help you interpret lab results, so call them before you buy any treatment.
If a result fails, EPA says to retest right away and contact the health department. In the meantime, CDC says to use bottled water or another safe source for drinking. If the problem is germs and you have no safe source, boil your water. If it's a chemical, boiling won't remove it, and CDC says not to use the water for anything until you get advice. No single filter fixes every problem. Buy a system rated for the specific contaminant you found, and retest after it's installed.
Keeping the well protected
EPA recommends a sealed well cap and ground that slopes away from the wellhead so surface water can't pool there. The same rule applies around the house, and our guide on how ground should slope away from a house shows how to check it. For a new well or any change to the well itself, Bucks County's Residential Well Inspection Program (215-345-3318) sets the standards and requires a licensed well contractor. Keep every lab report with its date so you can spot changes from year to year.