Private Water Testing: Keep Your Drinking Water Safe
Clean water is essential for your health—and we’re here to help you make sure yours is safe. The Missouri State Public Health Laboratories (MSPHL) tests about 7,000 private water samples every year for harmful bacteria. If you have a private well or other drinking water source, you can submit a sample through our office for testing.
What We Test For
Bacteriological testing checks for:
- Coliform bacteria – Common in soil, plants, and surface water. Most are harmless, but their presence in drinking water means contamination has occurred.
- E. coli – Found only in humans and warm-blooded animals. If detected, your water has been contaminated with human or animal waste.
Chemical testing options:
- Minerals, Nutrients, Metals (MNM). These bacteria aren’t harmful, but they can cause unpleasant taste, odor, and reddish-brown slime that clogs pipes and pumps. It will analyze drinking water for the following metals: aluminum, antimony, arsenic, barium, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, lithium, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, selenium, strontium, thallium, thorium, tin, titanium, uranium, vanadium, and zinc.
- EPA Metals testing checks for aluminum, antimony, arsenic, barium, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, selenium, thallium, thorium, uranium, vanadium, and zinc. This testing is available by special request.
- New Well Series is a testing that will return an analysis for the following metals: iron, lead, and manganese.
Note: Tests show presence or absence of bacteria, not the exact amount.
Why It Matters
Contaminated water can lead to serious illness. If harmful bacteria are found, we’ll provide guidance to help you resolve the problem and make your water safe again.
How Sampling Works
- Pick up a sampling kit at our office during business hours
- Or schedule an on-site visit with our environmentalist (at no extra cost)
Bacteriological Sample:
Tests for Coliform and E. coli – $10 per kit if you collect the sample yourself.
Chemical Sample:
Recommended for new wells and every 5–7 years. Must be collected by our environmentalist and is not available for purchase.
Protect your family’s health—contact us today to schedule water testing or pick up a kit!