Water Quality Report: Who Has to Provide One, and What a Private Well Owner Keeps

Who produces a water quality report

Who tests each kind of water is covered in water testing. This page is about the paper.

The Texas Well Owner Network (TWON) guide says public utilities and water companies "are required by federal and state law to report water chemistry to consumers" Source 1: Texas Well Owner Network, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Well Owner's Guide to Water Supply1. It says to "Contact the water utility for a copy of the water quality report" for "information about local water quality issues." It does not say a report describes any one well or name the law.

The University of Arizona guide says water utilities "must provide annual water quality reports" and "report any water quality problems to their customers" Source 2: University of Arizona Superfund Research Program, Well Owner's Guide2. Requirements vary by county. Your county health department has the final word on permits, inspections, and what is allowed on your property.

The two guides word delivery differently, and nothing here reconciles them, so the practical reading is to ask. Both call it a water quality report. EPA says monitoring results.

EPA's steps for asking a supplier about its monitoring

EPA wrote these suggestions for readers worried about secondary contaminants, the nuisance chemicals whose standards cover things like taste, color, and odor Source 3: U.S. EPA, Secondary Drinking Water Standards: Guidance for Nuisance Chemicals3. It asks for "monitoring results" and mentions a notice. These sources do not say whether either is the annual report.

1. Find your supplier. The bill should carry the supplier's name, address, and telephone number. With no bill, EPA says to "contact your landlord, building manager, or the local health department" Source 3: U.S. EPA, Secondary Drinking Water Standards: Guidance for Nuisance Chemicals3.
2. Ask about the monitoring. If you have not received notice from your supplier, EPA says to "ask how you can get a copy of the monitoring results" Source 3: U.S. EPA, Secondary Drinking Water Standards: Guidance for Nuisance Chemicals3.
3. Go to the state. If the supplier cannot give you what you need, EPA says to "contact your state drinking water program" and request "a copy of monitoring results that were submitted to the state by your supplier" Source 3: U.S. EPA, Secondary Drinking Water Standards: Guidance for Nuisance Chemicals3.

If a public notice arrives from your water system about other drinking water standards, EPA says to "read it carefully" and "follow any instructions closely" Source 3: U.S. EPA, Secondary Drinking Water Standards: Guidance for Nuisance Chemicals3.

EPA also says to ask which secondary contaminants are monitored. Federal regulations do not require state health agencies or public water systems to monitor and treat for them. EPA says they "often decide to" Source 3: U.S. EPA, Secondary Drinking Water Standards: Guidance for Nuisance Chemicals3.

EPA's page names one requirement for secondary standards: community water systems must give a special public notice when fluoride exceeds its secondary level but not its enforceable limit Source 3: U.S. EPA, Secondary Drinking Water Standards: Guidance for Nuisance Chemicals3. The two kinds of EPA standard are explained in what makes water potable.

Where a private well sits, and where the line moves

TWON says wells that supply community water systems "are regulated by state and federal law." Those systems could serve at least 15 residential service connections or 25 residents, year-round. Domestic wells below those numbers are "not required to comply with drinking water quality standards or reporting rules" Source 1: Texas Well Owner Network, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Well Owner's Guide to Water Supply1. TWON does not say what those reporting rules require. One household is far below either number.

Texas and Michigan class a shared well differently:

• Texas. TWON calls a shared well below the line a private domestic shared well, "exempt from regulation" Source 1: Texas Well Owner Network, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Well Owner's Guide to Water Supply1.
• Michigan. The state's well manual lists "two private homes sharing one well" among public water supplies. A system serving a single living unit is private Source 5: Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, Water Well Construction Manual5.

That manual is about how wells are built and permitted Source 5: Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, Water Well Construction Manual5. It does not say what any class must publish. Apart from the fluoride notice, none of these sources says what a small public system must report.

Your file: what a private well owner keeps

For a private well, Oklahoma State Extension (OSU) describes the owner's own water quality test reports. OSU says "annual water quality test reports are a critical component of responsible well maintenance." It is also "important for well owners to maintain copies" Source 4: Oklahoma State University Extension, Well Water Basics, BAE-15444. OSU calls this important and cites no legal requirement.

In Texas, "exempt" is a rules category for a household-use well. TWON says water quality information on exempt household wells is "not recorded or made available through any public agency unless the well owner has given permission" Source 1: Texas Well Owner Network, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Well Owner's Guide to Water Supply1.

If you think a private well "may be near a source of contamination or may have been contaminated," EPA says to "have your water tested by a certified laboratory" Source 3: U.S. EPA, Secondary Drinking Water Standards: Guidance for Nuisance Chemicals3. What to have tested and how often is in what to test your well water for.

Keep every lab result on file. To read one, see how to read your test results. For buyers, the Arizona guide recommends testing "prior to your taking ownership (and responsibility) for the well" Source 2: University of Arizona Superfund Research Program, Well Owner's Guide2.

Where this fits

Which test kit ends in a certified result? See well water test kits.