How to Test Well Water in Florida

By the Florida Water Management team · Sebring, FL

To test well water in Florida, collect a sample in a sterile bottle from a state-certified lab or your county health department and have it checked for coliform bacteria and nitrate at least once a year. The Florida Department of Health recommends that yearly test for every private well, plus lead about every three years. Then, if your water smells like rotten eggs, leaves orange stains or builds up white scale, add a second set of tests for hardness, iron, sulfur (hydrogen sulfide), pH and total dissolved solids so you know exactly which treatment your home needs.

Why testing well water is your job in Florida

If you live in town and pay a water bill, your utility tests the water and mails a yearly water quality report. A private well has no utility behind it. Florida has no rule that existing home wells be tested on a schedule, and the state does not require a well test when a house with a well is sold. Unless you test, no one does.

That matters because coliform bacteria and nitrate have no color, smell or taste, so clear, good-tasting water can still fail a lab test. Stains, smells and scale are the opposite: obvious every day, but hard to fix well until you know the numbers behind them.

So think of well testing in two parts:

1. Is it safe to drink? A certified lab answers this.
2. What’s causing the stains, smell or scale, and how much of it is there? A water treatment test answers this and points to the right system.

What to test well water for

You don’t need to test for every contaminant on the planet. Start with the list Florida health officials recommend, then add the tests that match what you see, smell and feel at the tap. The University of Florida’s extension guide on household water testing also suggests checking pH as part of the routine set.

Test	Why it matters	How often	Where to test
Total coliform / E. coli	Shows whether surface water or waste can reach your well. Should be absent.	Every year, and after floods or well work	State-certified lab or county health department
Nitrate	Comes from fertilizer, septic systems and livestock. A health concern for infants.	Every year	State-certified lab
Lead	Usually from older plumbing or fixtures, not the aquifer.	About every three years	State-certified lab
pH	Low pH can corrode pipes. High pH often goes with hard water.	Yearly with the routine set	Lab or treatment test
Hardness (calcium, magnesium)	Causes scale, spots and dry skin. Decides whether you need a softener.	Before buying treatment, then as needed	Treatment test or lab
Iron and manganese	Orange, brown or black stains and metallic taste.	Before buying treatment, or when stains appear	Treatment test or lab
Hydrogen sulfide (sulfur)	The rotten-egg smell. Must be measured on site because the gas escapes from a sample bottle.	When you notice the smell	On-site treatment test
Total dissolved solids (TDS)	A general measure of minerals and salts. Helps size reverse osmosis.	Before buying treatment	Treatment test or lab

Wells near groves, farmland, fuel tanks or industrial land may need pesticide, petroleum or PFAS tests. Your county health department can tell you what turns up most often around you.

Safety tests vs. treatment tests

This is where many homeowners get confused. A lab bacteria test tells you whether water is safe to drink today. It doesn’t tell you how hard the water is or how much iron is staining your tub. A treatment test does the reverse: it measures hardness, iron, sulfur, pH and TDS so equipment can be sized correctly, but it isn’t a substitute for a certified bacteria test. Most Florida well owners benefit from both.

How to test well water at home, step by step

Home test strips and kits are fine for a quick look at hardness, pH or iron. For bacteria and nitrate, results only count when they come from a state-certified lab, and the sample has to be collected the right way. A sloppy sample can show bacteria that came from your hands or the faucet instead of your well.

1. Get the right bottle. Call your county health department or a state-certified lab and ask for a well water sample kit. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection keeps a searchable list of certified labs. Bacteria tests need the lab’s sterile bottle; don’t reuse a household container.
2. Check the drop-off timing first. Bacteria samples must reach the lab quickly, usually within about a day. Collect early in the week and early in the day so the sample doesn’t sit over a weekend.
3. Pick a cold-water tap that’s used every day. A kitchen faucet works if you remove the aerator or screen. Avoid hoses, swivel faucets and taps after a softener or filter if you want to test the raw well water. (Test after the filter too if you want to see how well your system is working.)
4. Clean the faucet and run the water. Wipe the spout, then let cold water run for several minutes so you’re sampling water from the well, not water that sat in the pipes.
5. Fill without touching. Wash your hands, open the bottle right before filling, don’t touch the inside of the cap or the rim, and fill to the line marked on the bottle. Don’t rinse it out first; some bottles contain a small amount of preservative.
6. Label, chill and deliver. Label it, keep it cool (not frozen), and deliver it within the lab’s holding time.
7. Keep your results. File each report so you can compare year to year.

How often should you test well water?

The baseline is simple: bacteria and nitrate every year, lead about every three years. On top of that, test again whenever one of these happens:

• Flooding, a hurricane or standing water near the wellhead
• A new well, a new pump, or any repair where the well was opened
• A septic problem on your lot or a neighbor’s
• A sudden change in taste, smell, color or cloudiness
• Someone in the house gets a stomach illness you can’t explain
• You’re expecting a baby, or an infant will be drinking the water
• You’re buying or selling a home with a well (not required in Florida, but smart)

For treatment tests, check hardness, iron and sulfur before you buy equipment, then again if the water starts to change. A softener that worked fine for years may need its settings adjusted if your well water gets harder or carries more iron.

How to read your well water test results

Here’s what to look for first on a lab report.

Result	Common reference point	What it usually means
Total coliform	Absent / not detected	“Present” means the well can be reached by surface contamination. Stop drinking it untreated and call your county health department.
Nitrate	EPA limit 10 mg/L (as nitrogen)	Above the limit, don’t use it for infant formula. Reverse osmosis is a common fix for drinking water.
Hardness	Over 180 mg/L (about 10.5 grains per gallon) is “very hard”	Scale on fixtures and water heaters, spots on dishes. A softener is the usual answer.
Iron	EPA secondary guideline 0.3 mg/L	Above this, expect orange or brown staining and a metallic taste.
Manganese	EPA secondary guideline 0.05 mg/L	Black or dark brown stains.
pH	6.5 to 8.5	Low pH can eat at copper pipes (blue-green stains). It also affects how iron and sulfur treatment performs.
TDS	EPA secondary guideline 500 mg/L	High TDS can taste salty or flat. Reverse osmosis lowers it at the drinking tap.

Secondary guidelines cover taste, staining and scale, not health. Want more detail? See our guides on water hardness levels, total dissolved solids and coliform bacteria in water.

What to do after you get your results

If bacteria come back positive

Don’t panic, but don’t ignore it. Use bottled or boiled water for drinking and cooking until you have a clean retest. Call your county health department: they can explain the result and usually recommend disinfecting the well (often called shock chlorination), fixing any wellhead or casing problem, and then retesting. If bacteria keep coming back, a UV system gives continuous protection at the point where water enters the house. Learn more about UV water sterilization. Our article on boil orders also covers safe habits while you wait.

If nitrate is high

Find the source if you can (septic field, fertilizer, livestock nearby) and protect infants first. A reverse osmosis system at the kitchen sink is a common way to lower nitrate in drinking and cooking water. See reverse osmosis for well water for how it fits with other equipment.

If the problem is smell, stains or scale

This is the most common situation for wells in our area, and it usually takes more than one stage of treatment. Sulfur and iron are often removed first, then a softener handles hardness, and RO polishes drinking water. The order matters: iron can foul a softener or a UV lamp sleeve if it isn’t removed first. Our well water treatment page explains how a system is built from your test results. For specific problems, read how to remove sulfur from well water, how to remove iron from water and why well water turns brown. If hardness is the main issue, see water softening.

Well water testing in Highlands and Polk County

Most private wells around Sebring, Avon Park, Avon Park Lakes, Lake Placid, Frostproof, Lake Wales, Babson Park and Indian Lake Estates draw from the Floridan aquifer or the sandy surficial aquifer above it. That water passes through limestone, and the U.S. Geological Survey has measured Upper Floridan water in Highlands County at roughly 64 to 410 mg/L of hardness. On the scale used by the USGS, anything above 180 mg/L counts as very hard, so a lot of local wells land there.

Hardness is only part of the picture. Many wells in this part of the state also carry dissolved iron, which shows up as orange rings in toilets and rust-colored stains on driveways and walls from sprinklers. Others pick up hydrogen sulfide, the rotten-egg smell that’s often strongest in hot water or first thing in the morning. It’s common for one well to have all three, and the amounts can vary a lot from one property to the next, even on the same road.

Homes on city water in Sebring, Avon Park or Lake Wales get a yearly report from their utility. Homes on wells don’t, which is why a yearly lab test plus a treatment test before buying equipment is the practical routine here. Shallow wells in sandy soil, wells near septic fields, and wells in low spots that flood during summer storms deserve extra attention for bacteria and nitrate.

You can learn more about local water on our area pages for well water treatment in Lake Placid, water filtration in Sebring, water filtration in Avon Park and water softener installation in Frostproof.

Where a free in-home water test fits

A certified lab tells you whether the water is safe. Our free in-home water test focuses on the other question: what’s causing the hardness, stains or smell in your home, and what kind of system would solve it. Our team, including Scotty, will test at your tap, go over the results with you in plain language, and explain your options without pressure. If your lab report shows bacteria or nitrate, bring it along and we’ll factor it into the plan.

Frequently asked questions

How do I test my well water for bacteria at home?

Get a sterile sample bottle from your county health department or a state-certified lab, remove the faucet aerator, run cold water for several minutes, fill the bottle without touching the inside, keep it cool and deliver it within the lab’s holding time. Home bacteria kits can screen, but confirm any positive with a certified lab.

How often should you test well water?

Test for coliform bacteria and nitrate every year and for lead about every three years. Test again after flooding, well repairs, septic problems, or any change in taste, smell or color.

What should you test well water for in Florida?

Start with coliform bacteria, nitrate, lead and pH. If you notice smell, stains or scale, add hardness, iron, manganese, hydrogen sulfide and total dissolved solids. Wells near farms or industrial sites may need pesticide, petroleum or PFAS testing.

Can you test well water yourself?

Yes, for screening. Test strips and a TDS meter give a quick read on hardness, pH, iron and dissolved solids. For drinking safety (bacteria, nitrate, lead), use a state-certified lab, since those results are the ones you can rely on.

Can I get my well water tested for free?

Lab safety tests through county health departments and private labs generally carry a fee, so check with them directly. Florida Water Management offers a free in-home water test focused on treatment needs such as hardness, iron and sulfur.

Should I test my well water before buying a house?

Yes. Florida doesn’t require a well test when a home sells, but health officials recommend testing for coliform bacteria, nitrate and lead. A treatment test also tells you whether you’ll need a softener or iron and sulfur treatment.

Why does my well water smell like rotten eggs?

That smell is usually hydrogen sulfide gas, which is common in Central Florida wells. It can also come from a reaction inside a water heater. Because the gas escapes from sample bottles, it’s best measured at the tap. Read more in why water smells like sulfur.

Does a water softener fix bacteria or nitrate?

No. A softener removes hardness minerals. Bacteria are handled with well disinfection and UV treatment, and nitrate in drinking water is commonly reduced with reverse osmosis. That’s why testing comes first.