Maintaining your home well and regular water testing are important for ensuring a safe water supply.
Here you’ll find some useful information to help you learn more about taking care of your private well. In addition, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection has provided
this fact sheet for Private Well owners. Wells need regular maintenance just like your car does.
Click here for more information on caring for your home drinking water system. Arsenic is a naturally occurring contaminant found in well water throughout the watershed. For more information on arsenic in drinking water,
click here to visit our Arsenic Toolkit page.
Water is naturally filtered by the soil as it flows from the surface to the aquifers below us. It flows through fractures in the bedrock to our wells, supplying us with clean potable water. Contaminants, however may not always be removed before they reach your well. There are also naturally occurring contaminants such as arsenic and uranium that may be picked up by the water as it flows through the ground. Regular testing is important to identify contamination when it occurs. Below you’ll find information on common water pollutants including treatment options if they are detected in your well. Click on each one to learn more.
Coliform bacteria and E. coli
Nitrates
Arsenic- For more information and resources related to arsenic in drinking water, please visit our Arsenic Toolkit page.
Lead– For more information and resources related to lead in drinking water, please visit our Lead Toolkit page.
Gross Alpha (uranium and radium)
Radon (in Water)
Volatile Organic Compounds
Secondary Contaminants: Iron and Manganese, Hardness, Total Dissolved Solids, pH
In 2002, NJ adopted regulations requiring that private wells under transfer of ownership must be tested for select contaminants and the results be shared with the buyer of the property. Under the law, wells must be sampled by a third party, usually a laboratory employee or field sampler sent out to the property to collect the water from the tap. The Raritan Headwaters Well Testing Program cannot fulfill obligations for real estate transaction testing due to this requirement. When residents participate in our program, they draw the water themselves. For more information on The Private Well Testing Act,
click here. Data collected by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection from testing required by the Private Well Testing Act may be found at
this link.