Local Government as Well Partners

Local governments are important partners in ensuring residents in their area with private wells have safe drinking water. Key ways local governments can help protect private wells users’ health include:

• Share private well educational materials and resources.
• Partner to prompt private well testing.
• Make well testing easier to access.
• Pass ordinances that require well testing in rental properties and/or at property transfer.

Share private well educational materials and resources

Link to, promote, and share private well educational materials and messages with other community partners.

Webpages

• Well Testing, Results, and Options: A good starting spot to walk through how to test, understand well test results, and what next steps could be.
• Water Quality and Testing: This page links to information on specific contaminants.

Order and share free brochures

Currently two brochures are available for order in English and Spanish (Somali and Hmong will be available soon). These brochures are free and MDH will ship them to you.

• Order Well Management Program Educational Materials
• Owner’s Guide to Wells: Well owner’s responsibilities for testing, inspecting, protecting, and sealing (PDF)
• Well Water and Your Baby: Testing well water when there is a baby in the home

Educational courses or trainings

• The Private Well Class: This organization (run by the University of Illinois) hosts webinars and many educational materials and resources about private wells that are helpful for both partners working with private well users and private well owners and users.

Share private well videos

These MDH videos are brief tutorials on key aspects of owning and caring for a private well.

• How to Inspect Your Private Well
• How to Protect Your Well from Flooding
• How to Seal an Unused Well
• How to Test Your Well Water
• Tap In - Safe Drinking Water for Private Well Users: The Tap-In Initiative in southeast Minnesota created this video on how people can test, protect, and maintain their private well.

Partner to prompt private well testing

Encourage residents to test their private well water on a regular basis for common contaminants: coliform bacteria, nitrate, arsenic, lead, and manganese. Testing is easy, costs around $150, and there may be low-cost mitigation options if contaminants are found above health-based values. In a 2016 survey of Minnesota private well owners, respondents shared what would be a “very important” prompt for testing. The table below shows those responses and ideas for partnership to prompt well testing.

• More information on the 2016 survey of private well users in Minnesota: Private Well Protection Household Survey (state.mn.us)

Guidance for testing

• Well Testing, Results, and Options
• Accredited Labs in Minnesota Accepting Drinking Water Samples from Private Well Users (PDF)
• Financial Assistance for Home Water Treatment and Well Construction, Repair, and Sealing - MN Dept. of Health (state.mn.us)

Make well testing easier to access

There are several ways you can make well testing easier to access.

Host well screening clinics

Work with a non-profit or local government entity to host a well screening clinic in your area. Water screening gives a good estimate of a contaminant, usually nitrate and/or chloride, in well water quickly. While these results can start the discussion about having well water tested at an accredited laboratory, they are not a substitute for an exact analysis. Your local Soil and Water Conservation District may have access to screening equipment. Currently quick screening test for arsenic, lead, and manganese are not widely available.

Set up pick-up/drop-off sites for private well test kits

Some accredited water testing laboratories may be open to setting up test kit pick-up and drop-off sites to reduce travel time for patrons. Connect with a laboratory near you to see if this option would be available.

• Accredited Labs in Minnesota Accepting Drinking Water Samples from Private Well Users (PDF)

Some Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) and Watershed Districts may be able to serve as a pick-up and drop off point for well testing kits. Other ideas include libraries, government buildings, nonprofits. SWCDs and Watershed Districts provide natural resource related services at a county and watershed scale. They have direct relationships with landowners, many of whom are likely private well owners.

Get accredited to test for coliform bacteria and nitrate

The Minnesota Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (MNELAP) has a program that allows smaller laboratories in the state to become certified to test for contaminants, such as coliform bacteria and nitrate. Through this process a lab will be listed on the state database as an accredited lab and can accept samples from well contractors and private well users.

• Accreditation Requirements for Laboratories in Minnesota (MNELAP) - MN Dept. of Health (state.mn.us)

Pass ordinances for private well testing

Local ordinances about well testing in rental properties and at property transfer can help ensure safe drinking water for renters and homebuyers.

There is no statewide requirement for rental property owners to test the drinking water from a private well and treat for contaminants if they are found. This makes tenants vulnerable to the possibility that they are unknowingly consuming unsafe drinking water that could affect their health.

Property transfer is a good time to require well testing. Well testing helps ensure that a new property owner is aware of the condition of their drinking water source.

If your government entity is considering adopting local ordinance language related to private wells, MDH encourages you to include:

1. The frequency of private well water testing (see Well Testing, Results, and Options for recommendations),
2. Requirements for communication of the results to the tenants or homebuyer, and
3. Requirements for addressing contamination issues. For rental properties, this could include release of the tenant from their lease at no cost.

Examples

Rental properties: The State of Maryland adopted a statute in 2021 that requires the owner of residential rental property that is served by a private water supply well to test the water every three years and disclose the results to the tenant. While this is a state law, the concepts could be transferred to a local ordinance. Current language can be found at Laws - Statute Text (maryland.gov). 

Property transfer: Dakota County requires the seller to test the well water and share the results with the buyer. See Dakota County Ordinance No.144, Well and Water Supply Management, Section 8.01 (PDF).

An overview of state and local regulations

The report linked below was drafted in 2022 and serves as an initial scan of the existing state and local regulations on private well testing in rental properties and at property transfer. The report includes language pulled from state laws and local ordinances to show potential language approaches for local ordinances on well testing. This report is not intended to be legal guidance—rather, it is a resource to show some related language that may be helpful.

• Private Wells in Rental Properties and at Property Transfers: An Overview of State and Local Regulations (PDF)
   

Questions

Well Management Section 
651-201-4600 or 800-383-9808 
health.wells@state.mn.us