Department of Health, Penn State Extension to provide free water testing
Do you live in one of the more than one million homes and farms in Pennsylvania that get their drinking water from a private well or spring? Would you like to have your water tested for free? The Private Water Supply Education and Water Testing event is designed for people who use a private drinking water supply. The event will cover how to test and protect a well or spring and when water treatment might make sense. It will also include a discussion of private water system maintenance to protect your family, your property, and the groundwater. This event is for residents of Pennsylvania who use a private water supply (well, spring, cistern) in their primary residence.
Penn State Extension has received a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Health cooperative agreement with the CDC Environmental Health Capacity building initiative and support from the Master Well Owner Network grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the Pennsylvania Ground Water Association to provide no-cost drinking water testing to a limited number of homeowners using private water wells, springs, or cisterns.
Each water supply will receive testing through a PA DEP state-accredited water testing laboratory for bacteria, nitrate, manganese, arsenic, sodium, barium, lead, and copper. Registration will be limited to approximately 40 households. Each household must own or rent a primary residence (no camps) that uses a private well, spring or cistern for a drinking water supply.
Participants must register to attend a one-hour educational workshop on May 13, 2023, at 6:30 pm ET at Waynesburg University, 201 Stewart Hall, located at 51 W College St, Waynesburg, where they will receive information about how to test their water supply. Please register at https://extension.psu.edu/private-water-supply-education-and-water-testing-workshop or by calling 1-877-345-0691. If you have any questions about this no-cost testing program, contact Susan Boser at smw16@psu.edu or 724-774-3024.