The new law mandates that whenever a property with a private well is sold or leased, certain drinking water tests, shown below, must be performed on your home's water. The results must be shared with both the buyer and seller (or the lessor and lessee) prior to an official closing date.
- Total coliform bacteria (and E. coli if needed)
- pH
- Nitrate
- Iron
- Manganese
- Lead
- Volatile organic compounds
- Mercury tests are required for wells located in Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Monmouth, Ocean, and Salem Counties.
- Arsenic tests are required for wells located in Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, and Union counties.
The test results must also be submitted through an Electronic Deliverable Data (EDD) format to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). If any of the state drinking water standards is exceeded, the NJDEP will notify the local health department. The laboratory is also responsible for submitting coliform and nitrate excesses to the local health authority.
For exact information on the Private Well Testing Act itself, the NJDEP has set up a web site for the PWTA.
HOW CAN AGRA HELP YOU WITH THE PWTA?
With field samplers covering the state of New Jersey, Agra provides sampling and analysis to meet the NJDEP's stringent requirements. (This includes the requirement of collecting Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates of your well.)
Our standard turnaround time for PWTA tests is approximately 5-7 days. When planning for real estate closings, please be mindful to include this turnaround time. (Upon request, expedited services may be available for most tests for an additional charge. Results can be made available to meet closing dates at a pre-determined surcharge of 10% per day.)
To get started, fill out this form or call us at 973-989-0010 and we'll give you an estimate of the costs involved. At that time, we'll also take advance information to help expedite the process.
And, after you get your results, Agra's experts stand ready to help you to interpret what they mean.
