Certified well water labs in Utah (2026)
Utah doesn’t test your private well for you, but the state lab sells tests to the public one at a time and prices them openly. The Utah Public Health Laboratory (UPHL) in Taylorsville says every well owner should test at least once a year for nitrate, pH, total dissolved solids, and total coliform/E. coli. At UPHL’s posted fees, those four tests add up to about $65. In the five southwest counties, the local health department lab charges $30 for bacteria and $30 for nitrate.
The short version
- Cheapest yearly check statewide: UPHL, priced per test. Total coliform/E. coli $20.90, nitrate $17.60, pH $12.00, TDS $14.03 (UPHL fee schedule). Call UPHL Environmental Chemistry for bottles and sample-receiving times before you collect.
- In Beaver, Garfield, Iron, Kane, or Washington County? Use the Southwest Utah lab. The SWUPHD Water Lab in St. George (435-986-2580) gives out free sample bottles and charges $30 per bacteria sample and $30 per nitrate sample (fee schedule). Nitrate samples are taken Wednesdays and Thursdays only.
- Need a county-required panel or a real-estate result? Check your health department first. Salt Lake County and Utah County require a full chemistry panel for some wells (see UPHL’s county table). Use a Utah-certified lab, and ask what your lender needs.
How Utah’s system actually works
Utah’s 13 local health departments set the rules for private wells. UPHL keeps a county-by-county table, and it says the local department’s rules win if the two disagree. Bear River and Central Utah don’t require any testing. Davis County recommends a full inorganic panel. Salt Lake County requires metals, fluoride, nitrate/nitrite, sulfate, sodium, TDS, and total coliform. Utah County requires fluoride, nitrate/nitrite, sulfate, TDS, turbidity, eight metals, mercury, and total coliform. Southwest Utah requires total coliform plus nitrate and nitrite. The state’s Environmental Laboratory Certification Program certifies labs, including the Southwest Utah lab (UT00955).
Options we verified
- Utah Public Health Laboratory (UPHL), 4431 South 2700 West, Taylorsville. Per-sample fees: total coliform/E. coli $20.90; nitrate $17.60; nitrate + nitrite $20.00; pH $12.00; TDS $14.03; fluoride $25.00; arsenic, lead, barium, manganese and most other metals $13.20 each; selenium $15.00; mercury $27.50; copper + lead $26.40. Source: UPHL Service Fee Schedule.
- Southwest Utah Public Health Department Water Lab, 620 South 400 East #400, St. George · 435-986-2580. Bacteria (drinking water) $30, nitrate $30, free bottles; a $40 collection fee applies only if staff have to sample for you. No samples on Fridays, weekends, or the business day before a holiday. Get bacteria samples in within 24 hours and keep them cold. Source: water lab, fees.
- Utah County Health Department: for onsite-wastewater and private-well permits, staff collect the sample for $205 plus lab fees ($140 plus lab fees for a resample). Source: 2026 fee schedule. That fee covers the permit visit. If you just want a yearly check, sample it yourself and send it to UPHL.
- Chemtech-Ford Laboratories, 9632 South 500 West, Sandy · 801-262-7299. A Utah-certified commercial drinking-water lab with an Orem drop-off and courier pickups at the Provo and Ogden health department buildings (courier page). It doesn’t post homeowner prices, so call for a quote.
What to test for in Utah
- Every year: total coliform/E. coli, nitrate, pH, and TDS. This is UPHL’s minimum, about $65 at its posted fees.
- At least once: arsenic, fluoride, and the metals your county lists. Arsenic is about $13 at UPHL. Many basin-fill and volcanic aquifers in western and central Utah carry natural arsenic.
- Old plumbing: copper + lead, $26.40 at UPHL.
- Near fields, feedlots, or septic systems: nitrate every year, plus pesticides if anything is sprayed upslope.
Mail-in kits (for a broader PDF)
These are independent labs that mail you bottles, run the tests, and email a PDF. Neither one sells softeners. Listed prices checked for this ship:
- Tap Score / SimpleLab Essential Well: $209 listed.
- National Testing Laboratories WaterCheck Basic: $220 listed; next-day return shipping not included.
If a county permit, lender, or buyer needs a certified result, a self-collected mail-in kit may not count. Use a Utah-certified lab.
Side by side for a Utah well
The table scrolls sideways on a phone.
| UPHL (state lab) | Southwest Utah lab | Mail-in (Tap Score / NTL) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Cheap yearly panel; add metals one at a time | Bacteria + nitrate in the five SW counties | A broader analyte list in one PDF |
| Typical cost | About $65 for the four yearly tests | $30 bacteria; $30 nitrate | About $209–$220 |
| Drop-off | Taylorsville (call for bottles) | St. George plus rural receiving days | Ship it yourself |
| Real estate? | Ask the lender / county | Ask the lender / county | Usually no |
Remind me to test my well every year
CDC and EPA say to test a private well at least once a year. We’ll send one email a year, about when your test is due, with your state’s lab options.
Thanks, you’re on the list. We’ll email you once a year when it’s time to test your well. Nothing else.
What to do in Utah
- Look up your county’s rules in UPHL’s private-well table.
- Order the yearly four from UPHL (coliform/E. coli, nitrate, pH, TDS). Add arsenic and fluoride the first year.
- In southwest Utah, pick up free bottles from the SWUPHD lab. Bacteria is $30 and nitrate is $30.
- Got a positive result? Disinfect, flush, and retest before you buy any treatment. You don’t have to buy from anyone who tested your water.
- If you want a broader PDF, use Tap Score / SimpleLab or National Testing Laboratories.
Not this if…
- You already chlorinated the well. Wait and flush before a bacteria sample, or the result means nothing.
- The “lab” quoting you is also selling a treatment system. Get an independent result. See the Home Depot free-kit comparison.
- Someone offered a free in-home “test” that ends in a softener pitch. That is not on this page.
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