Certified well water labs in West Virginia (2026)
West Virginia’s private-well system runs through your county (local) health department. The state Office of Laboratory Services (OLS) says private citizens should call the local health department first, so a trained sanitarian collects the sample, checks that the well is protected, and walks you through disinfection if coliform shows up. Bacteria testing is done by the state lab in South Charleston (or the Bardane lab in Kearneysville for the Eastern Panhandle). Expect a county collection fee plus a separate state lab fee: Greenbrier County lists $25 + a $20 state-lab invoice. For metals, nitrate, and organics, OLS publishes its own fee schedule (regulated metals package $60) and keeps a list of state-certified drinking-water labs.
The short version
- Bacteria? Call your county health department. The state’s Individual Water Supplies page says to complete the SW-253 Request for Water Analysis form and submit it to your local health department. There is a fee; it varies by county. Most counties send a sanitarian to collect it — Greenbrier won’t accept a sample you drop off yourself.
- Chemistry? Start with total coliform, regulated metals, and nitrate + nitrite. That is the starter set OLS’s Environmental Chemistry section recommends for private wells. Its lab in Charleston (Big Chimney) takes household-well samples; bottles by phone (304-965-2694) or bottle request form.
- Use a lab on the state’s certified list, and not one selling you a softener. OLS posts the West Virginia Certified Drinking Water Laboratories list (64CSR3). Many are water-utility labs that don’t take homeowner samples, so call first.
How West Virginia’s system actually works
The Bureau for Public Health’s Office of Environmental Health Services (OEHS) writes the private-well rules, and local health departments permit new wells, modifications, and abandonments (a permit is required before drilling). There is no routine state mandate to test an existing household well; testing is up to you, your lender, or your county’s home-loan evaluation.
- Bacteria lab: OLS Environmental Microbiology, 167 11th Ave, South Charleston (water testing 304-414-2432). Samples must be received and started within 30 hours of collection, in state-supplied bottles. South Charleston receives Mon–Fri 8 a.m.–5 p.m.; Bardane (Kearneysville, 304-725-5832) Mon–Wed 8–4 and Thursday mornings, serving Berkeley, Jefferson, Grant, Hampshire, Hardy, Mineral, Morgan, Pendleton, and Tucker counties.
- Chemistry lab: OLS Environmental Chemistry, 4710 Chimney Drive, Suite G, Charleston (304-965-2694): metals, organics, wet chemistry for household wells.
- Lab certification: any lab testing public-supply drinking water in WV must be state-certified, with on-site audits every three years and annual proficiency tests. Certification desk: 304-414-2435.
- Home loans: many county health departments sell a separate “home loan evaluation” that includes water collection (Lewis County lists $200).
Options we verified
What we could confirm with a public URL tonight: the state lab’s published fee rule, several county health-department fee pages, and the mail-in product pages. We did not find a West Virginia commercial lab that publishes homeowner prices online, so none is named here — call labs on the state list for a quote.
The table scrolls sideways on a phone.
| Option | What they offer | Listed cost | Catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greenbrier County Health Department | Sanitarian visits and collects; state lab tests total coliform and E. coli. | $25 collection (waived with a doctor’s request) plus the state lab’s $20 invoice. | In-person collection only; no walk-in samples. |
| Wetzel-Tyler Health Department | Collection from wells, springs, or cisterns; shipped UPS overnight to OLS. | $60 (labor, mileage, shipping) plus a separate WVOLS lab fee by check. | Collected Mon–Wed only. Don’t chlorinate before results. Follow-up tests cost extra. |
| Lewis County Health Department | Water sample service; home-loan evaluations. | Water sample $75. Home loan evaluation $200. | Call for what the sample includes. |
| WV Office of Laboratory Services — Environmental Chemistry | State-certified lab taking household-well chemistry. Fees set in rule 64CSR51 Appendix A. | Single metal $20; regulated metals package (arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, mercury, selenium, etc.) $60; secondary metals (iron, manganese…) $45; lead + copper $32; anions package incl. nitrate/nitrite/fluoride $30; VOCs $125. | Request bottles first (304-965-2694). A per-sample processing fee applies. Invoice is paid online after testing. |
| State certified drinking-water lab list | Every lab certified under 64CSR3, with the methods each is approved for. | Call for a quote. | Posted list is dated Feb 21, 2025; many entries are utility labs (e.g. Clarksburg Water Board) that don’t serve homeowners. |
What to test for in West Virginia
- Coliform / E. coli: yearly, and after flooding, well work, or any change in taste, color, or smell. Shallow wells and springs in karst (Greenbrier Valley, Eastern Panhandle) are most exposed.
- Iron, manganese, hydrogen sulfide: common in coal-region aquifers; stains, metallic taste, rotten-egg smell. Mostly nuisance, but manganese has a health advisory level.
- Regulated metals and nitrate: the OLS starter set. Add arsenic and lead if you have older plumbing.
- Near gas wells, mining, or spills: ask a certified lab about chloride, barium, sodium, methane, and VOCs; get a baseline before nearby drilling. See our PFAS guide if you are near a known source.
Mail-in kits (for a broader PDF)
These are independent labs that mail bottles, test, and email a PDF, and they don’t pitch you a softener while they’re at it. In West Virginia they make the most sense when you want a wide analyte list in one report and no county or lender paperwork is involved. Listed prices we checked for this ship (same national SKUs as other state pages):
- Tap Score / SimpleLab Essential Well: $209 listed (54 analytes; standard shipping and prepaid return on the product page).
- National Testing Laboratories WaterCheck Basic: $220 listed plus free delivery on watercheck.com. Next-day return shipping is not included. Budget for overnight return on the bacteria bottle.
Those are listed prices, not coupons. If a county home-loan evaluation or lender requires a sanitarian-collected or state-certified result, a self-collected mail-in kit may not count.
Side by side for a West Virginia well
The table scrolls sideways on a phone.
| County health dept + state lab | OLS chemistry / certified lab | Mail-in (Tap Score / NTL) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Yearly bacteria, with a sanitarian checking the wellhead | Metals, nitrate, VOCs at state-rule prices | A broader analyte list in one PDF |
| Typical cost | About $45–$75+ (collection + lab fee) | $30–$125 per package | About $209–$220 |
| Drop-off | Sanitarian collects | Bottles from OLS; ship or deliver to Charleston | Ship it yourself |
| PDF? | Mailed lab report. Ask. | Lab report. Ask about format. | Yes. Email is the product |
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 West Virginia
- Call your county health department and ask for an SW-253 bacteria sample: the collection fee, the state-lab fee, and which days they collect.
- Every year: total coliform / E. coli.
- At least once: regulated metals plus nitrate + nitrite (OLS: $60 + $30), and iron/manganese if you see staining.
- Buying a house: ask the county about its home-loan evaluation, and ask your lender what it needs.
- Got a positive or a high result? Retest and follow the sanitarian’s disinfection advice before buying treatment. You don’t have to buy from anyone who tested your water.
- If you want a broader PDF this month, use Tap Score / SimpleLab or National Testing Laboratories (Watercheck).
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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