Well water testing in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania (2026)

WellTestList · Tuesday, October 27, 2026 · county page · back to the Pennsylvania page

Lancaster County has an estimated 63,000 households on private wells by EPA’s 2020 model, many of them on farms or next to them. It’s heavily farmed, and that shows up in the water: in Penn State’s own Lancaster County results, about one well sample in four is over the federal nitrate limit. There is no county health department, and Pennsylvania has no statewide private well code, so nobody will make you test. Here is who to call, which labs are actually in the county, what Penn State charges, and what Lancaster County wells should be tested for.

The short version

1. Test for nitrate and bacteria every year. Of 403 Lancaster County samples Penn State’s lab tested for nitrate (2007–2025), 24.8% were over the 10 mg/L limit. Of 532 tested for bacteria, 41.5% had coliform and 10.3% had E. coli.
2. The cheapest posted price is Penn State’s lab. Its Agriculture/Septic package (bacteria, E. coli, pH, TDS and nitrate) is $70. Kits are at the Penn State Extension office in the Farm and Home Center on Arcadia Road (717-394-6851).
3. Want to drop a bottle off in the county? Two labs on DEP’s residential lab list are here: Owl Hill Laboratories in Lititz for bacteria (717-627-2520) and Eurofins Lancaster Laboratories for chemistry, metals and PFAS (717-656-2300). Neither posts homeowner prices, so call.
4. No one requires a test, so you have to choose to. Lancaster County has no county health department, and Pennsylvania is one of two states with no statewide rules for private well construction or testing. A township, a lender or a purchase agreement may still ask for one.
5. Test radon once if you’re in the southern end of the county. The schist and quartzite there are some of the highest-radon rock in Pennsylvania.

Who to call

• Penn State Extension, Lancaster County. Farm and Home Center, 1383 Arcadia Road, Room 140, Lancaster, PA 17601 · 717-394-6851 · LancasterExt@psu.edu · weekdays 8:30–4:30. This is where to pick up a Penn State test kit and ask what a result means. Call ahead to make sure kits are in stock.
• PA DEP, Reading District Office (it serves Berks and Lancaster): 610-916-0100. DEP’s private well testing page says its district offices sell bacterial test kits, and it recommends testing every year for coliform, nitrate, total dissolved solids and pH.
• PA Department of Health. There’s no county health department in Lancaster, so the state is the health contact. It works with Penn State Extension on limited free private-well testing. In 2024 that included an in-person workshop in Lancaster County that handed out free kits (bacteria, nitrate, manganese, lead, copper, arsenic, sodium and barium). Ask what’s open at dehe@pa.gov or 717-787-3350.
• Your township. In Pennsylvania, any local well rule comes from the township or borough, not the county. Ask the zoning or code office before you drill a well or split a lot.

DEP-accredited labs in Lancaster County

These two labs are on DEP’s Southeast Region “Certified Laboratory List – Residential,” and the Chester County Health Department lists them too. Their certifications match DEP’s June 2024 accredited-lab reports, linked from DEP’s private well testing page. Neither posts homeowner prices, and neither sells water treatment as far as we could find.

The table scrolls sideways on a phone.

Also nearby: Waypoint Analytical in Leola (717-656-9326) holds DEP accreditation for drinking water bacteria, nitrate and nitrite, but it’s an agricultural lab that doesn’t post homeowner drinking water prices and isn’t on DEP’s residential list, so ask first. Pure-Test Laboratory in Myerstown, Lebanon County (717-866-2234), is on DEP’s residential list for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, but its website didn’t load tonight. The City of Lancaster’s lab is a utility lab and isn’t listed. You can check any lab in DEP’s accredited-lab search. We only list labs we could verify, and we skip anyone who sells water treatment.

Penn State’s lab, the cheapest posted option

Penn State’s Agricultural Analytical Services Lab (AASL) in University Park is DEP-accredited and sells homeowner kits by mail and through county Extension offices, including Lancaster’s. Its listed prices on October 27, 2026:

The table scrolls sideways on a phone.

The catches: bacteria must reach the lab within 30 hours of sampling, the lab won’t accept bacteria samples on a Friday, and results take about 10–14 business days. AASL doesn’t do chain of custody, so it isn’t the right lab for most home sales. Questions: 814-863-0841 or aaslab@psu.edu.

What’s in Lancaster County groundwater

Penn State publishes a summary of every Lancaster County homeowner sample its lab tested from August 2007 to June 2025 (555 samples). These are wells whose owners chose to test, often because something seemed off, so they aren’t a random survey. They’re still the best local picture.

• Nitrate. Median 5.8 mg/L, maximum 30.1 mg/L, and 24.8% (100 of 403) over the 10 mg/L limit. Manure and fertilizer on the county’s dairy, poultry and crop land are the main sources, and septic systems add to it. A study of USGS data on 3,613 wells in Lancaster, Chester and Lebanon counties (1976–2006) found the highest nitrate in carbonate (limestone) aquifers, with a median of 6.03 mg/L in Piedmont carbonate rock, and in wells under pasture and row crops. Nitrate over 10 mg/L is a health risk for babies under six months, so if there’s an infant or a pregnancy in the house, test now and don’t boil the water (boiling concentrates nitrate).
• Bacteria. 41.5% of samples had total coliform and 10.3% had E. coli. Limestone has cracks and sinkholes that let surface water reach a well fast, and old or shallow wells near barnyards and septic fields are the most at risk. Test after heavy rain if your water changes.
• Radon. USGS found the highest radon in Pennsylvania groundwater in the Peters Creek Schist, which underlies part of southern Lancaster County: median 4,300 pCi/L, with 55% of samples over 4,000 (USGS SIR 2017-5018). The Chickies Formation quartzite, which also crosses the county, had a median of 2,019 pCi/L and the single highest sample in the state. Carbonate rock generally ran lower. Radon in water needs its own bottle and isn’t in any Penn State package. DEP’s Radon Division is at 800-237-2366.
• Arsenic. Rare here. Only 1 of 122 Lancaster samples (0.8%) was over the 0.010 mg/L limit. One test is still worth it, and it’s a $30 add-on.
• Lead, corrosivity, manganese and iron. 12.1% of first-draw samples were over the 0.015 mg/L lead action level (3.0% of running samples), which points at plumbing more than the aquifer. 68.4% of samples were corrosive. Manganese was over the secondary level in 14.7% and iron in 8.7%. pH was outside 6.5–8.5 in 17.7%, and TDS was over 500 mg/L in 14.6%.
• PFAS. DEP doesn’t routinely test private wells for PFAS. A Penn State study of 167 private wells across the state, published in 2025, found PFAS in 65% and levels over EPA’s drinking water standards in 18%, with the most frequent and highest results in southeastern Pennsylvania (Penn State news). If you’re near an airport, a fire training area, a landfill or fields that got biosolids, test once. Eurofins Lancaster is DEP-accredited for PFAS, and our PFAS page covers which method to ask for.

These numbers describe the county, not your lot. Results change from one well to the next, so only your own test tells you.

New wells and home sales

No statewide rule. The PA Department of Health’s private well factsheet says Pennsylvania is one of two states with no statewide regulations for private well construction, maintenance or water quality testing. Lancaster County has no health department to fill that gap the way Chester County’s does.

New wells. Any rule comes from your township. We didn’t find a Lancaster County township that requires a water quality test for a new house well, but some regulate wells through their subdivision ordinances. Warwick and Pequea townships, for example, require aquifer and well-interference testing for larger developments, which is about how much water there is, not whether it’s safe. Call your township before you drill. Either way, test a new well before anyone drinks from it. Ask the driller to disinfect it, then run at least Penn State’s $70 package.

Home sales. Pennsylvania has no point-of-sale well test. Testing comes from the lender and from the purchase agreement. Ask the underwriter which lab and tests they accept before anyone takes a sample, and use a DEP-accredited lab with chain of custody. In Lancaster County, ask for nitrate even if no one requires it. Penn State Extension’s chain of custody guide and our home purchase / lender page cover the details.

Mail-in kits that email a PDF

If you want metals, minerals and VOCs in one report, independent mail-in labs ship to Lancaster County. Listed prices checked October 27, 2026:

• Tap Score / SimpleLab Essential Well: $209. It covers coliform and E. coli, nitrate and nitrite, and 25 metals including arsenic, uranium, manganese and lead, plus sodium and chloride. It doesn’t test VOCs, radon or PFAS.
• Tap Score / SimpleLab Advanced Well: $399. It adds VOCs and common petroleum compounds and includes overnight shipping to the lab.
• National Testing Laboratories WaterCheck Basic: $220. It covers bacteria, 22 metals and minerals (arsenic included), and 7 inorganic chemicals. Next-day return shipping isn’t included, so budget for it on the bacteria bottle.

For the yearly nitrate and bacteria test, Penn State’s $70 package is the better deal. Mail-in kits make sense once, for a wide first look, or when you can’t get to the Extension office. Radon in water and PFAS are separate tests. Ask a lender before using one for a sale.

Side by side for a Lancaster County well

The table scrolls sideways on a phone.

Related: Pennsylvania well testing · Chester County, PA · Worcester County, MA · Suffolk County, NY · Fairfield County, CT · Oakland County, MI · How to read a well water report · PFAS 533 / 537.1 · Home purchase / lender · back to the directory.