Well water testing in York County, Pennsylvania (2026)
York County has an estimated 58,000 households on private wells by EPA’s 2020 model, one of the largest counts in Pennsylvania. There is no county health department (the York City Bureau of Health covers the city only), and Pennsylvania has no statewide private well code, so nobody will make you test. Penn State’s results for York County are a good reason to do it anyway: almost half of the samples its lab tested had coliform bacteria. Here is who to call, the closest lab with posted prices, what Penn State charges, and what York County wells should be tested for.
The short version
- Test for bacteria and nitrate every year. Of 722 York County samples Penn State’s lab tested for bacteria (2007–2025), 45.8% had coliform and 8.0% had E. coli. Of 382 tested for nitrate, 11.3% were over the 10 mg/L limit.
- 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 on Pleasant Valley Road in York (717-840-7408).
- Want to drop a bottle off yourself? No commercial lab in York County is on DEP’s 2024 drinking water bacteria list. The closest one with posted prices is LABS Inc. in New Oxford, just over the line in Adams County: bacteria with E. coli $45, nitrate $25, and an FHA package for $100.
- Test lead once at the tap. 19% of first-draw York County samples were over the lead action level, and 78% of samples were corrosive. That points at your plumbing more than the aquifer.
- Near Newberry or Fairview Township? DEP has found PFAS over Pennsylvania’s limits in 13 private wells and springs there. Test for PFAS once.
Who to call
- Penn State Extension, York County. 2401 Pleasant Valley Road, Suite 101, York, PA 17402 · 717-840-7408 · YorkExt@psu.edu · weekdays 8:00–4:30. 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, Southcentral Regional Office (it serves York): 909 Elmerton Avenue, Harrisburg · 717-705-4700. DEP’s private well testing page says its regional offices sell bacterial test kits, and it recommends testing every year for coliform, nitrate, total dissolved solids and pH.
- PA Department of Health. With no county health department, the state is the health contact. It works with Penn State Extension on limited free private-well testing for some owners. 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.
A lab with posted prices, near York County
DEP’s June 2024 list of labs accredited for drinking water bacteria shows only utility labs in York County (The York Water Company and Pennsylvania American Water’s West Shore plant), and they test their own systems. The nearest commercial lab with a public homeowner price sheet is LABS Inc. in New Oxford, northwest of Hanover. It’s on that DEP list, and we found no sign that it sells water treatment.
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| Lab | DEP accreditation | Posted prices | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laboratory, Analytical & Biological Services (LABS Inc.) 125 Enterprise Drive, New Oxford, PA 17350 717-259-6550 | Lab ID 01-00550, on DEP’s 2024 drinking water bacteria list. Ask which chemistry tests are accredited if a lender needs it. | Coliform + E. coli $45 · nitrate $25 · pH, TDS or hardness $15 each · iron, manganese, lead, copper or arsenic $25 each · FHA package (coliform, E. coli, nitrate, nitrite, lead) $100 · VA packages $130 and $150 · Homeowner’s Basic (12 tests) $200 | Open Monday–Thursday 8:00–4:30 and Friday 8:00–3:00. Bacteria and nitrate aren’t accepted after 2 pm Friday. Bacteria results in about 2–3 business days, metals in 7–10. It can collect the sample for $75 within its routes. Ask your lender if the FHA or VA package covers what it needs. |
Also within reach: ALS Environmental in Middletown, Dauphin County (717-944-5541), is on DEP’s bacteria list but doesn’t post homeowner prices, so call for a quote. Owl Hill Laboratories in Lititz (717-627-2520) does bacteria and is on our Lancaster County page. 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. A free in-home water test from a softener company is a sales visit, not a certified lab test.
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 York’s. Its listed prices on November 1, 2026:
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| Package | What’s in it | Price |
|---|---|---|
| WD01 Standard | Total coliform, E. coli, pH, TDS | $60 |
| WD04 Agriculture / Septic | Standard plus nitrate-nitrogen. The one to get every year in York County. | $70 |
| WD02 Aesthetics / Corrosivity | Standard plus hardness, alkalinity, corrosivity, copper, iron and manganese | $85 |
| WD07 Trace | Standard plus arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, nickel and zinc | $130 |
| WD08 Extensive | Standard plus hardness, alkalinity, corrosivity, arsenic, barium, copper and lead (first draw and running), iron, manganese, sodium, chloride, sulfate and nitrate-nitrogen | $220 |
| Add-ons | Nitrate-nitrogen $15 · manganese $15 · lead (running) $25 · arsenic $30 · bacteria $40 · lead and copper (first draw) $40 | Each |
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 York County groundwater
Penn State publishes a summary of every York County homeowner sample its lab tested from August 2007 to June 2025 (752 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.
- Bacteria. 45.8% of samples (331 of 722) had total coliform and 8.0% had E. coli. Old or shallow wells, loose well caps and wells near septic fields or barnyards are the most at risk. Test after heavy rain if your water changes, and after any work on the well.
- Nitrate. Median 4.6 mg/L, maximum 33.1 mg/L, and 11.3% (43 of 382) over the 10 mg/L limit. Farm fertilizer, manure and septic systems are the usual sources. 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).
- Corrosive water and lead. 78.1% of samples were corrosive, and pH was outside 6.5–8.5 in 42.0% (median pH 6.7). Acidic, corrosive water pulls metal out of plumbing, which is why 19.0% of first-draw samples were over the 0.015 mg/L lead action level (5.4% of running samples). Copper was over its limit in 0.8%.
- Manganese and iron. Manganese was over the secondary level in 14.4% of samples and iron in 9.1%. Both cause staining and off tastes.
- Arsenic. Rare here. Only 1 of 182 York County samples (0.5%) was over the 0.010 mg/L limit, with a maximum of 0.013. One test is still worth it, and it’s a $30 add-on at Penn State or $25 at LABS Inc.
- PFAS. DEP has investigated the Newberry Township PFC site in northern Newberry and southern Fairview townships since 2019. Its October 2024 decision found 13 home and business wells or springs over Pennsylvania’s limits (14 ppt for PFOA, 18 ppt for PFOS), with PFOS up to 101.6 ppt, and the source still isn’t known. DEP supplies bottled water to affected properties there. Elsewhere, DEP doesn’t routinely test private wells for PFAS, but a 2025 Penn State study of 167 wells statewide found PFAS in 65% and levels over EPA standards in 18% (Penn State news). Our PFAS page covers which method to ask for.
- Radon. Radon in water needs its own bottle and isn’t in any Penn State package. If your home’s air test came back high, test the water too. DEP’s Radon Division is at 800-237-2366.
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, and York County has no health department to fill that gap.
New wells. Any rule comes from your township, and they vary, so call the 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 or LABS Inc.’s $100 FHA 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. 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 York County. Listed prices checked November 1, 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 bacteria and nitrate 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 or New Oxford. Radon in water and PFAS are separate tests. Ask a lender before using one for a sale.
Side by side for a York County well
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| Penn State AASL | LABS Inc. (New Oxford) | Mail-in (Tap Score / NTL) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly bacteria + nitrate | $70 | $70 ($45 + $25) | $209–$220 (broad panel) |
| Lead | $25 running, $40 first draw | $25 | Included |
| Arsenic | $30 add-on, or in the $130 Trace or $220 Extensive | $25 | Included |
| PFAS | No | Not on its price sheet. Ask | No |
| Lender packages | No chain of custody | FHA $100, VA $130–$150 | Ask the lender first |
| Time to results | About 10–14 business days | Bacteria 2–3 business days, metals 7–10 | About 1–2 weeks |
| Sales visit? | No | No | 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 York County
- Every year, test bacteria and nitrate. Penn State’s $70 Agriculture/Septic kit from the Extension office on Pleasant Valley Road is the cheapest posted option. LABS Inc. in New Oxford is a walk-in drop-off at the same total.
- Never tested, or it’s been years? Run a wider panel once: Penn State’s $220 Extensive, which includes first-draw lead, or Tap Score / SimpleLab or National Testing Laboratories if you want a PDF without the drive.
- Baby or pregnancy in the house? Test nitrate and lead now, not at the yearly test. Over 10 mg/L nitrate, use another water source for formula.
- In Newberry or Fairview Township? Test PFAS once, or ask DEP’s Southcentral office (717-705-4700) whether your well is in its sampling area.
- Buying or selling? Ask the lender which tests and lab it accepts, then book a DEP-accredited lab with chain of custody.
- Got a result over a limit? Retest to confirm, and call Penn State Extension (717-840-7408) before you buy treatment. Get quotes from more than one company.
Not this if…
- You’re on public water (York city and many boroughs and suburbs). Your supplier tests the water and publishes a yearly report.
- A lender, attorney or buyer named a lab and a chain-of-custody form. Use that lab. Penn State and mail-in kits don’t do chain of custody.
- Someone offered a free in-home “test” that ends in a softener or filter pitch. See the Home Depot free kit comparison.
Related: Pennsylvania well testing · Lancaster County, PA · Chester County, PA · Genesee County, MI · Cumberland County, ME · How to read a well water report · PFAS 533 / 537.1 · Home purchase / lender · back to the directory.