How safe and healthy is the drinking water from your faucets at home? If your water supply comes from a well on your property, there’s no way to know unless you have your water tested!
Eighty percent of the homes in the Upper Raritan River watershed in Hunterdon, Somerset and Morris counties – about 60,000 households – get their drinking water from privately-owned wells. That’s why Raritan Headwaters Association (RHA), a nonprofit conservation organization whose mission is to protect clean water, is working to make well water testing easy and affordable.
This fall, RHA is offering “community” well water testing events in nine towns within the upper Raritan watershed region, starting on Saturday, Sept. 14, in Chester Township.
“Many common water contaminants lack any smell, taste, or visible characteristics, so the only way to ensure the quality of your water supply is to have it tested,” explains Samantha LaRocca, RHA’s Well Test program manager.
Public health officials recommend testing well water annually. As a baseline, testing for coliform bacteria and nitrates will indicate how sanitary the water supply is. In addition, RHA offers tests for a variety of other common well water contaminants, including arsenic, lead, volatile organic compounds, radon, gross alpha and more. The most up-to-date PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) testing is available, which includes the new federal ruling compounds.
Testing in Local Communities This Fall
Every spring and fall, RHA partners with municipalities across the Upper Raritan River Watershed to make testing more accessible and convenient by holding “Community Well Test” events.
Here’s how it works: Residents come to a community event on the designated day or days and purchase kits for the tests they want. Following the instructions on the kits, they collect samples of tap water and return them to the community location on the designated day. Results are available about two to three weeks later. Community well testing is open to everyone – not just residents of the participating communities.
“If you live in or near a municipality holding an event, we encourage you to come and purchase a kit,” LaRocca said. “If you have not tested your water in many years, this is a perfect opportunity to meet the RHA team and ask any questions you may have.”
All well water samples collected at the community events are sent to a state-certified laboratory, which has an agreement with RHA to offer testing at a discounted rate.
Community well testing events will be held in the following towns this autumn, in chronological order:
Chester Township – Test kits will be sold on Saturday, Sept. 14, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Municipal Building, 1 Parker Road, Chester. Samples are to be returned on Monday, Sept. 16, from 7-9:30 a.m. at the municipal building.
Delaware Township – Test kits will be sold on Wednesday, Sept. 18, from 5-7 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 21, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Delaware Township Municipal Building, 570 Rosemont Ringoes Rd, Stockton. Samples are to be returned on Monday, Sept. 23, from 7-9:30 a.m. at the public works garage, 816 Sergeantsville Road, Stockton.
Raritan Township – Test kits will be sold Sept. 16-27, weekdays only, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Raritan Township Municipal Building, 1 Municipal Drive, Flemington. Samples are to be returned either Monday, Sept. 30. or Wednesday, Oct. 2, from 7-9:30 a.m. at the municipal building.
Mendham Township – Test kits will be sold on Saturday, Sept. 28, from 9 a.m. to noon, at the Mendham Township Municipal Building, 2 West Main Street, Brookside. Samples are to be returned on Thursday, Oct. 3, from 7-9:30 a.m. at the municipal building.
Hillsborough Township – Test kits will be sold on Saturday, Oct. 5, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Hillsborough Municipal Complex, 379 S Branch Rd, Hillsborough. Samples are to be returned on Monday, Oct. 7, from 7-9:30 a.m. at the municipal complex.
Readington Township – Test kits will be sold Saturday, Oct. 12; Tuesday, Oct. 15; Wednesday, Oct. 16; and Tuesday, Oct. 22, at various times and locations. See www.TestMyWell.org for details.
Tewksbury Township – Test kits will be sold from Monday, Oct. 21, through Tuesday, Oct. 29, weekdays only, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Tewksbury Township Administration Building, 169 Old Turnpike Rd, Califon. Samples are to be returned either Wednesday, Oct. 30, or Thursday, Oct. 31,st from 7 to 9:30 a.m. at the Administration Building.
Kingwood Township – Test kits will be sold on Saturday, Nov. 2, from 9 a.m. to noon, at the Kingwood Township Municipal Building, 599 Oak Grove Road, Frenchtown. Samples are to be returned on Monday, Nov. 4, from 7 to 9:30 a.m. at the Municipal Building.
Bethlehem Township – Test kits will be sold on both Tuesday, Nov. 5, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 9, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Bethlehem Township Municipal Building, 405 Mine Rd, Asbury. Samples are to be returned on Monday, Nov. 11, from 7-9:30 a.m. at the municipal building.
Details on each event, a full menu of testing options, and the option to preregister online may be found at www.TestMyWell.org. Please check TestMyWell.org for any potential changes to the event schedule.
Test kits may also be purchased at RHA offices in Bedminster and Flemington year-round and can be customized to fit each well owner’s testing needs. Orders may be placed by phone or through the RHA website and then picked up at the organization’s offices.
For more information on the Well Test Program and the menu of available tests, contact LaRocca at 908-234-1852, ext. 401 or email welltesting@raritanheadwaters.org.
