Drinking Water Well Testing Resources

The new requirement to test all drinking water wells for Nitrate + Nitrite as Nitrogen is going to be starting in the Sacramento Valley in January 2022. Coalition members or associated landowners with drinking water wells on enrolled parcels are required to sample. If your drinking water well is not on a enrolled parcel, you are not required to test.

Please see the below resources for testing your Drinking Water Wells. We are recommending that members test their drinking water wells before the January 2023 date to see what their Nitrate + Nitrite as Nitrogen levels are. If you test that you have Nitrate + Nitrate as Nitrogen in your drinking water, there is an option to start providing bottled water to the users of the well and you will not need to test and report your results to the state GeoTracker website. To use this option you will need to keep receipts proving that you are purchasing bottled water.

There is more information in the Drinking Water Well Monitoring FAQ pdf below.

You must use an ELAP certified laboratory if you want your testing results to count towards the required testing. If you do not use a ELAP certified lab, your results cannot be uploaded into the GeoTracker website and you will need to obtain a new test.

Sampling Frequency Requirements:

Sampling frequency depends on the Nitrate + Nitrite concentration in the drinking water. The sum of Nitrate + Nitrite is:

Below 8mg/L: sample for three consecutive years. If Nitrate + Nitrite is below 8mg/L for all three years, then sample once every 5 years.
Between 8mg/L and 10mg/L: Sample every year.
Above 10mg/L: Notify the water user and no additional sampling is required.