How often should a Montgomery County well be tested?

A house on a private well sits outside everything in Clarksville's annual water report. The EPA's public water rules do not reach private wells, as the CDC's well testing guidance points out, and Tennessee adds no testing rule of its own. The TDEC well water page says plainly that the state has no requirements for sampling private supplies. Testing, upkeep and records fall to the household.

What should a yearly well test cover?

Four things, according to both the CDC and the EPA: total coliform bacteria, nitrate, total dissolved solids and pH. TDEC's own advice focuses on bacteria, the one it strongly recommends every year. The limits below are the federal public-water numbers, used here as a yardstick because a private well has none of its own.

Ask the county health department or TDEC about other local concerns before paying for a wide panel, since the CDC notes such tests can be expensive. Hardness is a common add-on; our hardness page explains the scale used for city water.

Who tests well water in Montgomery County?

A state-certified laboratory. TDEC points well owners to its Laboratory Certification Program, which publishes lists of private labs certified for drinking water. The Montgomery County Health Department's page lists no well-testing service, so check with the lab directly on bottles, holding times and how fast the sample must arrive. If a lender requires a test before a sale, TDEC says to ask the lender which parameters it wants.

The Maine CDC video shows how to fill sample bottles at a kitchen tap. Its emphasis on arsenic and uranium reflects Maine's rock; in Tennessee, follow the bottle instructions from your certified lab and TDEC's yearly bacteria advice.

When should a well be tested between yearly checks?

Right away after anything that could let surface water in. The EPA's well owner guidance lists flooding, land disturbance or new construction nearby, any repair to the well system, and a change in taste, odor or color. The CDC adds a pregnancy in the household or a child coming to live there. Clarksville's rain is spread across the year, so there is no dry season to wait out.

EPA notes that runoff from rain can wash germs into a well or seep down to it. A test after a wet spell, as well as the routine yearly one, gives a fairer picture.

Why do sinkholes matter for a well here?

Montgomery County sits on the Highland Rim, which the USGS describes as underlain by Mississippian limestone, with sinkholes common where the purest limestone crops out. In Clarksville the USGS even keeps a monitoring site at a sinkhole that takes urban storm runoff straight into the ground. EPA's advice for domestic wells includes keeping contaminants away from sinkholes as well as from the well itself; our sinkholes and karst page covers the ground in more detail.

How far must a well be from a septic system?

At least 50 feet from a septic tank or drain field, under TDEC's minimum separation distances for new wells. Larger waste sources need more room, and the state adds a 20-foot chemical-free radius around the wellhead. Our septic page covers permits for the tank side.

TDEC also asks that casing stand at least 6 inches above ground, 2 feet in flood-prone spots, and that the ground slope away from the well.

Who works on a well in Tennessee?

Licensed contractors. The Tennessee Water Well Act of 1963 requires anyone drilling a well, or installing a pump or treatment device on one, to hold a state license. The driller files a well report with TDEC, and owners should ask for a copy; a well taken out of service must be closed by a licensed driller. TDEC also says the casing should never be cut off by the owner.

If a test comes back positive for bacteria, TDEC's steps are to disinfect the well and retest, and to consider permanent treatment such as a chlorinator or UV light if bacteria return. TDEC's standards have the driller or pump installer disinfect after any service, and the EPA's limit table explains what a nitrate result over 10 mg/L means for infants. High water on the river side is on our Cumberland River page.