Well water testing in Wake County, North Carolina
Last verified: · 7 sources · What we couldn't verify
Wake County runs its own well water testing program (packages from $140-$175 plus a $50 trip fee, with income-based pricing of $73 or $182.50). Eastern Wake County has elevated naturally occurring uranium, radon and gross alpha; the county expects one in five wells there to have unsafe levels.
Wake County's well program serves owners and renters whose drinking water comes from a private well. If you pay a water bill, you are on a public system and your utility already tests your water. Statewide, NCDHHS says about 2.4 million North Carolinians rely on groundwater as their primary drinking water source.[1][7]
Free and low-cost testing programs
Wake County well water testing program
Fee-based county program · Wake County Onsite Water Protection
Cost: First Timer's Package $175 + $50 trip fee; Rads Package $140 + $50 trip fee
Order through the Wake County Permit Portal under "Well Water Sampling - Existing Well". Staff invoice you, schedule a sampling visit (it may take a week until samples are collected), and email results with guidance. Bacteria results are usually ready within 48 hours; other tests can take 2-4 weeks.[1][2]
Contact: Well Water Information Specialist: 919-856-7482, wellwater@wake.gov
Income-based reduced-cost testing
Subsidized · Wake County
Cost: $73 (household at or below the federal poverty level) or $182.50 (household up to 2.5x the federal poverty level)
Wake County will test private well water for the most common contaminants at reduced cost. You must complete a request for testing and a notarized affidavit of eligibility, then mail them with a check or money order to Wake County Onsite Water Protection Well Testing, P.O. Box 550, Raleigh NC 27602. Wake County offers free notarization at its regional centers. Example income limits on the county page: 4-person household $33,000 (poverty level) or $82,500 (2.5x).[3]
Labs that serve the county
Wake County Water Quality Lab
Mail-in: not verifiedHomeowner samples: yes
Wake County Public Health Center, 2nd floor, Room 2051, 200 Swinburne St., Raleigh, NC 27610
919-250-4437
Pick up bottles and drop off self-collected samples for coliform/E. coli bacteria and inorganics (Mon-Fri, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; no bacteria samples the day before a holiday). Other tests (VOCs, pesticides, radiologicals) must be collected by county staff. The county pages describe drop-off only; we found no mention of mail-in.[1][5]
You do not have to use Wake County: the county says any lab certified by the N.C. Division of Public Health for the recommended tests is acceptable, and some private labs accept self-collected bacteria and inorganics samples. We have not yet verified individual private labs serving Wake County; use the state certified-lab search linked below and confirm mail-in and homeowner acceptance with the lab.[1]
Local contaminants of concern
- Major concern Uranium, radon and gross alpha (eastern Wake). Wake County says it expects one in five wells in Eastern Wake County to have unsafe levels of naturally occurring contamination, and recommends the Rads Package (uranium, gross alpha and beta, radon in water, plus a radon-in-air kit) for addresses in the shaded area of its map. In the NCWELL test-result data summarized by UNC's Superfund Research Program, 40 of 411 Wake County wells tested for uranium (9.73%) were above the 30 µg/L standard.[4][6]
- Moderate concern Manganese and iron. In the same UNC/NCWELL summary, 23.14% of 2,420 wells tested exceeded the EPA manganese health advisory (300 µg/L) and 23.01% of 665 exceeded the DEQ iron level (2,500 µg/L).[6]
- Moderate concern Lead. 3.45% of 2,466 Wake County wells tested were above the 15 µg/L lead action level (UNC/NCWELL summary). Lead usually comes from plumbing, so it is included in the county's inorganic panel.[6][2]
- Lower concern Arsenic. 6 of 2,461 wells tested (0.24%) were above the 10 µg/L arsenic standard; the maximum recorded was 237 µg/L, so individual wells can still be high.[6]
- Lower concern Nitrate / nitrite. 1 of 122 wells tested (0.82%) exceeded the nitrate standard in the UNC/NCWELL summary (small sample).[6]
- Not verified Bacteria. No countywide bacteria rate was found in the sources we reviewed. Wake County recommends testing for coliform bacteria every year for all well users.[2]
- Not verified PFAS. Wake County's testing page discusses PFAS, but PFAS is not on the county's list of available tests and we found no Wake County private-well PFAS data. Unverified - use a certified private lab if you are concerned.[1][2]
A county rate can't tell you what's in your well. Only a test can. See what to test for.
Typical cost
| Test / item | Price |
|---|---|
| Trip fee (any time county staff collect samples)[2] | $50 |
| First Timer's Package (bacteria, full inorganics, VOCs, pesticides)[2] | $175 + trip fee |
| Rads Package (gross alpha/beta, radon in water, uranium, radon-in-air kit)[2] | $140 + trip fee |
| Coliform bacteria (self-collect allowed)[2] | $25 (+ trip fee if county collects) |
| Full inorganic panel (self-collect allowed)[2] | $50 (+ trip fee if county collects) |
| Nitrate / nitrite[2] | $25 (+ trip fee if county collects) |
| Single inorganic analyte[2] | $20 (+ trip fee if county collects) |
| VOCs, pesticides, herbicides, gross alpha/beta, radon in water (each)[2] | $50 + trip fee |
| Uranium[2] | $40 + trip fee |
| Radium 226 & 228[2] | $175 + trip fee |
Prices are from the published lists cited, as of the last-verified date. Confirm before ordering.
How often to test
- Bacteria: every year.[1]
- First Timer's Package if never tested or last test was more than five years ago; then every five years unless you have treatment installed.[2]
- Full inorganic panel: every 2 to 5 years.[2]
- If any contamination was found, test for that contaminant more often.[1]
How to collect a sample
Wake County accepts only bacteria and inorganics samples collected by residents; all other county tests are collected by county staff.
- Pick up sample containers and instructions at the Water Quality Lab, the Eastern, Northern or Southern Regional Center, or the Waverly F. Akins Wake County Office Building.
- Follow the lab's instructions for your kit (Wake County provides a sampling video; kits vary by lab).
- Return samples with payment to the Wake County lab in Raleigh, Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Bacteria samples are not accepted the day before a holiday.
Source[1][5]. General steps: How to test your well water.
After you get results
Wake County points well users to the Be Well Informed tool to interpret results, and offers a Well Water Information Specialist (919-856-7482, wellwater@wake.gov) for questions. Its page lists treatment types: aeration or GAC for radon (GAC not recommended above 4,000 pCi/L), anion exchange or reverse osmosis for uranium.[1]
What we couldn't verify
- Private certified labs serving Wake County, their prices, and whether they accept mail-in samples (not yet researched).
- Whether the Wake County Water Quality Lab accepts mailed samples (not stated on the county pages we read).
- Any countywide bacteria or PFAS statistics for Wake County private wells.
- The date range of the NCWELL data behind the UNC fact sheet is not stated on the fact sheet itself.
Sources
- Wake County Government: Well Water Testing
- Wake County Government: Available Well Water Tests and Fees
- Wake County Government: Programs to Help with Your Septic Repairs, Well Repairs, Water Treatment & Well Testing
- Wake County Government: Naturally Occurring Contamination
- Wake County Government: Wake County Water Quality Lab
- UNC Superfund Research Program: Well Water Contaminants in Wake County (fact sheet, 2022; NCWELL database, Eaves et al. 2022)
- NCDHHS Division of Public Health: Private Wells: Facts and Figures
All sources accessed on or before 2026-10-25.