Testing
Is well water safe to drink in Ocala? What actually decides it
The water that smells of sulfur and stains the sink is usually the harmless kind. The two things that make well water unsafe have no taste, no color and no smell, and only a lab can see them.
In short
- Nobody tests a private well in Florida unless its owner does.
- The Department of Health recommends bacteria and nitrate tests at least once a year, at about $20 to $30 a sample.
- The sulfur smell and orange stains are nuisances. Bacteria and nitrate have no taste, color or smell.
Most private well water in Florida is safe to drink most of the time. That is not the same as yours being safe today, and the gap between those two statements is the whole subject. A city water system is sampled constantly and publishes the results. A private well is sampled when its owner decides to, and in Florida nobody else will decide for you.
Nobody is checking, by design
The Florida Department of Health is direct about it: private well owners are responsible for making sure their own well water is safe to drink, and there is no mandatory testing for a private well serving a single-family home. The state does not test it, and does not keep a result if you do.
Florida Department of Health, Private well water testing
If you moved to Ocala from a city, or from a state with point-of-sale well testing, this is the one thing worth absorbing. The question "is my water safe" has no default answer here. It has whatever answer your last lab result gave, and if there is no last result, it has none.
The two tests that answer the question
Coliform bacteria. The health test that matters most, and the one that also tells you whether the well itself is sound. Coliforms are an indicator: a positive result means surface water or something living near the surface has found a way in. Nitrate. Associated with fertilizer, septic systems and agriculture, all common in Marion County. It matters most for infants, and the federal drinking water standard for nitrate is 10 milligrams per liter, measured as nitrogen.
Florida Department of Health, Private well water testing · US EPA, National primary drinking water regulations
The Department of Health also suggests a lead test every three years, and for a home purchase it recommends testing for coliform bacteria, nitrate and lead together. Testing is done by state-certified laboratories. The county health department can explain how to collect a sample or collect one for you, for an added fee of about $30 to $40 per visit.
What the smell and the stains do not mean
The water that looks and smells worst is usually the harmless kind. The rotten egg smell common in Floridan aquifer wells is hydrogen sulfide, and at the levels that produce the smell it is chiefly a nuisance. Orange staining is iron, which is regulated on taste, color and staining rather than health. Hardness, the scale on your fixtures, is not bad for you at all according to UF/IFAS Extension.
UF/IFAS Extension Marion County, Water quality series: hard water · Penn State Extension, Hydrogen sulfide in water wells
The things that make water unsafe, bacteria and nitrate, have no taste, no color and no smell at the levels that matter. Your senses are close to useless for this question, which is the entire argument for a laboratory.
A sulfur smell that appears suddenly in a well that never had one, or any sudden change in taste, color or clarity, is a reason to test for bacteria rather than assume it is the usual limestone. Change is the signal, not the smell itself.
When to test outside the annual schedule
- After flooding. Surface water reaching a wellhead is the classic contamination route, and this is Florida.
- After any work on the well. A pump replacement opens the well. It should be disinfected afterwards and a follow-up bacteria test is the proof.
- When anything changes. Taste, smell, color or clarity you cannot explain.
- Before a baby arrives. Specifically for nitrate, and specifically before rather than after.
- When buying a house on a well. Bacteria, nitrate and lead, while the answer can still change who pays.
If a result comes back positive
A bacteria positive is the one to act on. The usual response is to disinfect the well and plumbing, often called shock chlorination, and then retest. If bacteria keep returning, the cause is physical: a cracked casing, a failed seal at the wellhead, or surface water finding a route in. That is a job for a licensed well contractor, and it is worth fixing properly rather than chlorinating again and again. Use bottled water for drinking and cooking until a clean result comes back.
A high nitrate result calls for a different approach, because boiling does not remove nitrate and concentrates it instead. Talk to the county health department about options before an infant drinks the water or formula made with it.
Environmental Public Health at the Florida Department of Health in Marion County is the place to start, on 352-622-7744.
Treatment is a second question
Once you know the water is safe, what remains is comfort: the smell, the stains and the scale. That is a treatment decision, and it should be made from a lab result too. What a whole house system costs and the order it goes in.
Questions people ask
Can you drink well water in Florida?
Yes, and many Florida households do, but only testing tells you whether yours is safe. The Florida Department of Health strongly recommends testing a private well for bacteria and nitrate at least once a year, because owners are responsible for their own well and the state does not test it.
How do I know if my well water is unsafe?
Only a laboratory test can tell you. Coliform bacteria and nitrate, the two main health concerns, have no taste, color or smell at harmful levels. Sudden changes in taste, smell or clarity, flooding near the wellhead, or recent work on the well are all reasons to test right away.
Is it safe to drink well water that smells like sulfur?
The rotten egg smell in Florida well water is usually hydrogen sulfide from the limestone aquifer, and at the levels that produce the smell it is mainly a nuisance. It does not tell you anything about bacteria or nitrate, so the smell is not a reason to assume the water is either safe or unsafe. A sudden new smell is a reason to test.
How much does a well water test cost in Florida?
The Florida Department of Health puts laboratory testing at roughly $20 to $30 per sample, with an added $30 to $40 per visit if health department staff collect it. Broader chemical panels for treatment planning cost more.
Where can I get my well water tested in Marion County?
At a state-certified laboratory. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection keeps the list of certified labs, and the Florida Department of Health in Marion County can explain collection or take the sample for you. Call Environmental Public Health on 352-622-7744.
More for Marion County well owners
Before you hire anyone
Calling a well contractor? Check three things first.
- 1The license. Every Florida water well contractor is licensed. Ask for the number and look it up at the state's contractor verification clearinghouse.
- 2The diagnosis before the price. A pressure switch reading, the tank's air charge and the cable readings, before anybody quotes a new pump. The six questions to ask.
- 3The permit, if a rig is coming. A new well needs one before drilling starts, and it is the contractor's job to have it. Who issues it.
Public offices, free to call
Ocala Well Water is an independent guide. It takes no calls, collects no details, and no company pays to be mentioned. How this site works.