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Well water testing in Genesee County, Michigan
Who tests well water in Genesee County, which other labs the county lists, what Michigan recommends you test and how often, and arsenic in eastern Michigan, with a source for every fact.
How many people here use a private well
USGS estimates that about 124,000 people in Genesee County supplied their own household water in 2015, about 30% of the county's population.1
Local health department
Genesee County Health Department, Environmental Health – Wells2
| Contact | Details |
|---|---|
| Address | 324 S Saginaw St, Suite 6, Flint, MI 48502 |
| Phone | 810-257-3603 |
| Web | Wells: Planning, Permits, Bacteria Testing |
The county's well program inspects well sites, issues permits, collects samples, keeps records of new wells, and responds to contamination problems.2 The department runs bacteria testing for well water and publishes a water testing calendar on its wells page; check that page for current sample drop-off days and times before you go.2
Other tests and labs the county lists
On its wells page, which covers permits for new wells, the county says that "while you must test for bacteria, you may wish to test for other things as well," such as nitrates, arsenic, fluoride, lead and salt. It lists other labs that offer these tests, including:2
| Lab | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Michigan EGLE Water Lab | 3350 N MLK Blvd, Lansing, MI 48906 | 517-335-8184 |
| Water Tech Inc. | 718 S Michigan, Howell, MI 48843 | 517-548-2505 |
| Brighton Analytical LLC | 2105 Pless Dr., Brighton, MI | 810-229-7575 |
Confirm with any lab that it's certified for each test you need.
How often to test
The MDHHS routine schedule (as published by Livingston County's health department) is coliform bacteria, nitrate and nitrite every year, and arsenic, lead and copper every 3 to 5 years.3 EGLE lists the standard concerns for private wells as coliform bacteria, nitrate, nitrite, fluoride, chloride, sulfate, sodium, hardness, and metals including arsenic, copper, lead, iron, manganese and uranium.4
Arsenic in eastern Michigan
- A USGS study reported arsenic above 10 µg/L in hundreds of private wells across ten counties in eastern and southeastern Michigan, mostly in wells completed in the Marshall Sandstone or in glacial or Pennsylvanian bedrock aquifers.6
- A USGS national model estimates that about 6,900 domestic-well users in Genesee County (95% confidence range about 5,700–8,500, based on 2010 population) have well water with predicted arsenic above 10 µg/L.7 That's a model estimate and can't predict any single well.
- EGLE recommends not using well water for drinking or cooking if arsenic exceeds 10 ppb, and calls point-of-use reverse osmosis or arsenic adsorption cartridge filters the most effective and practical residential treatment.5
Where to get tested and treatment options
Related guides
- How to read your well water test results
- Shock chlorinating a well
- Oakland County, MI · Livingston County, MI · All Michigan county pages
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Dieter, C.A., and others, 2018, Estimated Use of Water in the United States County-Level Data for 2015 (ver. 2.0), U.S. Geological Survey data release (domestic self-supplied population). https://doi.org/10.5066/F7TB15V5 ↩
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Genesee County, MI, Health Department, "Wells: Planning, Permits, Bacteria Testing." https://www.geneseecountymi.gov/departments/health_department/eh/wells.php ↩↩↩↩↩
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Livingston County, MI, Environmental Health, "Water Quality Testing for Wells" (MDHHS routine testing schedule). https://milivcounty.gov/environmental-health/wells/water-quality/ ↩
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Michigan EGLE, "Private Residential Water Well Testing." https://www.michigan.gov/egle/about/organization/drinking-water-and-environmental-health/water-well-construction/private-well-testing ↩
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Michigan EGLE, "Arsenic in well water." https://www.michigan.gov/egle/about/organization/drinking-water-and-environmental-health/water-well-construction/guidance-materials/arsenic-in-well-water ↩
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Kolker, A., and others, 2003, "Arsenic in southeastern Michigan," in Arsenic in Ground Water, p. 281–294. https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/70199413 ↩
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Ayotte, J.D., Medalie, L., and Qi, S.L., 2017, Estimated county level domestic well population with arsenic greater than 10 micrograms per liter based on probability estimates for the conterminous U.S., U.S. Geological Survey data release. https://doi.org/10.5066/F7CN724V ↩