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Well water testing in Livingston County, Michigan
Most Livingston County residents rely on private wells. This page covers what the county requires for new wells, what the state recommends after that, arsenic in southeast Michigan, and where to send a sample, with a source for every fact.
How many people here use a private well
USGS estimates that about 134,000 people in Livingston County supplied their own household water in 2015, about 71% of the county's population.1 Among all U.S. counties where USGS estimated at least 100,000 self-supplied residents, that was the highest share.1
Local health department
Livingston County Health Department, Environmental Health2
| Contact | Details |
|---|---|
| Address | 2300 E Grand River Ave, Suite 102, Howell, MI 48843 |
| Phone | (517) 546-9858 |
| Fax | (517) 546-9853 |
| Hours | Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. and 1:00–5:00 p.m. (closed county holidays) |
| Web | Water Quality Testing for Wells |
For well, soil evaluation and septic questions, the county asks you to contact the Environmental Health staff member assigned to your township.2
What Michigan requires for new wells
The county says Michigan requires wells to be tested when they're installed or repaired. At a minimum, most new wells must show:2
- Bacteria: negative
- Nitrate: 10 parts per million (ppm) or less
- Arsenic: 10 parts per billion (ppb) or less
Your well permit lists the specific tests required. The property owner is responsible for collecting the samples, though you can ask a contractor or home builder to do it.2
How often to test after that
Livingston County publishes the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) routine schedule:2
| How often | What |
|---|---|
| Every year | Coliform bacteria, nitrate, nitrite |
| Every 3 to 5 years | Arsenic, lead, copper |
The county also suggests a bacteria test if your water's taste, look or smell changes suddenly, if the water turns cloudy after rain or the well top flooded, if someone in the home becomes pregnant or an infant lives there, if a possible contamination source (such as a septic system or barnyard) is within 50 feet of the well, if family members have unexplained flu-like symptoms, or after the water system is serviced.2
EGLE (Michigan's environment agency) 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.3
Arsenic in Livingston County and southeast Michigan
- A USGS study reported that arsenic above 10 µg/L is present in hundreds of private wells across ten counties in eastern and southeastern Michigan, mostly in wells completed in the Marshall Sandstone, the region's main bedrock aquifer, or in glacial or Pennsylvanian bedrock aquifers.5
- A USGS national model estimates that about 7,700 domestic-well users in Livingston County (95% confidence range about 6,100–9,700, based on 2010 population) have well water with predicted arsenic above 10 µg/L.6 That's a model estimate and can't predict any single well.
- EGLE says that if arsenic in your water exceeds 0.010 mg/L (10 ppb), it recommends not using the well water for drinking or cooking.4
Where to get tested and treatment options
PFAS
If you're near a possible PFAS source, the county suggests calling the MDHHS Environmental Health Hotline at 800-648-6942 to see whether your home is in an area under investigation, which may mean free testing. Otherwise, ask a certified lab about PFAS testing.2
Disinfecting your well after a positive bacteria test
Livingston County publishes a step-by-step well chlorination procedure on its water quality page. Some key points from it:2
- Don't pour liquid bleach into a steel well casing; the county says to use granular chlorine instead.
- If your well cap has one large center bolt, or the wellhead is buried, the county says to have a licensed well contractor do it.
- Leave the chlorine in the system for at least eight hours (or overnight), and don't drink, bathe, cook or wash clothes with the water during that time.
- The procedure is written for 5-inch PVC wells with submersible pumps. For jet pumps or 4-inch-or-smaller steel casings, the county advises consulting a licensed well driller first.
See our guide: Shock chlorinating a well.
Related guides
- How to read your well water test results
- Arsenic in well water: testing and treatment options
- How often to test a private well
- 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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Livingston County, MI, Environmental Health, "Water Quality Testing for Wells" (last modified April 28, 2026). 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., Haack, S.K., Cannon, W.F., Westjohn, D.B., Kim, M.-J., and others, 2003, "Arsenic in southeastern Michigan," in Arsenic in Ground Water, p. 281–294 (USGS Publications Warehouse). 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 ↩