Private Water
Program Responsibility: The Board of Health is charged with the enforcement authority of Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 3701-28. The private water system rules govern the construction, inspection, installation, development, maintenance and abandonment of private water supplies (PWS). Private water supplies include certain non-community operations and 1, 2 and 3 family dwellings served by individual water supplies.
Water Well Service Includes:
- Inspection of private water supplies
- Inspection of private water system drillers
- Bacterial and chemical sampling of private and semi-private supplies
- Waterborne illness investigation
Dan Huddleston
419-947-1545 Ext. 306
daniel.huddleston@morrowcountyhealth.org
Helpful Links
- Disinfection Fact Sheet for Water Wells – Simple Procedures for Homeowners
- Ohio Department of Health
- Fact Sheet: I live around a construction and demolition debris landfill and want to test my private well
- 8 Tips for a Private Well Owner
- USDA Single Family Housing Repair Loans and Grants
- ODNR Private Well Search Tool
- Application/Permit for Private water system
- Job Status/Completion Form Link
Inspection of Private Water System: Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 3701-28 governs the construction, inspection, installation, development and maintenance of private water systems. This requires the health department to do an inspection on the construction of all new private water systems. The private water system rules also require the homeowner of the new well to have the water tested for total coliform and a safe result is required. The cost of the first water sample on a new well is included in the cost of the permit. There is a fee for consecutive samples in the case of positive results.
Inspection of Private Water System Drillers: Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 3701-28 requires the health department to do a yearly inspection of water system drillers that live and work in this county. This is to ensure that all wells in our county are properly installed and safe for human use.
Private Water Testing: The health district inspects private water wells for home sales, refinancing and drinking water safety purposes. Tests may be performed, such as total coliform, lead and fluoride. Please call the health department for current pricing of all tests. Water samples are taken on Mondays from 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. with the exception of holiday weeks.
Any new well that has a positive result for contamination will be investigated and re-sampled until a negative (safe) result is achieved. This may include a re-chlorination, sometimes 2-3 times, and in extreme cases, the use of a down-hole camera is used to determine the cause of contamination.
Well Permits: The Health District issues permits for new wells, the alteration of existing wells and permits for the sealing of unused or failed wells. An application may be obtained through the Health District office at 419-947-1545.
For a list of approved well drillers or additional information on private water systems, please click on this link to the Ohio Department of Health website.