How's the Water?
The new Private Well Testing Act will become effective on September 14, 2002. (For more information on this, see our article entitled "Selling Your House? Test Your Water: The Private Well Testing Act".) Contracts for sale for homes served by a private well must condition the sale on the testing of the property’s water supply for total coliform, nitrates, iron, manganese, PH and certain volatile organic compounds. Arsenic is also tested for in central New Jersey. Radium will be tested in the future.
Testing must be done by approved laboratories. Tests could cost several hundred dollars. It isn’t clear yet who will pay for the tests – Seller or Buyer? If the test results reveal excessive levels of the tested for elements, the results will be reported to local health boards who may in turn notify other property owners within 200 feet without identifying which property has the problem.
At closing a certification must be signed by the Buyer and Seller that they have received and reviewed the water test results.
Municipalities whose residents are served by municipal wells also send out periodic reports as to the quality of their water. These reports can be very informative, and are available from local water companies.
Tip: The EPA has a Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791) which provides information about contaminants and potential health effects.
