Well Water Treatment
Private Well Water Treatment in Massachusetts
On a private well, you are the water utility. No state agency tests your water, and no one sends you a report. Here's how to do the job properly.
At a glance
Well Water Treatment- Wells in MA~200,000
- Regulated byLocal Board of Health
- Arsenic MCL10 ppb
- Radon deed notice10,000 pCi/L
Figures are typical ranges for Massachusetts installations. Your system is specified from your own test results.
Nobody is testing your well
This surprises people every week. MassDEP does not regulate private wells — your local Board of Health does, and requirements vary town to town. There is no statewide mandate to test an existing well on any schedule. Most testing that happens in Massachusetts happens at two moments: when a well is first drilled, and when a house is sold. If you've lived in your home for fifteen years and never tested, that is the ordinary situation, not a failure on your part. It's just worth fixing.
What a complete well panel covers
Two categories. Health-based standards first: arsenic, where the limit is 10 parts per billion; radon, where levels above 10,000 pCi/L trigger a deed notification requirement in Massachusetts; coliform bacteria and E. coli; nitrate; lead; uranium in some bedrock; and PFAS6. Then the aesthetic and operational set that determines what your water is doing to your house: hardness, iron, manganese, pH and corrosivity, chloride, sodium, sulphate, turbidity and sediment. All of it has to go through a MassDEP-certified laboratory — that is a legal requirement in Massachusetts, not a preference.
Building the treatment train in the right order
Well water almost never needs one device. It needs a sequence, and the sequence is what separates a system that works for fifteen years from one that fails in eighteen months. Sediment and turbidity come out first. Iron and manganese are oxidised — by air, chlorine, or catalytic media — and then filtered; manganese in particular will not come out without oxidation, and it stains laundry at concentrations as low as 0.05 mg/L. Softening follows, never precedes, iron removal. Arsenic or PFAS media sits where the water reaching it is already clean. UV disinfection goes last, because it needs clear water to work. Low pH gets corrected early, because acidic water dissolves copper and lead out of your own plumbing on the way to the tap.
How it goes
Test first. Quote second. Install third.
In that order, every time. It is the only way to know whether you need a three-thousand-dollar system or a two-hundred-dollar one.
Free in-home water test
We measure hardness in grains per gallon, pH, chlorine or chloramine, iron and total dissolved solids at your tap, and look at your plumbing, water heater and any existing equipment. About 45 minutes, no obligation. Where it's warranted, PFAS, arsenic, radon and bacteria go to a MassDEP-certified laboratory — quoted before any sample is taken.
Straight answers, in writing
Every number read against its standard, what it means for your house, and what we'd do about it. Including the cases where the answer is that you don't need anything from us — which in MWRA communities happens often.
Installed, tested, and proven
Licensed, insured, permitted where your town requires it, and sequenced correctly: sediment, oxidation, softening, specialty media, then UV. We re-test after commissioning, because a system nobody verified is a hope rather than a treatment.
Straight answers
Well Water Treatment — common questions
How often should I test my well water?
Annually for bacteria and nitrate, and every three to five years for the full panel — sooner if the taste, smell or colour changes, if there's flooding or nearby construction, or if anyone in the house becomes pregnant. Your local Board of Health may have its own requirements, and we'll check them for your town.
Can you treat a well with both iron and hardness?
Yes, and it's one of the most common combinations in Massachusetts. The key is order: iron gets oxidised and filtered before the water reaches the softener. Running iron-heavy water through a softener first fouls the resin and shortens its life dramatically — it's the most frequent installation mistake we're called in to correct.
What does a well treatment system cost?
It depends entirely on what the test finds, which is why we test before quoting. A single-issue system is a fraction of what a full train for iron, manganese, hardness, arsenic and bacteria costs. You get the lab results and an itemised written quote, and nothing is installed before you've seen both.
Free in-home water test
Let's find out whether you actually need this
The in-home test is free, takes about 45 minutes, and ends with a written report — including the parts where the answer is that you don't need anything from us.
- Hardness in grains per gallon, pH, chlorine or chloramine, iron and TDS — measured at your tap.
- PFAS, arsenic, radon and bacteria through a MassDEP-certified laboratory, quoted before any sample is taken.
- Every number read against its standard, in writing, with no obligation.
Request your test
2 minutesWe'll be in touch shortly to confirm a time for your free in-home water test. If it's urgent, call (508) 686-1582 and we'll pick up.