Affordable Home Inspections

Home Buyer's and Seller's Guide to Radon EPA Recommends: If you are buying a home or selling your home, have it tested for radon. For a new home, ask if radon-resistant construction features were used and if the home has been tested. Fix the home if the radon level is 4 pico Curies per liter (pCi...

Identify Potential Problem Sources To start your search for potential problems, begin close to home. Do a survey around your well: is there livestock nearby? are pesticides being used on nearby agricultural crops or nurseries? do you use lawn fertilizers near the well? is your well "downstream" f...

  What You Can Do...    Private, individual wells are the responsibility of the homeowner. To help protect your well, here are some steps you can take: Have your water tested periodically. It is recommended that water be tested every year for total coliform bacteria, nitrates, total dissolved sol...

Septic tanks are designed to have a leach field around them an area where wastewater flows out of the tank. This wastewater can also move into the ground water. Bacteria and Nitrates: These pollutants are found in human and animal wastes. Septic tanks can cause bacterial and nitrate pollution. So...

Human Health The first step to protect your health and the health of your family is learning about what may pollute your source of drinking water. Potential contamination may occur naturally, or as a result of human activity. What are Some Naturally Occurring Sources of Pollution? Microorganisms...

Drilled Wells Drilled wells penetrate about 100-400 feet into the bedrock. Where you find bedrock at the surface, it is commonly called ledge. To serve as a water supply, a drilled well must intersect bedrock fractures containing ground water. Drilled Well Construction Features The casing is usu...

Driven Wells Like dug wells, driven wells pull water from the water-saturated zone above the bedrock. Driven wells can be deeper than dug wells. They are typically 30 to 50 feet deep and are usually located in areas with thick sand and gravel deposits where the ground water table is within 15 fee...

Dug Wells Dug wells are holes in the ground dug by shovel or backhoe. Historically, a dug well was excavated below the groundwater table until incoming water exceeded the diggers bailing rate. The well was then lined (cased) with stones, brick, tile, or other material to prevent collapse. It was...

If your family gets drinking water from a private well, do you know if your water is safe to drink? What health risks could you and your family face? Where can you go for help or advice? EPA regulates public water systems; it does not have the authority to regulate private drinking water wells. A...