Free Workshop & Water Testing

The Seacoast Private Well Initiative is providing a workshop and free water testing to private well owners/users in North Hampton and Exeter!

If your drinking water comes from a private well, it’s important for the health of you and your family that you test your water regularly. New Hampshire well water can contain naturally occurring contaminants in soil and rock, such as bacteria, arsenic, radon and uranium; other contaminants can find their way into water from human activities, such as PFAS. Many private well owners in Exeter and North Hampton have found high levels of naturally occurring arsenic in their water. You cannot taste, smell or see arsenic, but over time it can cause serious health issues and can be especially harmful to pregnant women and infants. If you test and find contaminants in your water, there are water treatment options available.

Participation is free in the North Hampton & Exeter Private Well Workshop and water testing. Here’s how it works:

• You attend the Exeter and North Hampton Private Well Workshop at 6:00pm at Exeter High School Auditorium on Wednesday, January 11. Please let us know you plan to attend by e-mailing welltest@des.nh.gov.
• You’ll learn about the most common NH well contaminants, you’ll receive sample bottles and we’ll teach you how to take the samples from your kitchen faucet.
• Before leaving the workshop, you’ll choose a timeslot for sample drop off. The morning of your scheduled date, you’ll fill the bottles and bring them to location indicated on the sample kit.
• We’ll e-mail you your water test results, with instructions on how to interpret them, treatment recommendations, and our contact info for any follow up questions.

Water will be tested for a list of contaminants common in NH well water, including but not limited to: coliform bacteria, e. coli, radon, arsenic, uranium, lead and 4 PFAS compounds.

Please register for the workshop by e-mailing you plan to attend to: welltest@des.nh.gov

For questions about the workshop, contact Amy Hudnor at (603) 271-5986 or welltest@des.nh.gov, Exeter Health Officer James Murray at (603) 773-6132, or North Hampton Administrator Michael Tully at (603) 964-8087.

The Seacoast Private Well Initiative is a project of the NH Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) and the Seacoast Commission on Long-Term Goals and Requirements for Drinking Water. Funds for water testing is provided by the NH Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust Fund.