Private wells
This site summarizes public water systems. A private well is not one of them — so if you are on a well, read this first.
The short version
- Nothing on our city or system report pages describes your well.
- Well owners are their own water system: testing and treatment are yours.
- Bacterial testing of private well water is often free through public health in Ontario — ask your local health unit how to submit samples.
A simple routine
- Bacterial tests several times a year, and after floods, repairs, or any change in taste, smell, or clarity.
- Periodic nitrate (and other) tests through a lab — especially with infants at home.
- Wellhead care: solid cap, ground sloping away, no chemicals stored nearby.
- Treatment follows test results — not worry alone. See filter basics (education only).
Later on this site
Ontario also publishes well construction and groundwater monitoring data (data sources). A separate well area is a possible future — kept apart from the municipal tap-water path so the two audiences stay clear.