Water Safety

Well Water Testing

The Private Well Grants Program offers:

  • Private well water testing, as funds are available, at no cost to the homeowner.
  • Contaminants commonly tested for are Coliform Bacteria, Nitrates, Arsenic, Manganese, and E. Coli.
  • Limited homeowner reimbursement for well or cistern plugging and well reconstruction as funds are available.

Contact Black Hawk County Public Health for more information at 319-291-2413 or email us.

Well Water Program

The Black Hawk County Environmental Health team focuses on educating and informing contractors, businesses and homeowners on Black Hawk County well construction standards and regulations. Black Hawk County also participates in the Private Well Grants program, a State of Iowa program that provides free well water sampling and potential funding to assist homeowners with repairing damage to an existing well and properly closing an obsolete well or cistern.

More information can be found on the Iowa Department of Health and Human Service's website:

  • Information regarding free, private well water testing as funding is available through the Private Well Grants Program
  • Information regarding homeowner reimbursement for well plugging or rehabilitating as funding is available under the Private Well Grants Program
  • Monitoring efforts for small public water supplies also called Transient Non-Community (TNC) Water Systems in several counties
  • Information regarding the standards and enforcement for construction of individual wells that protect area drinking water aquifers from contamination