Summit County, OH well water testing: health department sampling prices
Short answer: Submit Summit County Public Health's Water Quality Request for Services form with payment to 1867 W. Market St., Akron, Building C, or email it and call 330-926-5600 to pay by card. An inspector then schedules collection. The July 2025 form lists collection at $50 plus $30 each for total coliform/E. coli, nitrate, lead, copper or arsenic.
USGS's 2015 county estimate put Summit County's self-supplied population at about 108,000, roughly 20 percent of residents. USGS says the most common source of self-supplied water is a well. No separate official county-wide private-well count was found beyond that USGS figure. [source]
Summit County Public Health (SCPH) treats private water systems as wells, springs, ponds, hauled-water storage tanks and cisterns. Its Water Quality program permits and inspects those systems and offers drinking-water sampling for residential and commercial properties. [source] [source]
How county sampling works
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Who runs it | Summit County Public Health, Water Quality program. Staff enforce Ohio's private water system rules and collect samples for laboratory analysis. [source] [source] |
| What SCPH tests | Total coliform and E. coli bacteria, plus nitrate, lead, copper and arsenic — parameters SCPH describes as posing an immediate health risk. [source] |
| What SCPH does not test | Aesthetic measures such as total dissolved solids, hardness, iron bacteria, sulfur (rotten-egg odor) and salinity. For those, SCPH says to contact a water treatment company. [source] |
| Who collects the sample | An SCPH inspector. After the request and payment arrive, an inspector contacts you to schedule an appointment. [source] |
| How to request | Complete the Water Quality Request for Services form and submit it with the total fee for every service you want. [source] [source] |
| How to submit | Drop the form off at 1867 W. Market St., Akron — Environmental Health is in Building C; drive to the back of the parking lot — where cash, check and credit cards are accepted. Or mail the form with cash or a check to 1867 W. Market St., Akron, OH 44313. Or email it to ehpayments@schd.org and then call 330-926-5600 to pay by credit card. [source] |
| Office hours | Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. A fee applies to all credit card transactions. [source] |
| Contact | Summit County Public Health, 1867 West Market Street, Akron, OH 44313-6901; phone 330-926-5600; toll-free 1-877-687-0002; fax 330-923-6436. [source] |
Prices (Water Quality Request for Services, revised July 2025)
| Service | Fee |
|---|---|
| Collection fee (required for all water samples) | $50.00 |
| Total coliform/E. coli | $30.00 |
| Nitrate | $30.00 |
| Lead | $30.00 |
| Copper | $30.00 |
| Arsenic | $30.00 |
| Private water system permit re-sample (includes collection and bacteria analysis) | $80.00 |
| Foster or mentor home sample (includes collection and bacteria analysis) | $80.00 |
Fees as listed on the July 2025 form. Adding the required collection fee, a bacteria-only request totals $80; bacteria and nitrate together total $110. [source]
The form says these drinking-water services do not meet the requirements for Summit County Public Health's real estate transfer evaluation. [source] See point-of-sale inspections below.
What and how often to test
SCPH cites the CDC recommendation that private water systems — wells, hauled-water storage tanks, cisterns, ponds or springs — be sampled annually for bacteria. [source]
Ohio State University Extension says a private well should be tested at least once a year for total coliform bacteria, nitrate, pH and total dissolved solids or conductivity. [source] SCPH's menu covers bacteria and nitrate but not pH or total dissolved solids; it points people seeking those aesthetic tests to a water treatment company. [source] See our nitrate guide and coliform guide.
If coliform is found
If results show a high bacteria level, SCPH recommends chlorinating the private water system and then resampling. It recommends that a registered private water system contractor chlorinate the well, and it points homeowners to the Ohio Department of Health's disinfection instructions. [source]
ODH says disinfection should be done after a well is found coliform-positive on a presence/absence test, after total coliform is above four colony-forming units, or if E. coli is present, and that a homeowner may carry out the procedure on an existing well. [source]
The coliform fact sheet SCPH posts (Ohio Department of Health material) says that if coliform bacteria are found in a well, bacterial and mineral slimes have generally built up and the well needs to be professionally cleaned by a registered private water system contractor. [source]
Nitrate, lead and arsenic
Nitrate: the ODH nitrate fact sheet posted by SCPH says Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 3701-28-04 set a nitrate standard of 10 parts per million for private water systems, and that new and altered wells have been pre-screened and tested for nitrates since 2000. Infants under six months who are fed formula made with water above the U.S. EPA drinking-water standard of 10 ppm are most at risk, and the fact sheet says infant formula should be made with another approved source when nitrate is higher than 10 ppm. It also recommends that nursing women avoid drinking water with more than 10 milligrams per liter of nitrate. [source]
Lead: the ODH lead fact sheet posted by SCPH says lead is relatively uncommon in groundwater supplying private wells in Ohio and is more often picked up from plumbing and fixtures. U.S. EPA's action level for public water systems is 0.015 mg/L, or 15 parts per billion. ODH recommends that private water system owners take action to remove or reduce lead when levels are above 15 ppb. Heating or boiling water will not remove lead and can raise the concentration as water evaporates. [source]
Arsenic: the arsenic fact sheet posted by SCPH says that if private well water contains arsenic, do not use it to drink or cook with, do not give it to children, and do not use it to mix baby formula; use another source such as bottled water or connect to a different water system. For drinking water, U.S. EPA allows 10 parts arsenic per billion parts water. [source]
New wells, city water and records
To drill, alter or seal a private water system, you need a permit from SCPH, and a registered private water system contractor must do the work. SCPH posts a list of registered contractors. [source]
If a property connects to city water, the existing private water system must either be properly sealed by a contractor under a sealing permit, or kept for irrigation after a contractor brings it up to code under an alteration permit. [source]
SCPH's Water Quality page has an interactive map that shows whether a parcel has a sewage treatment system or a private water system, and a public-records portal for looking up a specific property. [source]
Point-of-sale inspections (separate from routine sampling)
In Summit County, any residential home with a sewage treatment system or a private water system must be inspected before the property transfers. A registered contractor has to evaluate the system or systems. The inspection results do not stop a transfer; if significant issues turn up, SCPH follows up with the current owner to make sure the systems are not causing a public health nuisance. [source]
When a private company finishes the inspection, it submits the report to SCPH. SCPH says it completes the review within three business days and issues a Certificate of Transfer. [source]
Some properties may be exempt: if the system had a point-of-sale inspection within the last two years, if it was replaced within the last two years, or if the property is exempt from the conveyance fee through the Summit County Fiscal Office. The buyer must submit the exemption application to wqpos@schd.org. [source]
Other certified labs
You can also use a laboratory on Ohio EPA's combined list of certified drinking water labs. [source]
See our Ohio guide and Stark County guide.
FAQ
Where can I get my well water tested in Summit County, Ohio?
Submit Summit County Public Health's Water Quality Request for Services form with payment to 1867 W. Market St., Akron, Building C, or email it and call 330-926-5600 to pay by card. An inspector then schedules collection. The July 2025 form lists collection at $50 plus $30 each for total coliform/E. coli, nitrate, lead, copper or arsenic.
How much does well water testing cost in Summit County, OH?
Summit County Public Health's July 2025 Water Quality Request for Services form lists a $50 collection fee required for every water sample, plus $30 each for total coliform/E. coli, nitrate, lead, copper or arsenic. A bacteria-only request totals $80; bacteria and nitrate together total $110.
Can I drop off my own well water sample with Summit County Public Health?
The county's water-sampling page describes inspector-collected samples: submit the request form with payment, and an inspector contacts you to schedule a visit. The form requires the $50 collection fee for all water samples.
Does a Summit County water test count for selling a house?
Not the routine $50-plus-test sampling. The request form says those services do not meet the county's real-estate transfer evaluation. Homes with a private water system or sewage treatment system need a separate point-of-sale inspection by a registered contractor before the property transfers.
Sources
- Summit County Public Health – Water Sampling (accessed 2026-11-07)
- Summit County Public Health – Water Quality Request for Services (revised July 2025, PDF) (accessed 2026-11-07)
- Summit County Public Health – Private Water System (accessed 2026-11-07)
- Summit County Public Health – Water Quality (accessed 2026-11-07)
- Summit County Public Health – Point of Sale (accessed 2026-11-07)
- Summit County Public Health – Total Coliform and E. coli Fact Sheets (ODH material, PDF) (accessed 2026-11-07)
- Summit County Public Health – Nitrate Fact Sheet (ODH material, PDF) (accessed 2026-11-07)
- Summit County Public Health – Lead in Drinking Water from Private Water Systems (ODH material, PDF) (accessed 2026-11-07)
- Summit County Public Health – Arsenic Fact Sheet (PDF) (accessed 2026-11-07)
- Ohio Department of Health – Disinfection Fact Sheet for Drinking Water Wells, Simple Procedures for Homeowners (accessed 2026-11-07)
- Ohio EPA – Laboratories Certified/Accepted to Perform Analyses on Public Drinking Water (Combined Lab List, PDF) (accessed 2026-11-01)
- Ohio State University Extension (Ohioline) – Household Well Water Testing, AEX-314 (accessed 2026-10-23)
- USGS – Estimated Use of Water in the United States, County-Level Data for 2015 (domestic self-supplied population) (accessed 2026-10-23)
Informational only, not health, medical, legal or real-estate advice. Programs and fees change; confirm with the official source. See our disclaimer and affiliate disclosure.