Water Testing Labs Near Me: State by State Guide
Whether you are testing your drinking water from your city tap or a private well, finding a lab near you can be difficult. Different water testing labs are capable of testing different things; they also specialize in different kinds of water, like drinking water and wastewater.
For your convenience, we’ve organized a guide to where to find certified local labs for drinking water testing, state by state.
(Tap Score connects you with a certified laboratory testing network of more than 200 accredited environmental testing facilities around North America.)
Table of Contents:
Considerations Before Contacting the Lab
Before you initiate contact, there are a few things to consider when picking a lab. We’ve listed the various concepts and procedures it’s useful to be familiar with.
Informational vs. Compliance Testing
Compliance testing is a requirement of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SWDA) and applies primarily to public water systems or other agencies that must report their water quality data to comply with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) limits. These cases include legal proceedings, regulatory limits, and in some instances, real estate transactions.
Informational testing is for pretty much everyone else. While that means that labs performing informational testing aren’t required to meet EPA approved standardized methods to analyze your samples, it’s still a good idea to use laboratories that are accredited and/or certified to test for your analytes of interest.
Accreditation vs. Certification
When it comes to drinking water laboratories, an accredited lab and a certified lab are the same thing. It is just two different ways of saying that an accrediting/certifying agency (like NELAP, the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program) has ensured that the lab meets the requirements to perform the testing they offer.
Additionally, accredited laboratories can also be referred to as state-certified.
Sampling Requirements, Drop-off Procedure, and Turnaround Time
Labs will usually be very straightforward about their requirements and it’s your responsibility to pick the lab that best aligns with your needs. However, those requirements are not always easy to understand. Also, some labs may require a minimum number of analytes to test for, which, in turn, can become expensive quickly.
Sampling requirements refers to how the lab would like you to collect your water sample. The lab will inform you when to expect results. How you receive your results depends on the lab (e.g., mailed, emailed, for pickup). It’s worth noting that reports offered directly from the lab are specialized and not easy to read or interpret.
Analyte List
This is a list of analytes—or substances being identified and measured—the laboratory’s facilities can test for. Some lists are as simple as a list of items, some offer more detail about each analyte and the testing process or sampling method.
Benefits of a Laboratory Network
Before initiating contact with a local water testing laboratory, you’ll want to know exactly what analytes you’d like to test for. Different considerations depend on whether you are a customer of a public utility or a private well owner, as well as any issues specific to your location.
- Heavy metals (like lead, arsenic, chromium) are always important to test for—no matter your water source
- Well owners will want to include coliform bacteria and nitrates in their list
- Utility customers might want to test for volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
That being said, selecting a laboratory on a contaminant-by-contaminant basis might prove more cumbersome than it needs to be. Tap Score offers ready-made kits that offer testing for a suite of contaminants and water quality parameters. And there’s no need to contact individual labs or coordinate a handful of processes. It’s as simple as ordering a kit to tap into our certified/accredited laboratory testing network.
Labs by Region: the Northeast
Connecticut
Maine
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Vermont
Labs by Region: the Southeast
Alabama
Arkansas
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Mississippi
North Carolina
South Carolina
Tennessee
Virginia
West Virginia
Labs by Region: the Midwest
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Nebraska
North Dakota
- North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services (North Dakota HHS)
- North Dakota State University (NSDU) (list of certified labs)
Ohio
South Dakota
Wisconsin
Labs by Region: the Southwest
Arizona
New Mexico
Oklahoma
Texas
Labs by Region: the West
Alaska
California
Colorado
Hawaii
Idaho
Montana
Nevada
Oregon
Utah
Washington
Wyoming
Closing Thoughts
We hope you found this state-by-state list helpful. If it's all a bit overwhelming, remember that we've designed a range of award-winning kits specifically designed for your water. We handle everything, from ensuring the lab is certified to making sampling and shipping a breeze. Pick your kit below to get started.
back to top
Related Articles
-
Tap Score Lab Certifications
Laboratory certification in the water quality industry is as important as it is confusing. Here we try to disentangle the many threads of laboratory accreditation and certification so that you...
-
What is Proficiency Testing in Labs?
Proficiency Testing (PT) is a process designed to evaluate a laboratory’s performance, testing accuracy, and overall practices. Read on to learn about how laboratory's are assessed by third-party proficiency programs.
-
What is Turnaround Time (TAT)?
In the world of laboratory testing, a phrase you often hear is “turnaround time” or “TAT”. In this article, we explain what “turnaround time” is, what factors can impact turnaround...
Shop our most
popular tests
- I Have City Water
- City Water
- I Have Well Water
- Well Water
Essential City Water Test
Basic test panel for water utility customers primarily concerned by metals, aging pipes, and infrastructure.
Advanced City Water Test
Ideal baseline for testing tap water provided by a local water utility–including metals, minerals, and chlorine-related byproducts.
Extended City Water Test
Comprehensive testing for the core concerns impacting utility-provided tap water, plus analysis of radioactive particles and additional disinfection byproducts.
