Private wells and household water supplies: country by country

Short answer. Of the 62 countries compared, 17 have an official or sector page on private wells we could cite; 45 have nothing confirmed. Advised frequencies range from every 6 months for microbes in Canada ¹⁴ to once a year in the United States ¹⁵ and Ireland ⁸ and every three years in Sweden ¹². None of the cited pages sets a compulsory schedule for a single-household well.

How do the 62 countries compare?

Each country links to its own page. "Who regulates or advises" names the body behind the page we cite; "testing advice or obligation" summarises what that page says. "Unconfirmed" means our review found a lead that no checked official page backed up; "not found in official sources" means the review found nothing at all. Where the only page is regional or municipal, the cell says so: it does not describe the whole country.

We have left out the WHO/UNICEF JMP share of the population with safely managed drinking water. For most countries in this review, no checked source supports a country figure, so none is shown here.

Europe

Americas

Asia and Oceania

Middle East and Africa

Countries that give a testing frequency

Five countries give an interval on the page we cite, one of them only at municipal level:

• Every 6 months: Canada, for microbial contamination (E. coli and total coliforms), with general parameters every 2 years. Health Canada adds that local health units often recommend testing three times a year ¹⁴.
• At least once a year: the United States, for total coliforms, nitrates, total dissolved solids and pH ¹⁵, and Ireland, for bacteria ⁸.
• At least every three years: Sweden, and every year in some cases ¹².
• At least every five years: Denmark, but only in the guide of Rebild Kommune, one municipality; the national frequency is unconfirmed ⁴.

Norway gives no national interval. The leaflet we cite advises having the water analysed, particularly after heavy rain or snowmelt, and leaves frequency to the municipality ¹⁰. Germany ⁷ and the Czech Republic ³ recommend regular analysis, and Croatia ² and Poland ¹¹ recommend analysis, without a number on the cited page. Estonia offers laboratory testing with no compulsory frequency ⁵.

If your well may have been reached by floodwater, these routine intervals no longer apply: see keeping a private well safe in an emergency and tap water after a flood.

Countries with a legal duty

No source cited here obliges the owner of a well serving one household to test it on a schedule. The duties found are of a different kind:

• Declaration: in France, every domestic well or borehole drawing under 1,000 m³ a year must be declared at the town hall, under article L.2224-9 of the Code général des collectivités territoriales, using form Cerfa 13837. If the water is used for drinking, an analysis by an approved laboratory is requested ⁶.
• Duties on the authority: in England, the Private Water Supplies Regulations 2016 require local authorities to risk-assess and sample private supplies. A well serving a single dwelling is tested on request ¹³. This applies to England; the other UK nations are not covered by the source.
• Supplies to other people: in Germany, systems that supply third parties must be notified and are inspected under the Trinkwasserverordnung ⁷. In the Netherlands, own supplies (eigen winning) that deliver to third parties are supervised by the ILT ⁹.

The United States has no federal obligation; the CDC notes that some states require tests, for example when a property is sold ¹⁵.

Countries where only a regional or local source exists

Four of the 17 pages are not national:

• Australia: NSW Health's Private Water Supply Guidelines (2016) apply in New South Wales ¹⁶.
• New Zealand: the page is from Otago Regional Council ¹⁷.
• Denmark: the frequency comes from Rebild Kommune's guide ⁴.
• Belgium: AQUAWAL is the water sector federation in Wallonia, not a regulator ¹.

The UK source covers England only ¹³; the Norway leaflet is from Norsk Vann, a sector body ¹⁰.

Countries with no confirmed official guidance

For 45 countries, no checked official page confirms who advises well owners or how often to test. In 18 of them the review found a lead it could not confirm, often because the official site was blocked or the text was not located: Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Malta, Moldova, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and Ukraine. In the other 27, nothing was found.

In these countries the local health authority is the usual place to ask. Our water hub collects the related guides, and the boil-water notice guide covers what to do while you wait for a test result. If your home is on a public supply rather than a well, see how to check if your tap water is safe.

Frequently asked questions

How often should I test a private well?

It depends on the country. Health Canada advises every 6 months for microbes and every 2 years for general parameters ¹⁴. The CDC ¹⁵ and Ireland's EPA ⁸ advise at least once a year. Sweden's Livsmedelsverket says at least every three years, and every year in some cases ¹².

Is testing a private well compulsory?

No source cited here sets a compulsory testing schedule for a single-household well. Ireland's EPA advises yearly testing with no obligation for a single-household well ⁸; the United States has no federal obligation, though some states set one ¹⁵. France requires a declaration and, for drinking water, asks for an approved laboratory analysis ⁶.

Who checks my well if I live in England?

Under the Private Water Supplies Regulations 2016, local authorities in England must risk-assess and sample private supplies; a well serving a single dwelling is tested on request ¹³.

What should a routine test cover?

The CDC lists total coliforms, nitrates, total dissolved solids and pH ¹⁵. Health Canada separates microbial tests (E. coli, total coliforms) from general parameters tested less often ¹⁴. In Otago, the regional council names E. coli and nitrates ¹⁷.

What if my country is listed as "not found"?

It means our review of official sources found no page to cite, not that no rule exists. Ask your local health authority, and keep a backup supply of water as described in our private well emergency guide.

Making your water supply part of your plan

If your home relies on a well, a household plan can note when the well was last tested, which laboratory to use, and how much stored water to keep while results are pending. The Phaenyx plan sets out these steps alongside the rest of your preparedness.

Sources

1. AQUAWAL — ASBL AQUAWAL – Union professionnelle des opérateurs publics du cycle de l'eau en Wallonie — https://www.aquawal.be/ (accessed 2026-10-27)
2. Hrvatski zavod za javno zdravstvo (HZJZ) — Služba za zdravstvenu ekologiju — https://www.hzjz.hr/sluzba-zdravstvena-ekologija/ (accessed 2026-10-27)
3. Státní zdravotní ústav (SZÚ) — Pitná voda — https://szu.gov.cz/temata-zdravi-a-bezpecnosti/zdravi-a-zivotni-prostredi/pitna-voda/ (accessed 2026-10-27)
4. Rebild Kommune — Vejledning til ejere med egen drikkevandsboring — https://rebild.dk/sites/default/files/2020-10/Vejledning%20til%20ejere%20med%20egen%20drikkevandsboring.pdf (accessed 2026-10-27)
5. Terviseamet (Health Board) — Joogivesi — https://www.terviseamet.ee/keskkonnatervis/vesi/joogivesi#erakaevuvesi (accessed 2026-10-27)
6. justice.fr (Ministère de la Justice) — Déclarer un projet de puits ou forage domestique — https://www.justice.fr/fiche/declarer-projet-puits-forage-domestique (accessed 2026-10-27)
7. Umweltbundesamt (UBA) — Gesundes Trinkwasser aus eigenen Brunnen und Quellen — https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/publikationen/gesundes-trinkwasser-aus-eigenen-brunnen-quellen (accessed 2026-10-27)
8. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Ireland — Drinking water — https://www.epa.ie/environment-and-you/drinking-water/ (accessed 2026-10-27)
9. Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport (ILT) — Drinkwater — https://www.ilent.nl/onderwerpen/drinkwater (accessed 2026-10-27)
10. Norsk Vann — For deg med egen brønn — https://norskvann.no/wp-content/uploads/For-deg-med-egen-bronn.pdf (accessed 2026-10-27)
11. Główny Inspektorat Sanitarny (GIS) — Zalecenia i zagrożenia — https://www.gov.pl/web/gis/zalecenia-i-zagrozenia6 (accessed 2026-10-27)
12. Livsmedelsverket (Swedish Food Agency) — Egen brunn — https://www.livsmedelsverket.se/livsmedel-och-innehall/dricksvatten/egen-brunn2/ (accessed 2026-10-27)
13. Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) — Private water supplies — https://www.dwi.gov.uk/private-water-supplies/ (accessed 2026-10-27)
14. Health Canada — Well water and health: Test your well water — https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/environment/drinking-water/well/test.html (accessed 2026-10-27)
15. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — Guidelines for Testing Well Water — https://www.cdc.gov/drinking-water/safety/guidelines-for-testing-well-water.html (accessed 2026-10-27)
16. NSW Health — Private Water Supply Guidelines — https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/environment/water/Publications/private-water-supply-guidelines.pdf (accessed 2026-10-27)
17. Otago Regional Council — Private bore water supplies — https://www.orc.govt.nz/environment/water-care/groundwater/private-bore-water-supplies (accessed 2026-10-27)