Water quality when purchasing a home

February 28, 2019

There are several things to consider when purchasing a home with an artesian well. First, at your cost, you’ll need to have your water quality analyzed by an independent expert, as a recent water quality analysis is usually required by financial institutions before they’ll lend money to a buyer.

Infortunately, since this analysis is not adequate for ensuring that everything is in order, several other things need to be considered.

You’ll need to, above all, verify the condition and the proper functioning of the well system, especially the pump and the well head. If you are not familiar with wells, it’s best to contact a well specialist for a thorough inspection in order to avoid any unpleasant surprises.

The seller can help you

You can gather a lot of information from the seller.

Here’s what we recommend asking the seller for in terms of information, reports and documents:

• Ask for everything there is to know about the construction, maintenance and condition of the artesian well.
• Ask for the drilling report, which was created during the drilling of the well. This document allows you to understand more about the drilling method used, the depth of the well, the tubing and the inlet filter.
• Ask to see all the maintenance reports following construction as well as the inspection reports for the pump system.
• Ask for all water quality tests performed since the well’s construction.

Following the request for this information, you’ll have all your facts so you can make a well-informed decision during the purchase of your home with an artesian well.

If the seller doesn’t have this information

It may turn out that the seller doesn’t have all this information. If this is the case, contact us to perform an expert inspection of the well. With this, you’ll know: the depth of the well, the flow it currently provides (as the flow can vary over time) as well as the general state of the pump system. At your discretion, we can perform a bacterial analysis at the same time.

To perform this inspection, you’ll need to have authorization from the seller, an adequate pump system in place, and the well must be easily accessible.

If you have questions regarding artesian wells, please don’t hesitate to contact a member of our team. We’ll be happy to respond.