Lab inventory · IA · Updated 2026-09-01
Iowa Certified Well Water Labs
A working inventory of laboratories on Iowa DNR LabCert’s Drinking Water program list. Confirm current analyte-and-method certification in LabCert or PublicSearch before you mail a sample.
Iowa’s private-well problem that shows up first on a lab sheet is often nitrate, not a rusty sink. Iowa DNR’s Private Well Grants Program and the State Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa both put annual bacteria and nitrate at the front of the queue. DNR’s well-testing page tells private-well owners to test at least annually for bacteria / E. coli / coliform and nitrate, and every three years for arsenic and manganese. SHL’s private-well page says the same annual pair and adds arsenic and manganese at least once in the life of the well. Those are extras to ask the lab about — not a diagnosis on this page, and not medical advice. For the 10 mg/L as N comparison, USGS sample-size caveats, and SHL’s nitrate treatment classes, use the Nitrates in Iowa well water guide — not a filter brand. Free testing, when it is available, runs through your county environmental health office under the Private Well Grants Program. Well Diagnosis does not run a kit program, does not certify laboratories, and does not interpret a number as a health score. If total coliform or E. coli is present, or nitrate is at or above 10 mg/L as N, take the sheet to the county health department. Then read the lab-report guide on this site before anyone sells you a tank.
News for IA well ownersNitrates in Iowa well water
Official search first
Open Iowa DNR LabCert. Start with the List of Certified Labs (this snapshot is dated 8/30/2026 on the public table). Filter the Program column to Drinking Water. Prefer Commercial labs and the State Hygienic Laboratory locations at Coralville, Ankeny, and Lakeside (Milford). Municipal and government plant labs can hold Drinking Water certification and still refuse a kitchen bottle — call to confirm they take private-well samples. Skip Industrial/Private and Nonpotable-only rows. Then use PublicSearch to confirm the lab is still certified for the analyte and method you need (coliform, E. coli, nitrate as N, and any arsenic or manganese you are adding). Certification in Iowa is by analyte/method pair under the Safe Drinking Water Act, not by a brand name on a van. Call about bottles, the 48-hour bacteria hold time, and whether a Friday drop-off can arrive on time. The DNR Laboratory Certification program contact published on the Environmental Laboratory Certification Program page is Kathy Lee, 515-725-0343. After you have a sheet, come back to the homepage and match stains or smells to a treatment class — not the other way around.
Iowa DNR LabCert — list of certified labs
- LabCert PublicSearch (confirm current fields)
- Iowa DNR Environmental Laboratory Certification Program
- Iowa DNR: Private Well Program
- Iowa DNR: Well Testing (Private Well Grants cadence)
- Iowa DNR: how often to test
- State Hygienic Laboratory: Private Well Water
- EPA: Protect Your Home’s Water
- CDC: Guidelines for Testing Well Water
- EPA state lab-certification contacts
- Tap Score / SimpleLab (official URL; affiliate application pending)
Labs that take private-well work
Listing here is not a certification. Phone the lab, ask for current drinking-water fields of accreditation, hold times, and whether they want a Friday bacteria sample. If the result is coliform or nitrate, take the sheet to your health department.
Coralville · Johnson / statewide kits
Private wells: yesState Hygienic Laboratory — Coralville
2490 Crosspark Ave, Coralville, IA 52241-4721
319-335-4500
Iowa’s Environmental and Public Health Laboratory and the Safe Drinking Water Act primacy lab. LabCert LabListing dated 8/30/2026 lists this Government laboratory as lab number 027 with Drinking Water (and other programs). SHL’s private-well page tells owners to test total coliform and E. coli plus nitrates every year, and arsenic and manganese at least once in the life of the well. Iowa residents may qualify for no-cost testing through the Private Well Grants Program — that path starts at the county environmental health office, not at this website.
SHL says bacteria samples must reach the lab within 48 hours; do not ship Friday if the bottle will sit over a weekend. If coliform or E. coli is present, or nitrate is at or above 10 mg/L as N, call the county health department. This site is not medical advice. Confirm current Drinking Water fields in PublicSearch before you order arsenic or manganese.
Lab website · Iowa DNR LabCert LabListing (8/30/2026) and SHL Private Well Water
Ankeny · Polk / central Iowa
Private wells: yesState Hygienic Laboratory — Ankeny
2220 South Ankeny Blvd., Ankeny, IA 50023
515-725-1600
LabCert LabListing dated 8/30/2026 lists this Public laboratory as lab number 397 with Drinking Water. Same SHL private-well program as Coralville: annual coliform / E. coli and nitrate; ask about arsenic and manganese as extras. Use this number if you are dropping a bottle on the Des Moines side of the state.
Listing here is not a certificate. Re-check LabCert PublicSearch for the current analyte/method pair. County environmental health still books Private Well Grants samples.
Milford · Dickinson / northwest Iowa
Private wells: yesState Hygienic Laboratory — Lakeside (Milford)
Iowa Lakeside Laboratory, Milford, IA 51351
712-337-3669
LabCert LabListing dated 8/30/2026 lists this Government laboratory as lab number 393 with Drinking Water and Nonpotable Water. It is the northwest SHL bench. Same private-well cadence as the other SHL sites. Confirm hold times before you mail a bacteria bottle across the lakes.
Ask whether the Lakeside bench can run the metals you need or whether the bottle forwards to Coralville. Do not assume one drop-off covers every analyte.
Cedar Falls · Black Hawk / northeast Iowa
Private wells: call to confirmEurofins — Cedar Falls
3019 Venture Way, Cedar Falls, IA 50613
319-277-2401
Commercial laboratory on the 8/30/2026 LabListing (lab number 007) with Drinking Water plus several non-drinking programs. A homeowner bottle still needs a phone call: ask for current Safe Drinking Water fields for coliform, E. coli, and nitrate as N, and whether arsenic or manganese are on the same certificate.
Do not treat a multi-program listing as a private-well welcome mat. Confirm they take a residential sample and that bacteria can meet the hold time.
Waterloo · Black Hawk / northeast Iowa
Private wells: call to confirmMicrobac Laboratories — Waterloo
3012 Ansborough Ave, Waterloo, IA 50701
319-235-4440
Commercial laboratory on the 8/30/2026 LabListing (lab number 051) with Drinking Water and Nonpotable Water. Call before you assume a well panel is on the menu.
Re-check PublicSearch for the analyte you are paying for. A wastewater certificate does not cover a kitchen coliform.
Newton · Jasper / central Iowa
Private wells: call to confirmMicrobac Laboratories — Newton
600 East 17th Street South, Newton, IA 50208
641-792-8451
Commercial laboratory on the 8/30/2026 LabListing (lab number 095) with Drinking Water and several other programs. Ask specifically for drinking-water coliform, nitrate, and any metal you need.
Listing here is not a ranking. Confirm current fields and whether they accept a mailed homeowner bottle.
Centerville · Appanoose / southern Iowa
Private wells: call to confirmMicrobac Laboratories — Centerville
205 E Van Buren St, Centerville, IA 52544
641-437-7023
Commercial laboratory on the 8/30/2026 LabListing (lab number 311) with Drinking Water and Nonpotable Water. Southern-Iowa drop-off if they still take private-well work — call first.
Hours and accepted sample types change. Use LabCert, not a sales flyer, as the certificate.
Ellsworth · Hamilton / north-central Iowa
Private wells: call to confirmAgSource
1701 Detroit St., Ellsworth, IA 50075
515-297-8103
Commercial laboratory on the 8/30/2026 LabListing (lab number 061) with Drinking Water and other programs. Confirm they will take a private-well bacteria and nitrate pair and whether arsenic or manganese need a different bottle.
The website link here is LabCert PublicSearch so you can re-check fields. Do not invent a storefront from a directory row.
Le Claire · Scott / eastern Iowa
Private wells: call to confirmQC Analytical Services
1798 Iowa Drive, Le Claire, IA 52753
563-289-3373
Commercial laboratory on the 8/30/2026 LabListing (lab number 113) with Drinking Water and several other programs. Quad-Cities side of the state. Ask about hold times if you are crossing the river.
Call to confirm a homeowner bottle is welcome. Re-check LabCert before you print an order form.
Sergeant Bluff · Woodbury / western Iowa
Private wells: call to confirmAnalytical & Consulting Services
205 Sergeant Square Dr, Sergeant Bluff, IA 51054
712-943-4888
Commercial laboratory on the 8/30/2026 LabListing (lab number 279) with Drinking Water and Nonpotable Water. Siouxland side. Confirm current drinking-water fields and private-well intake.
A consulting-lab name is not a treatment design. Get the sheet first.
Maquoketa · Jackson / eastern Iowa
Private wells: call to confirmChemRight Laboratories
117 N. Main St., Maquoketa, IA 52060
563-652-4226
Commercial laboratory on the 8/30/2026 LabListing (lab number 379) with Drinking Water and Nonpotable Water. Ask for the drinking-water certificate, not a wastewater quote.
Re-check PublicSearch. Accreditation lapses.
Cherokee · Cherokee / northwest Iowa
Private wells: call to confirmFoundation Analytical Laboratory
723 Sleezer Road, Cherokee, IA 51012
712-225-6989
Commercial laboratory on the 8/30/2026 LabListing (lab number 396) with Drinking Water and other programs. Confirm they still take a private-well bottle and which metals sit on the current certificate.
Do not rank this lab against SHL or a mail-in kit. Use LabCert.
Muscatine · Muscatine / southeast Iowa
Private wells: call to confirmIon Environmental Solutions
4500 25th ST South, Muscatine, IA 52761
563-299-2214
Commercial laboratory on the 8/30/2026 LabListing (lab number 416) with Drinking Water and Nonpotable Water. Call before you drive. Ask for coliform, nitrate as N, and any arsenic or manganese you want added.
Listing here is not a certificate. Confirm current fields in PublicSearch.
Omaha · Out-of-state / LabCert Drinking Water
Private wells: call to confirmMidwest Laboratories
13611 B Street, Omaha, NE 68144-3693
402-334-7770
Commercial laboratory on the 8/30/2026 LabListing (lab number 064) with Drinking Water. The bench is in Nebraska. Iowa DNR still lists it under the Drinking Water program, so a western-Iowa owner can use it if the lab will take the bottle and the hold time works. Reciprocal listings are still analyte-specific — confirm coliform and nitrate as N in PublicSearch.
Out-of-state is not a shortcut around Iowa certification. If an agency or a real-estate file needs an Iowa-recognized method, ask the lab and the county which report they will accept.
County path and program contacts — not a Well Diagnosis kit
Iowa DNR’s Private Well Grants Program funds free testing for the annual bacteria and nitrate pair and for arsenic and manganese on the three-year cadence. You arrange it through county environmental health. This site does not collect samples and does not sell a grant kit. Numbers below are published on DNR and SHL pages. Hours change; call before you drive. After the sheet comes back, use the Nitrates in Iowa well water guide for the 10 mg/L as N comparison, then the certified-labs index and the lab-report guide — then the homepage if you are matching a stain to a treatment class.
| Office | Counties served | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| County environmental health (Private Well Grants) | Statewide: start here for free DNR-funded bacteria, nitrate, arsenic, and manganese tests | See DNR Well Testing page — county office books the sample |
| Iowa DNR Private Well Program (Daniel Watterson) | Statewide private-well program questions | 515-402-7981 |
| Iowa DNR Laboratory Certification (Kathy Lee) | Statewide: confirm a lab’s current drinking-water fields | 515-725-0343 |
| State Hygienic Laboratory — Coralville | Statewide kits and drop-off; 48-hour bacteria hold time | 319-335-4500 |
| State Hygienic Laboratory — Ankeny | Central Iowa drop-off | 515-725-1600 |
See also the homepage, certified labs by state, well water test kits, how to read a lab report, and IA lab news.