Lab news · MN · Updated September 15, 2026
Minnesota well-lab news
Direct answer
Dated notes from agency pages for minnesota well owners. Public-system MCLs do not bind a private well. Bacteria or nitrate on a lab sheet still goes to the health department.
| What to test | Why | EPA MCL / SMCL or guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Total coliform | CDC’s annual floor for a private well. A present result is a pathway warning, not a shopping trip. | Present/absent — any detected coliform is a positive until a clean retest CDC well-testing guidelines |
| Nitrate as N | Same yearly panel as coliform. A result at or above the public-system line goes to the health department. | 10 mg/L as N (EPA public-system MCL) EPA National Primary Drinking Water Regulations |
| pH | CDC annual floor. Low pH is a corrosion clue, not an iron-filter job. | 6.5–8.5 SMCL (aesthetic guideline) EPA secondary standards |
| Total dissolved solids | CDC annual floor with coliform, nitrate, and pH. | 500 mg/L SMCL (aesthetic guideline) EPA secondary standards |
Dated notes from EPA and the Minnesota Department of Health. Not headlines. Public-system MCLs do not bind a private well.
Dated notes from agency pages, not invented headlines. Public-system MCLs do not bind a private well unless the item is about a private-well statute. Bacteria or nitrate on a lab sheet still goes to the health department. This site is not medical advice.
18 May 2026
FederalEPA proposed keeping the PFOA and PFOS maximum contaminant levels at 4.0 ppt for public water systems, and letting requesting systems take until April 26, 2031 instead of April 26, 2029. The comment period closed July 20, 2026. EPA last updated that page July 23, 2026.
This is a proposal, not a final rule. It does not require a private-well owner to test or treat. Public-system MCLs do not bind a kitchen tap on a private well.
18 May 2026
FederalIn the same window, EPA separately proposed rescinding MCLs for PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA (GenX), and the Hazard Index mixture. That page was live when this note was written and is linked from the extension-rule page.
That action is still a proposal. Do not read it as those limits being gone. A private-well owner is not under that public-system rule either way.
July 2026
MinnesotaMDH published the July 2026 map and table “Accredited Labs in Minnesota Accepting Drinking Water Samples from Private Well Users.” The table marks which listed labs take a homeowner bottle for coliform, nitrate as N, arsenic, lead, and/or manganese. A star means the lab offers a courier or drop-off network — contact the lab. An asterisk means that analyte is subcontracted.
The PDF is a snapshot, not a live certificate. Confirm current Safe Drinking Water fields in ELDO before you mail a bottle. This site’s Minnesota inventory is a geographic sample from that table, not a ranking.
11 March 2024
MinnesotaMDH’s March 11, 2024 press note urged private-well owners to test for five common contaminants: coliform bacteria and nitrate every year, and arsenic, lead, and manganese at least once. Testing is especially important if babies or pregnant people will drink the water. The same cadence is on MDH’s Well Testing, Results, and Options page.
That is MDH’s published private-well testing cadence, not a medical diagnosis on this site. If coliform or nitrate fails, take the sheet to the health department.
MDH: Minnesotans with private wells urged to test their drinking water for five common contaminants
Contaminant and parent pages
- Certified labs by state
- Orange stains
- Rotten-egg smell
- Iron filter vs. water softener
- How to read a well water lab report
- Coliform Bacteria in Well Water
- Iron in Minnesota Well Water
- Manganese in Minnesota Well Water
- Hydrogen Sulfide in Minnesota Well Water
- Hardness in Minnesota Well Water
- Arsenic in Minnesota Well Water
- Nitrates in Minnesota Well Water
Related
See also the Minnesota lab inventory, certified labs by state, and the homepage.