Lab inventory · PA · Updated October 13, 2026
Pennsylvania Certified Well Water Labs
Direct answer
This is the Pennsylvania certified-lab path for private-well owners. Start with DEP’s accredited-lab search (Drinking Water, commercial if you are mailing a bottle). Penn State’s testing page still puts annual bacteria and nitrate first; lead and radon-in-water are extras for the house and the geology. Bacteria or nitrate 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 |
| Lead | Usually a plumbing number. First-draw versus flushed changes the reading. | 0.015 mg/L public-system action level (15 ppb) EPA lead in drinking water |
| Radon in water | A water number in pCi/L. EPA’s indoor-air 4 pCi/L is a different test. | No finalized private-well water MCL (1999 proposed public-system rule was never finalized) EPA radon |
A working inventory of laboratories and DEP offices that Pennsylvania well owners actually use. Confirm current drinking-water accreditation in the official DEP search before you mail a sample.
Pennsylvania has more than a million private wells. DEP accredits environmental laboratories for drinking-water analysis. Accreditation status changes. This page is a directory, not a substitute for the live DEP database. Penn State Extension still puts annual bacteria and nitrate first for a private well; extra tests follow the house and the geology. DEP does not certify radon-in-water labs; the Radon Division lists providers (hotline 800-237-2366). Pennsylvania’s public-system PFAS MCL Rule (14 ppt PFOA, 18 ppt PFOS) does not bind a privately owned well — DEP’s June 2024 FAQ says so. Use the PFAS in private well water guide for EPA’s 4.0 ppt comparison, and the certified-labs-by-state hub for the official-search path. For the indoor-air 4 pCi/L split, EPA’s proposed 300 / 4,000 pCi/L comparison lines, USGS SIR 2017–5018 caveats, and aeration or GAC as point-of-entry classes, use the Radon in Pennsylvania well water guide — not a filter brand. For first-draw lead, EPA’s 15 µg/L public-system action level as comparison only, and certified point-of-use classes, use the Lead in Pennsylvania Well Water guide. If coliform or nitrate fails, take the sheet to the health department.
News for PA well ownersCertified labs by stateRadon in Pennsylvania well waterLead in Pennsylvania Well WaterPFAS in private well waterFlorida certified labsMaine certified labsIowa certified labsNew York certified labs
Official search first
Open the Laboratory Accreditation Program page and use Search PA Accredited Environmental Laboratories. Set matrix to Drinking Water. Choose Commercial Only if you are a homeowner mailing a sample. Filter by county if you want a drop-off. Confirm the lab is accredited for each analyte you need (coliform is not the same field as metals or VOCs).
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.
University Park · Centre County / statewide mail-in
Private wells: yesPenn State Agricultural Analytical Services Laboratory
720 Tower Rd, University Park, PA 16802
814-863-0841
Homeowner drinking-water packages; kits at many county extension offices; bacteria hold-time rules apply.
DEP-accredited university lab built for private-well education and testing. Penn State states it does not provide chain-of-custody collection. If you need documented sampling before or after gas-well activity, use a lab that will collect the sample.
Reading · Berks County / mail-in
Private wells: yesSuburban Testing Labs (HealthGuard well kits)
1037F MacArthur Road, Reading, PA 19605
610-375-8378
Private-well HealthGuard packages (bacteria, nitrate, metals, VOCs). NELAP drinking-water lab that also serves public systems.
Listed in DEP accreditation records as Suburban Water Testing Laboratories Inc. Confirm current fields of accreditation in the DEP search. Mail-in kits and local drop-off are advertised on the lab’s well-testing store.
Altoona · Blair County / central PA
Private wells: call to confirmPace Analytical — Altoona (formerly Fairway Laboratories)
2019 Ninth Avenue, Altoona, PA 16602
814-946-4306
Full-service environmental lab historically used by consultants and homeowners for drinking water, including metals and VOCs.
Pace acquired Fairway Laboratories in 2022, including Altoona, DuBois, Erie, and Wysox. Older DEP lists show Fairway ID 07-00062. Call and confirm they still accept private-well drop-offs and which analytes they hold.
Reading · Berks County
Private wells: call to confirmM.J. Reider Associates, Inc.
107 Angelica Street, Reading, PA 19611
610-374-5129
NELAP drinking-water, non-potable water, and solids; metals, nutrients, VOCs, and organics.
Appears on DEP accredited-lab lists with a broad drinking-water scope. Call before shipping; not every commercial lab wants a single homeowner bottle on a Friday.
Lab website · PA DEP accredited laboratory listings (historical) and lab site
Warrendale · Allegheny / western PA
Private wells: call to confirmMicrobac Laboratories — Pittsburgh Division
100 Marshall Drive, Warrendale, PA 15086
724-772-0610
Drinking-water microbiology and chemistry; regional commercial lab network.
Listed in DEP records for drinking-water fields. Ask whether the Warrendale location accepts homeowner samples or routes them to another Microbac lab.
Altoona · Blair County
Private wells: call to confirmMountain Research, LLC
825 25th Street, Altoona, PA 16601
814-949-2034
Drinking water, non-potable water, and solids; metals, nutrients, VOCs.
Independent Altoona lab on DEP drinking-water lists. Confirm current accreditation and bottle kits for private wells.
Sayre · Bradford County / northern tier
Private wells: call to confirmBenchmark Analytics, Inc.
2566 Pennsylvania Avenue, Sayre, PA 18840
570-888-0169
Drinking-water chemistry including VOCs and organics; used in gas-region baseline testing.
If you need chain-of-custody for leasing or litigation, ask specifically. Penn State Extension discusses chain-of-custody separately from ordinary homeowner kits.
Telford · Bucks / Montgomery
Private wells: call to confirmAnalytical Laboratories, Inc.
4208 Old Bethlehem Pike, Telford, PA 18969
215-723-6466
Drinking-water microbiology, nutrients, and metals.
Appears on DEP accredited-lab lists as Analytical Laboratories Inc. Confirm they still take private-well work and which bottles they issue.
DEP offices that sell bacterial test kits
Pennsylvania DEP publishes regional contacts for bacterial kits. Chemical work still goes to an accredited lab. Names on a state webpage change; the phone numbers below are from DEP’s private-well testing page.
| Office | Counties served | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| DEP Southeast Regional Office | Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Philadelphia | 484-250-5106 |
| DEP Northeast Regional Office | Carbon, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Northampton, Pike, Schuylkill, Susquehanna, Wayne, Wyoming | 570-826-2511 |
| DEP Pottsville District Office | Schuylkill | 570-621-3118 |
| DEP Southcentral Regional Office | Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Fulton, Juniata, Lebanon, Mifflin, Perry, York | 717-705-4700 |
| DEP Altoona District Office | Blair, Bedford, Huntingdon | 814-946-7290 |
| DEP Reading District Office | Berks, Lancaster | 610-916-0100 |
| DEP Northcentral Regional Office (Williamsport) | Bradford, Columbia, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga, Union | 570-327-3636 |
| DEP Moshannon District Office | Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton | 814-342-8200 |
| DEP Southwest Regional Office | Allegheny, Beaver, Washington, Greene | 412-442-4209 |
| DEP Cambria District Office | Cambria, Somerset | 814-472-1920 |
| DEP New Stanton District Office | Westmoreland, Fayette | 412-442-4302 |
| DEP Northwest Regional Office | Armstrong, Butler, Clarion, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, Indiana, Jefferson, Lawrence, McKean, Mercer, Venango, Warren | 814-332-6945 |
Contaminant and parent pages
Related
See also the homepage, certified labs by state, well water test kits, how to read a lab report, and PA lab news.