Lab inventory · TX · Updated September 24, 2026
Texas Certified Well Water Labs
Direct answer
This is the texas certified-lab inventory for private-well owners. Use the official search first, then a lab that takes a residential sample. 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 |
| 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 |
A working inventory of TCEQ NELAP-accredited laboratories that publicly take a Texas private-well bottle. Confirm current drinking-water fields in the live TCEQ accredited-lab search before you mail a sample.
This page is a directory, not a ranking and not medical advice. Texas does not regulate private-well water quality the way it regulates public water systems. TCEQ’s “How is my Drinking Water Quality?” page puts regular testing on the owner and recommends an accredited drinking-water laboratory. The Texas Water Development Board says the same: the State of Texas does not regulate the water quality of private water wells, and the owner is responsible for addressing problems. There is no statewide mandate that a private well be tested for a buyer or seller — that is diligence the owner (or a lender) initiates. TCEQ accredits environmental laboratories under NELAP. Fields of accreditation are by matrix, method, and analyte. A wastewater certificate is not a drinking-water coliform certificate. Many NELAP labs exist to serve public-system compliance and may refuse a kitchen bottle. Call first. If total coliform or E. coli is present, or nitrate is high, take the sheet to the local health department. Well Diagnosis does not run a kit program and does not certify laboratories.
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Official search first
Open TCEQ’s Environmental Laboratory (NELAP) Accreditation page. Use the public “List of Accredited Laboratories” database on that page. Enter a lab name, matrix, or analyte and Search. Partial matches work — TCEQ’s example is “coli” for Escherichia coli. Set matrix to drinking water when the tool offers it. In the results table, filter further, then open a laboratory name to view the current certificate and scope. Confirm the drinking-water field you need (total coliform, E. coli, nitrate, metals) is on that certificate — not only wastewater or non-potable water. Then call: ask whether they accept a private-well / residential sample, what bottles they issue, bacteria hold time, and whether a Friday drop-off can arrive on time. TCEQ’s “Steps to Locate an Accredited Environmental Laboratory” page is the same search via TNI’s National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Management System: Accreditation Body = Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Is Active = Yes, Matrix = drinking water, then analyte and city. TCEQ GI-433 (How to Sample Your Private Well Water for Microbial Contaminants) also says to find a drinking-water lab on the accredited list, or call TCEQ Laboratory Accreditation at 512-239-3754. Accreditation lapses. A listing here is not a live certificate.
TCEQ Environmental Laboratory (NELAP) Accreditation — list of accredited laboratories
- TCEQ: Steps to Locate an Accredited Environmental Laboratory
- TCEQ: How is my Drinking Water Quality? (private-well section)
- TCEQ: Public Drinking Water (NELAP public-lab map and table)
- TCEQ GI-433: How to Sample Your Private Well Water for Microbial Contaminants (PDF)
- Texas Water Development Board: Sampling a Private Water Well
- Texas Well Owner Network (AgriLife Extension / TWRI)
- EPA: Private Drinking Water Wells
- CDC: Guidelines for Testing Well Water
- EPA state lab-certification contacts
- Tap Score / SimpleLab (approved mail-in kit example; Awin tracked URL)
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.
Austin · Travis / central Texas
Private wells: yesLCRA Environmental Laboratory Services
3505 Montopolis Drive, Austin, TX 78744
512-730-6022
LCRA’s residential-water page says the lab is NELAP-certified by TCEQ for drinking-water testing and offers the public affordable testing of residential supplies for common EPA-listed contaminants. The published path: review the Residential Water Supply Testing form, order a bottle kit (shipped or pickup), collect per LCRA instructions, return on ice or drop off. LCRA also states that in general there are no requirements to test a residential source — real-estate or new-well panels are diligence, not a state mandate.
Toll-free 877-362-5272. Email Environmental.Lab@lcra.org. Confirm current drinking-water fields in TCEQ’s accredited-lab search and ask about bacteria cutoff times before you ship Thursday or Friday. If coliform is present, take the sheet to the local health department. This site is not medical advice.
Tyler · Smith / East Texas
Private wells: yesNET Health Regional Laboratory
815 N. Broadway Ave., Tyler, TX 75702
903-535-0092
NET Health’s water-testing page says the regional laboratory is TCEQ-certified and tests private-well samples brought in by individuals — “although it is not regulated.” Call 903-535-0092 for sterile containers and a LO-19 Water Microbial Reporting Form. The same page says NETPHD performs bacteriological tests on water samples (total coliform / E. coli). Chemical work such as nitrate still needs a lab accredited for that field.
Main lab line published on that page: 903-535-0030. Confirm hours and whether nitrate or metals are in-house or referred. A bacteria result still goes to the health department, not a filter brand. Re-check TCEQ fields before you pay.
Lufkin · Angelina / East Texas
Private wells: yesAngelina & Neches River Authority Environmental Laboratory
2901 N. John Redditt Drive, Lufkin, TX 75904
936-632-7795
ANRA’s laboratory page says it analyzes drinking water, wastewater, and surface water, including public and private drinking water for municipalities, industries, agencies, and private individuals. It states NELAP accreditation by TCEQ for chemical and microbiological analyses of drinking-water samples. Hours published: Monday–Friday 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Use the laboratory / shipping entrance.
Email lab@anra.org. Ask which drinking-water fields are in-house versus subcontracted, and whether a homeowner bottle is accepted this week. Confirm the current certificate in TCEQ’s search. Listing here is not a ranking.
Seguin · Guadalupe / south-central Texas
Private wells: yesGuadalupe-Blanco River Authority Regional Laboratory
933 East Court Street, Seguin, TX 78155
830-379-5822
GBRA’s Environmental page says the laboratory at the Seguin main office performs physical, chemical, and biological analyses of groundwater wells and also offers services to municipalities, water districts, industries, engineering firms, realtors, businesses, and private well owners.
Confirm current TCEQ NELAP drinking-water fields and hold times before you drive. A realtor panel is still a certified-lab sheet — bacteria or nitrate still goes to the health department. This site does not interpret a number as a health score.
TCEQ / private-well contacts
These numbers are published on TCEQ laboratory-accreditation and drinking-water pages and on TWDB’s private-well sampling page. They are the official-search and groundwater-information path, not a shopping-cart kit. Texas Well Owner Network events may screen a bottle for education — that is not a substitute for a TCEQ-accredited drinking-water method. Some groundwater conservation districts test at reduced cost; use TWDB’s GCD index. Hours change; call before you drive. After the sheet comes back, use the lab-report guide on this site. If coliform or nitrate fails, take the sheet to the local health department.
| Office | Counties served | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| TCEQ Laboratory Accreditation Program | Statewide: accredited-lab list questions · labprgms@tceq.texas.gov | 512-239-3754 |
| TCEQ Public Drinking Water | Statewide: drinking-water viewer and public-system questions · pdws@tceq.texas.gov — not a private-well regulator | 512-239-4691 |
| Texas Water Development Board — Groundwater Monitoring | Statewide: private-well sampling guidance · the state does not regulate private-well water quality | 512-936-0862 |
| County health department / groundwater conservation district | Local bottles, flood kits, or reduced-cost screens when the county or GCD offers that path — ask before you mail | See county health or GCD listing |
Contaminant and parent pages
Related
See also the homepage, certified labs by state, well water test kits, how to read a lab report, and TX lab news.