Yes — if you own a private well in Iowa, you can get your water professionally tested for free. Iowa's Private Well Grants Program pays for certified lab testing for coliform bacteria, nitrate, arsenic, and manganese, and you request it through your county health department. Here's exactly how it works, county by county, in Eastern Iowa.
The Private Well Grants Program (you'll also hear it called "Grants to Counties") is a state program administered by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services with technical support from the Iowa DNR. In the DNR's own words, the program "provides free water testing to all private well owners and users." Nearly every Iowa county participates, and each county's environmental health office runs it locally — they're the folks you'll actually call.
The program covers more than testing. Depending on available funds, counties can also reimburse well owners for shock chlorination (up to $400), a well assessment (up to $600), plugging an abandoned well (up to $700) or cistern (up to $400), and well reconstruction (up to $2,000), per the Iowa DNR. As Johnson County puts it, "programs are subject to the availability of state grant dollars," so calling early in the year helps.
The free test covers four things, all analyzed by DNR-certified drinking water labs:
One thing the free test doesn't measure: hardness, iron, and sulfur — the "comfort" side of well water behind staining, scale buildup, and odors. More on that in a minute.
The Iowa DNR's guidance is that "all private well users should test their water supply at least once each year for a minimum of coliform bacteria and nitrates, and have at least one arsenic test performed on the well water." Their schedule pairs annual bacteria and nitrate tests with arsenic and manganese every three years. It's also smart to retest after flooding, after any work on the well, or whenever the taste, smell, or color of your water changes. Pick a month you'll remember — plenty of well owners tie it to spring — and make it a yearly habit.
Linn County Public Health runs the Private Well Grant Program, which helps residents pay for "well abandonment, well rehabilitation and well water sampling." Stop by 1020 6th Street SE in Cedar Rapids to pick up sample containers and a request form, or call 319-892-6000. If you're on a rural well around Cedar Rapids or Marion, this is your office.
"Johnson County Public Health provides free well water analysis to rural county residents" — call 319-356-6040 to request it. The county's posted test list covers coliform and E. coli bacteria plus arsenic and manganese (every three years), with PFAS testing available in some locations depending on where your well sits, and it serves well owners throughout the Iowa City area.
Black Hawk County Public Health schedules free tests at 319-291-2413 or publichealth@blackhawkcounty.iowa.gov. Per the county, "contaminants commonly tested for are Coliform Bacteria, Nitrates, Arsenic, Manganese, and E. Coli." One extra tip for Waterloo and Cedar Falls-area well owners: USGS sampling of Black Hawk County wells since 1990 shows a median hardness of 271 mg/L — about 16 grains per gallon — so a hardness check (not part of the free test) is worth adding.
The Dubuque County Health Department offers free water testing for private well owners through the Grants to Counties Program — your well "will be tested for Coliform/E-coli, Nitrate, Arsenic, and Manganese at no cost to you." Test kits and paperwork are accepted Monday through Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.; call 563-589-1300 with questions. Handy for rural well owners around Dubuque.
Polk County's free well testing is covered on our Polk County page.
These two tests answer different questions, and we genuinely recommend doing both.
The county lab test gives you certified numbers for the health-related analytes — bacteria, nitrate, arsenic, manganese. No in-home kit replaces a certified lab for those, which is exactly why the state pays for it.
Our free in-home water test covers the comfort side the state test skips: hardness, iron, and chlorine, measured on the spot while you watch. And because we size treatment equipment for a living, we can tell you what those numbers mean for your plumbing, fixtures, and appliances — and exactly what fixing them would cost, as one complete installed price with no line-item surprises.
| Test | What it tells you | Where to get it | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private Well Grants test | Certified lab results for coliform bacteria/E. coli, nitrate, arsenic, and manganese | Your county environmental health office | Free for private well owners |
| Self-pay certified lab test | Same analytes, plus extras such as pesticides, iron bacteria, or hardness on request | State Hygienic Laboratory or your county health department | Varies by test (Dubuque County lists kits at roughly $20–$50 each) |
| Kind Water in-home test | Hardness, iron, and chlorine on the spot, plus treatment sizing and an exact installed price | Kind Water Co — we come to you | Free |
Bacteria present? Don't panic — it's common and fixable. Your county office will walk you through shock chlorination (the grant can reimburse up to $400) and a retest. A UV disinfection system adds continuous protection between annual tests.
Nitrate detected? ISU Extension lists reverse osmosis, distillation, and anion exchange as the treatment methods that remove nitrate — and the CDC notes boiling will not remove chemicals like nitrate. An NSF/ANSI 58 certified reverse osmosis system at the kitchen sink is the practical fix for drinking and cooking water.
Hard water, iron stains, or a rotten-egg smell? These fall under EPA's secondary standards — aesthetic, not health-based. Iron at just 0.3 mg/L can stain fixtures and laundry, and it's exactly what well water treatment is built for. Penn State Extension notes a water softener alone can handle dissolved iron up to about 5 mg/L; above that, a dedicated iron filter does the heavy lifting.
Then: drop the results in a folder, set a reminder for next year, and enjoy your water. That's the whole system.
Yes. The Iowa DNR states that "Iowa's Private Well Grants Program (PWG) provides free water testing to all private well owners and users." Nearly every county participates, and testing runs through your county environmental health office — call them, ask for a private well test, and they handle the sampling kit, the certified lab work, and your results at no charge.
The Iowa DNR recommends testing every private well at least once a year for coliform bacteria and nitrate, with arsenic and manganese checked every three years. Retest sooner after flooding, after any repair work on the well, or if the water's taste, smell, or color changes. Annual testing is free through the Private Well Grants Program.
Coliform bacteria and E. coli, nitrate, arsenic, and manganese — all analyzed by DNR-certified drinking water laboratories. Some counties add extras: Johnson County, for example, offers PFAS testing in certain locations. The free test does not measure hardness, iron, or sulfur, which is why a separate in-home comfort test makes a useful companion.
Boiling addresses germs, but the CDC notes that boiling will not remove chemicals such as nitrate. For nitrate, ISU Extension lists reverse osmosis, distillation, and anion exchange as the treatment methods that actually remove it. That's why lab testing matters — it tells you whether you need disinfection, chemical removal, both, or neither.
Often, yes. Beyond free testing, the Iowa DNR lists grant funding of up to $400 for shock chlorination, $600 for a well assessment, $700 for plugging an abandoned well, $400 for cistern plugging, and $2,000 for well reconstruction. Counties note these programs run while state grant dollars last, so it pays to call early in the year.
Hardness and iron are aesthetic issues under EPA's secondary drinking water standards — iron above 0.3 mg/L stains fixtures and laundry but isn't a health standard. A water softener handles hardness and, per Penn State Extension, dissolved iron up to about 5 mg/L; higher iron levels call for a dedicated iron filter. Our free in-home test measures both on the spot.
Whole-home water softening, filtration, and reverse-osmosis drinking water — professionally installed and built to last a lifetime.
Serving Marion, Cedar Rapids & surrounding Linn County communities
Kind Water Co is a d/b/a of Zero Cap Investments LLC · 2258 Bison St, Apt B, Marion, IA 52302
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