Water Testing

On-Site Water Lab

Water Testing American Water SpecialtiesAmerican Water has comprehensive water expertise including an on-site water testing lab to serve you with the fastest response time possible to ensure the immediate analysis to advise you on your water quality.  American Water Services Water Laboratory certified in microbiology testing has two licensed laboratory analyst, Lauren Freeman and Kim Freeman.

Free Water Analysis

When you have a question about the quality of your water please let us help advise you with a free water analysis consultation.  Upon request we will have our technician come to your location and pull a water sample from the closest source to your well.  Water samples offered from sinks and spigots could be contaminated with bacteria on the faucet or in the lines, therefore we are looking for samples from yourWater Testing American Water Specialties water source.  After your water sample is taken, we will take it back to our on-site water testing lab in Cleveland, GA for analysis.   In about 24 hours your results will be ready and we will call or email you with our findings and offer solutions where needed.

Note:  We do not provide printed results of the free water analysis as we use them to make recommendations for treatment only.  If you purchase any filtration system or have us make the recommended repairs to your water systems the printed results will be provided free of charge.  If you just want the printed results they may be purchased for a $100 fee.  If at any point in the future you make the filtration purchase or repair your bill will be credited the $95.

Real Estate and Mortgage Water Analysis GA

When you need official water analysis to support your real estate or mortgage needs we are here for you.  We have the qualifications and documentation to support in getting in your paperwork to the correct parties quickly, efficiently, and cost effective.

These tests include microbiological (bacteria), nitrate/nitrite, lead, copper, and arsenic.  We can also do a basic mineral test to inform you of the quality of the water prior to purchasing.  Many times the water testing is done as part of our well inspection service.

Water Testing/Well Inspections

American Water can offer various tests and well inspection services. The different services offered are listed below

Full Well Inspection

This service will provide you with a 2 page report on your entire water system.  We look at the following items.

  • Well-We document the type of well you have and the casing installed, whether a slab is properly installed and the casing is at the required height, if the well is sealed from contamination and protected from freezing, and the condition of any cover or pump house.
  • Pump-We document what type pump you have and where available the HP, check the amps on the pump to determine if its running properly, the condition of the control box, the type of pipe the pump is installed on if accessible.
  • Tanks-We document the brand and size of the tank, check the age, see if it has the proper air pressure, check for water outside the bladder, if air can be easily added if the tank will hold air, and if it has a functioning pressure gauge.
  • Pressure Switch-Document operating pressure and type of switch, check the wear on the contacts, check the differential and movement for signs of plugging.
  • System-Document the type of piping installed in the ground to the house and if the system is holding pressure
  • Filter-Document type and size of filters, document cartridges or chemicals needed for operation, check functionality. For automatic units samples are taken before and after to determine if units or working properly.
  • Basic Well Analysis-This includes basic minerals, nitrate, arsenic, microbiological
Well Inspection

The service will provide you with the same report as the full well inspection but does not include water testing.  Note: If water filtration is installed we highly recommend the full well inspection as testing the water may be the only way to determine if the system is operating properly.

Basic Water Flow test

For this service we will connect a water meter to an outside faucet and document the flow and pressure every 5 minutes over a 30 minute period.  This will tell us how the pump will perform during short peak demand flows.  This will not tell you what the well can produce.  Some low producing wells may perform well during this test but over longer periods of continued use may pump dry.

Advanced Well Flow Test (well inspection included)

For this test we will disconnect the piping at the well head and pump the well full flow for up to 4 hours or until the well pumps dry.  We will document the pump flow on 15 minute intervals over the 4 hour period.  If it pumps dry we will do a series of recovery and draw downs to determine what the well is producing.  If it does not pump dry this is typically a sign the well can handle its full pumping rate or possible more.  Some wells may have large voids that would not pump empty in a 4 hour period so we can not guarantee a well to produce what it is pumping only that it is probable.

24 Hour Draw Down Test

This test is used to determine exactly what a well can produce or if it can produce a certain amount over extended periods.  During this test a probe is installed in the well to constantly monitor the water level.  During pumping water levels will fall at various rates depending on the size of the voids and cracks in the rocks.  Sometime a well may pump for hours and the water level will barely go down then after it reaches a certain point it falls fast.  From this data we can estimate how much storage may be available in the well cavity itself which could reduce the need for external storage tanks.  For this test we will consult with the owner what the intended use will be and the needed water flow.  In some cases we will use the pump currently installed to test and others we install an extremely large pump to test of potentially high volume of water.

Shock Treatment

In the event you a get a positive microbiological result you will want to shock treat your entire water system.  We will come out and put chlorine in the well and run it until we start getting a strong dose coming to the house.  After we get a strong dose we will open all hot and cold faucets any verify we have chlorine throughout the house.  Once this is done the chlorine will need to remain in the system for 24 hours.  Light water use will be fine but no outdoor watering, filling tubs or anything else that would potentially pull all the chlorine out before 24 hours.  Test strips will be left so after 24 hours you can begin flushing the chlorine thru heavy water use.  Every well is different and the time to pump the chlorine out can vary from a few hours to a few days.  Once the chlorine is pumped out we can come back and pull a new water sample.

Flushing Well

American Water can flush the chlorine from the well for you and pull a new sample once we are done. Since every well takes different amounts of time to pump the chlorine out we must do this as an hourly charge.