NY Septic Guide

Well water · Hudson Valley

Private well water: testing, problems and the New York PFAS rebate

No water company, no annual quality report, no bill with test results on the back. If your water comes from a well in your own yard, nobody checks it unless you ask them to — and right now New York is paying for part of that check.

The short version. New York is paying for private well PFAS testing in Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Suffolk, Ulster and Westchester. If your result comes back at or above 10 parts per trillion for PFOA or PFOS, the state reimburses up to $5,000 toward a whole-house filter, $1,000 toward a single-tap filter, or $10,000 to connect to a public water main. The test is free and there are a limited number of places. How the programme works →

Start with what's actually happening

Most people arrive here because something changed. Pick the closest match:

Three things worth knowing if you're on a well

1. Nobody is required to test your water, including you

Public water systems are tested constantly and have to publish the results. A private well is your own infrastructure. If it's contaminated, you find out by paying a certified laboratory to look — or by getting sick. The standard advice is bacteria and nitrate once a year, and a broader panel every few years or any time the water changes.

What a well test involves and what it costs →

2. The state is paying for PFAS testing right now, in your county

Putnam County's health department reported to the county Legislature on 22 July 2026 that of 480 wells tested under the pilot, just over 20% came back above the state's 10 ppt guideline for PFOA and PFOS. Roughly one in five. The programme funds around 850 tests per county and each county pauses at 600 applications, so it isn't open-ended.

The programme, the money and the deadlines →

3. If you're selling, the test isn't optional

Lenders generally won't close on a property served by a private well without a satisfactory water test, and government-backed loans layer their own requirements on top. It's the one point in a well's life when testing is forced rather than recommended — and the one most likely to be discovered two weeks before a closing date.

What lenders ask for, and how long it takes →

Wells and septic systems usually come together. A property with no municipal sewer usually has no municipal water either — same houses, same towns, often the same contractors. If you're also dealing with a septic system, start with the Putnam County septic guide or the septic replacement grant guides, which cover a separate state programme paying up to $25,000 toward a failing system.

Where this comes from

Programme figures on these pages come from the New York State Department of Health's published programme outline and county materials, and from Putnam County Department of Health reporting. Where a figure is our own reading rather than a published number, the page says so. If you find something wrong, tell us and we'll correct it — corrections are the point of the site.

More on private wells

Sources

Last reviewed 25 August 2026.