Virginia does not require a well inspection or water test when a house sells, though lenders usually require bacteria, nitrate and lead results. Get the well record from the local health department, have the well and equipment inspected with a flow test, and test a fuller water panel. For deep Suffolk wells, include fluoride and sodium.
Key points
- No state well inspection at sale; lenders set a minimum.
- Well records: 2003 on electronic, 1990 to 2003 on paper, many older wells none.
- Inspect equipment, wellhead, setbacks and flow.
- Deep Suffolk wells: test fluoride and sodium too.
Wellborne inspects wells for buyers across Suffolk and the communities within about 30 miles. A house on a well comes with its own water system, and in Virginia, nobody is required to look at it before the sale closes.
What Virginia requires, and what it does not
The Virginia Department of Health does not require a well inspection or a water test when a property with a private well changes hands. Lenders often require at least a water test, usually for bacteria, nitrate and lead, and some localities and purchase contracts add their own conditions. VDH’s own guidance notes that the lender minimum may not give a full picture of the water.
In practice, the scope of what gets checked is up to you and your contract’s inspection period.
Step 1: get the well record
Ask the local VDH office for the well’s record. Wells built from 2003 on are in the department’s electronic system; records from 1990 to 2003 are on paper; many wells older than 1990 have no record at all. A record can show the depth, the casing, when it was built and the yield measured at the time.
In the Virginia Cooperative Extension clinic of 204 Suffolk households, 14% of owners did not know their well’s depth and 18% of wells were built before 1981. An older or undocumented well is not a problem in itself, but it deserves a closer look.
Step 2: inspect the well and equipment
A well inspection looks at:
- The wellhead: casing above grade, a sealed cap, ground sloping away, nothing stored or draining near it.
- Setbacks: distances to the septic tank (50 feet minimum under current rules) and drainfield (50 or 100 feet), and to buildings.
- Equipment: pump, tank, switch and control box, their age and condition.
- Performance: a pressure cycle check and a flow test, longer if the household is large or irrigation is planned.
Step 3: test the water properly
Beyond the lender’s minimum, a fuller panel tells you what you are buying. For deep Suffolk wells, the clinic results are a strong argument for adding fluoride (19% of samples above the federal limit) and sodium (78% above 20 mg/L). Iron, manganese, hardness and pH round out the picture. Have the samples collected properly, from a cold tap before any treatment equipment.
Questions to ask the seller
- How old are the pump, tank and switch, and who services them?
- Has the well ever run short, in a dry summer or with irrigation?
- When was the water last tested, and can you see the results?
- Is there treatment equipment, and why was it installed?
- Is the well shared, and is there a written agreement?
- Are there other wells on the property, including old ones no longer in use?
Red flags
- No record and no one knows the depth, combined with an old bored or dug well.
- A cap that is cracked, loose or below grade.
- A septic system close to the well.
- A pump that runs constantly or a tank that is waterlogged.
- Treatment equipment nobody can explain.
- An old, unsealed well elsewhere on the lot. Virginia treats a well with its pump disconnected as abandoned, and abandoned wells are supposed to be sealed under VDH rules.
Using what you find
Most findings come with a price: a tank, a switch, a cap repair, treatment, or at the larger end, a pump replacement or a new well. Those numbers become part of the negotiation. A clean result is worth having too, as the baseline for the house’s water from day one.
City water nearby
Some Suffolk and Isle of Wight properties sit near public water mains. Whether connection is possible or required, what it costs, and whether the well can stay for irrigation are questions for the locality before you buy. For a well inspection on a house you are buying, call (757) 919-1972.