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SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WATER GUIDE

How to read your well water test results

What each common well-test line means, which public limit applies when one exists, and which treatment type that line usually points to.

Practical guidance from the directory team. A guide is not a water test.

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Read the header first

This is practical guidance from the directory team. A report is a result for one sample, on one date, from one tap or one well. Read the laboratory name, the sample date, the units, and whether the line says present or a number.

The limits below are from the U.S. EPA secondary standards page, the EPA primary standards table, the Revised Total Coliform Rule page, and the Florida Department of Health private-well page. Checked October 30, 2026. Those EPA standards are written for public water systems. Florida does not require routine sampling for a private well that serves one home.

Cards matched to this page, including Water testing, are at the bottom. The Water testing listings are linked with the other service lists.

Hardness

The EPA WaterSense softener guide says hardness is the concentration of calcium and magnesium, measured in grains per gallon (gpg), milligrams per liter (mg/L), or parts per million, and that parts per million are equivalent to mg/L. The guide says water greater than 120 mg/L (or 7 gpg) is generally considered hard and may benefit from softening, and that softeners are often recommended when hardness exceeds 180 mg/L or 10 gpg. The guide also says hard water is not a health concern. EPA primary and secondary tables do not list a hardness limit. Checked October 30, 2026.

A laboratory line in mg/L and a company speaking in grains per gallon are two units for the same minerals. This page does not add a conversion formula, because the WaterSense guide gives those two pairs rather than a general divisor. Ask the laboratory or the company to show the conversion if your report uses only one unit.

Hardness points to a softener. Iron, sulfur, tannins, and bacteria are different jobs. Scale on a fixture does not, by itself, say the water is safe to drink.

Iron and manganese

The EPA secondary standard for iron is 0.3 mg/L. Above that, the secondary standards page lists rusty color, sediment, metallic taste, and reddish or orange staining. The secondary standard for manganese is 0.05 mg/L. Above that, the same page lists black to brown color, black staining, and a bitter metallic taste. These are nuisance guidelines, not health maximums. Checked October 30, 2026.

The Lee County Environmental Laboratory fee page writes that manganese secondary standard as 50 µg/L. A report in micrograms per liter and a report in milligrams per liter can be the same standard in different units. Checked October 30, 2026.

Iron and manganese staining usually points to oxidation and filtration. A softener is the tool for hardness. Iron can foul softener resin, so the order of the equipment matters. The directory resource file describes one whole-house air-injection filter as equipment for iron, sulfur, and manganese. That description is not a finding that the model fits your well.

Hydrogen sulfide

The EPA secondary table does not list a hydrogen sulfide concentration. It lists an odor standard of 3 threshold odor number. The secondary standards page describes a noticeable effect above that odor standard as a rotten-egg, musty, or chemical smell. A hydrogen sulfide number on a laboratory report is a different measurement from that odor number. Checked October 30, 2026.

Smell in the hot water only, and smell in both hot and cold, point to different work. The sulfur guide walks through that split. The usual options companies compare are aeration, oxidation, and carbon. Ask for a coliform test on a private well when sulfur is the complaint. The smell and the bacteria result answer different questions.

pH

The EPA secondary standard for pH is 6.5-8.5. The secondary standards page lists a bitter metallic taste and corrosion on the low side, and a slippery feel, a soda taste, and deposits on the high side. Checked October 30, 2026.

pH also changes how iron and sulfur equipment is chosen. Ask which result a pH adjustment is there to change before that equipment is sized.

Total dissolved solids and chloride

The EPA secondary standard for total dissolved solids is 500 mg/L. Above that, the secondary standards page lists hardness, deposits, colored water, staining, and a salty taste. The secondary standard for chloride is 250 mg/L, with a salty taste listed above it. Checked October 30, 2026.

A high dissolved-solids or chloride result usually points to reverse osmosis on the tap you drink from. Showers and hose bibs stay on the main water unless the quote is for a whole-home system.

Total coliform and E. coli

The Florida Department of Health strongly recommends a bacteria and nitrate test at least once a year for a private well. The page says many types of bacteria are generally not harmful, and that their presence can indicate that other harmful bacteria, viruses, or parasites may be present. Checked October 30, 2026.

The Revised Total Coliform Rule is a public-water rule. It sets the maximum contaminant level goal for E. coli at zero. The rule's maximum contaminant level depends on routine and repeat samples at a public system, not on one bottle from a house. A private-well line that says total coliform or E. coli is present means that sample detected that bacteria. The two lines are different. Take a present result to the county health department before you treat the water as something to keep drinking.

The EPA home filtration fact sheet lists distillation, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet light, and disinfection for bacteria and viruses. It also recommends a yearly nitrate and coliform test for a household well. A new bacteria test after treatment is how you see whether the result changed. Checked October 30, 2026.

Nitrate

The EPA primary standards table lists nitrate, measured as nitrogen, at 10 mg/L, and nitrite, measured as nitrogen, at 1 mg/L. The table note says units are milligrams per liter unless otherwise noted, and that milligrams per liter are equivalent to parts per million. The nitrate line names infants below the age of six months as the group that can become seriously ill above that maximum. Checked October 30, 2026.

The EPA home filtration fact sheet lists distillation, reverse osmosis, or ion exchange for nitrates. A hardness softener is not on that list. Ask for a certification that names nitrate reduction for the specific model. The NSF drinking-water treatment unit search is where a model number can be checked. A product page in the directory resource file is not, by itself, that certification. Checked October 30, 2026.

Send your report and get quotes. Paste each line into the form on this page: the name, the number, and the unit. Our team can use that note when you want companies that list the matching services.

LISTINGS

Companies that list these services

Each link opens the provider list filtered to a recorded category. Confirm the service, the service area, and the test method with the company. Water testing has its own category. If that list is empty, ask a well or filtration company whether they test, and send bacteria samples to a drinking-water laboratory either way.

  • Water testing. Water testing, including a laboratory bacteria and nitrate sample.
  • Water softeners. Water softeners, when the hardness line is the result you want changed.
  • Water filtration. Water filtration, including iron, manganese, and sulfur equipment.
  • Reverse osmosis. Reverse osmosis for a drinking-water tap when dissolved salts or nitrate are the result you are asking about.
  • Well-water systems. Well-water systems, when the sample is from a private well.

NEXT STEP

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Paste the laboratory results into the note. Include the contaminant name, the number, and the unit. The form does not take a file. Our team can line that note up with companies that list the relevant services. A listing is separate from independent verification and from an ownership claim.

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Helpful resources

Helpful resources gathered by the directory team. These listings are not endorsements.

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