FHA/VA Well Water Testing: What Fails and How to Fix It Before Closing

A lot of Lehigh Acres, North Fort Myers, Alva, Buckingham, and rural Charlotte County homes are on private wells. If the buyer is using an FHA or VA loan, the lender will require the well water to be tested by a disinterested third party and passed by a certified lab before closing. When that test fails, closings slip. Here’s what the test checks, why wells fail, and how to fix it fast.

What FHA and VA require

FHA (HUD Handbook 4000.1) requires a water sample from a private well to be tested for, at minimum, total coliform bacteria, nitrates, nitrites, and lead, plus anything the local health authority requires. The sample must be collected by someone with no financial interest in the sale, so the seller, buyer, and agent can’t pull it, and analyzed by a state-certified lab. Results are typically expected within a short window before closing, often 90 days or less, so timing matters.

VA requires the water to meet local health authority standards, and in Southwest Florida that generally means the same panel: bacteria, nitrates/nitrites, and lead. Your lender’s appraiser will note the requirement on the appraisal, and the underwriter won’t clear the file without a passing result.

FHA also has distance requirements between the well and any septic system: generally 50 feet from the septic tank and 100 feet from the drain field, and 10 feet from the property line. If the lot is small, that’s worth checking before the loan gets deep into underwriting.

Why wells fail in Southwest Florida

Total coliform (the most common failure)

Coliform bacteria are common in soil and surface water. A positive result usually means surface water is getting into the well, not that the aquifer is contaminated. Causes we see: a cracked or missing well cap, a well casing that’s below grade and floods when it rains, a loose electrical conduit fitting, spiders and insects inside the cap, or a well that’s been sitting unused. E. coli in the sample is more serious and points to septic or animal waste.

Nitrates and nitrites

These come from fertilizer, septic systems, and livestock. Shallow wells near a drain field or a heavily fertilized lawn are the ones that fail. The FHA limit is 10 mg/L for nitrate-nitrogen and 1 mg/L for nitrite.

Lead

Almost never from the aquifer. When lead shows up, it’s from old brass fittings, solder, or a pressure tank or fixture in the house. Flushing the line and resampling from a different tap often resolves it; if not, the fitting gets replaced.

How to fix a failed test

1. Find the entry point. Check the cap, the casing height, the seal, and any fittings. Replace a damaged cap with a vermin-proof one. Raise or seal a casing that’s below grade.
2. Shock chlorinate the well. A measured amount of chlorine is added to the well, run through every line in the house until the smell reaches each tap, left to sit (usually 12 to 24 hours), then flushed until the chlorine is gone. A well contractor can do this, and many homeowners do it themselves with the right instructions.
3. Wait, then resample. Sampling too soon after chlorination gives a false pass that fails again later. Allow the system to fully flush and wait several days before the retest.
4. If it fails again, the problem is likely structural (a cracked casing, a bad seal, a shallow well too close to the septic) and needs a licensed well contractor. Persistent problems can be addressed with a UV disinfection system or, for nitrates, a reverse osmosis unit at the tap, but the lender may want to see the underlying cause addressed.

For nitrates, the fixes are moving the fertilizer, addressing a failing septic, or treatment. For lead, replace the offending fitting and resample.

How to avoid the problem in the first place

• Sellers: if you’re on a well and expect an FHA or VA buyer, test before you list. A passing result in hand keeps the deal moving; a failing one gives you time to fix it without a closing date breathing down your neck.
• Buyers and agents: order the test as soon as the contract is signed, not the week before closing. Lab turnaround plus a possible shock-and-retest cycle can take two weeks.
• Everyone: don’t let the seller “run some bleach through it” the night before the sample. It masks the problem and the retest later will fail.

How our well water testing works

We collect the sample as a disinterested third party using the lab’s sterile bottles and chain of custody, deliver it to a Florida-certified laboratory, and send you the lab’s report as soon as it’s issued, formatted for the lender. If it fails, we’ll tell you what likely caused it and what the retest timeline looks like. More about our FHA/VA well water testing.

FHA/VA well water testing in Lee, Collier, and Charlotte counties

Call or text 239-560-8611 or request testing online. We can collect the sample during your home inspection or as a standalone visit.