Total coliform in New Jersey well water
In New Jersey, 15% of 140,846 private wells tested between 2002 and 2024 had total coliform above the New Jersey limit (any detection) (n/a MPN/100mL), according to NJDEP.
Coliform bacteria live in soil and on plants as well as in sewage. Their presence means surface water or soil is getting into the well through the cap, casing or a nearby defect. Most coliforms are harmless, but they mean disease-causing organisms can get in the same way.
Check your total coliform number
Type the value from your lab report. It is compared to the EPA limit, the same way the full interpretation does it.
Test your New Jersey well for total coliform
Certified lab analysis of your own tap water, bottles and prepaid return shipping included. The Essential well panel covers arsenic, uranium, nitrate, lead, copper, manganese, iron, sodium and bacteria; radon and PFAS are add-ons.
Order the Tap Score well water test kit, from $209Already tested? Upload the report
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Systems that remove total coliform
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Some links below are affiliate links. If you buy through one, the merchant pays us a commission at no extra cost to you. It does not change which products we list or what the data says.
For total coliform
Aquasana Rhino Well Water with UV
whole-house, at the point of entry, about $2,871
Whole-house system built for wells: sediment pre-filter, KDF and carbon, and a UV lamp rated to kill 99.99% of bacteria and viruses. It does not remove arsenic, nitrate, uranium or radon.
Rather have it installed and sized for your well? Book a free in-home water test with a licensed local company.
Where to get a well tested for total coliform in New Jersey: certified labs, state programs and prices.
By county, from homeowner tests
Share of private wells above the state guidance level (n/a MPN/100mL) in tests homeowners sent to the state lab, 2002 to 2024.
Towns with the highest share above the state level
- Califon borough, Hunterdon County41% of 37 wells
- Franklin township, Hunterdon County35% of 589 wells
- Frelinghuysen township, Warren County35% of 363 wells
- Millstone borough, Somerset County34% of 32 wells
- Hope township, Warren County34% of 359 wells
- Lambertville, Hunterdon County34% of 122 wells
- Stillwater township, Sussex County31% of 627 wells
- Pennsville township, Salem County31% of 39 wells
- Watchung borough, Somerset County30% of 171 wells
- Mine Hill township, Morris County30% of 56 wells
- Fredon township, Sussex County30% of 469 wells
- Wantage township, Sussex County30% of 1,589 wells
- Green township, Sussex County29% of 589 wells
- South Brunswick township, Middlesex County29% of 96 wells
- Frankford township, Sussex County29% of 999 wells
- Woodland Park borough, Passaic County29% of 55 wells
- Bridgewater township, Somerset County29% of 1,432 wells
- Hopatcong borough, Sussex County29% of 2,183 wells
- Deptford township, Gloucester County29% of 70 wells
- Princeton, Mercer County29% of 56 wells
- Mansfield township, Warren County28% of 620 wells
- Blairstown township, Warren County28% of 969 wells
- Franklin township, Warren County28% of 372 wells
- Lafayette township, Sussex County28% of 339 wells
- Hampton township, Sussex County28% of 774 wells
Sources
- NJDEP Private Well Testing Act summaries: Share of private wells exceeding each standard in tests required at sale or lease under the New Jersey Private Well Testing Act, September 2002 to December 2024, published by NJDEP. Tests are untreated water at the time of sale or lease, so every well is counted once per transaction. Municipalities with fewer than ten wells are suppressed. Standards are New Jersey's: arsenic 5 ug/L, PFOA 14 ng/L, PFOS 13 ng/L, PFNA 13 ng/L, manganese and iron secondary standards. Uranium and PFAS were added to the required panel in 2021 and 2020, so their well counts are smaller. Retrieved September 9, 2026.