Erica and Mike Giroux moved into their home in the Broad Brook area of East Windsor in 2016. They did everything right. Before closing, they had the well tested. The results came back clean — nitrates at 5.6 mg/L, well below the 10 mg/L federal limit. The water was safe. They had the paperwork to prove it.
Five years later, the remnants of Hurricane Ida hit Connecticut. East Windsor is a rural area with farmland nearby, and the storm runoff flooded their yard with reddish-brown water. They didn't think much of it at the time. It was a storm. Storms happen.
Then a neighbor mentioned he'd just tested his well and found elevated nitrates. Erica and Mike had their water tested again.
Their nitrates had gone from 5.6 mg/L to 20 mg/L. A 400% increase. Twice the federal safety limit. They had been drinking it, cooking with it, giving it to their children.
Why Does This Keep Happening?
Connecticut's rules for private wells are straightforward: test once, at construction. That's it. There is no requirement to test again. Ever.
The logic behind this rule made sense when it was written. Wells were drilled into stable aquifers. The water quality didn't change much. A test at construction gave you a reasonable picture of what you'd be drinking for the next thirty years.
That logic is increasingly wrong.
Climate change is making extreme weather events more frequent and more intense in Connecticut. Hurricane Ida's remnants in 2021 were not a once-in-a-century event — they were a preview of what New England weather looks like now. When heavy rain falls faster than the soil can absorb it, surface water runs off into the ground. It carries with it whatever is on the surface: fertilizer, animal waste, road runoff, pesticides, septic system overflow.
Wells that were clean in 2016 are not necessarily clean in 2026. The aquifer is not a sealed container. It's connected to everything above it.
What Contaminants Does the Standard Test Miss?
The standard mortgage water test — the one your bank required before approving your loan — covers bacteria and basic minerals. It satisfies the lender. It does not cover:
PFAS (forever chemicals): Now found in CT well water across the state, including in areas nowhere near military bases or industrial sites. PFAS travel through soil and groundwater. The EPA's new PFAS regulations and a statewide testing program are revealing contamination in places nobody expected.
Radon: A radioactive gas that occurs naturally in Connecticut's granite bedrock. Radon in water volatilizes when you run hot water — your shower, your dishwasher — and you breathe it. The standard mortgage test doesn't include radon.
Uranium: Found in elevated levels in eastern Connecticut's granite-bedrock areas. The standard test doesn't include it.
Arsenic: Naturally occurring in CT geology. The standard test includes it at the basic level, but the threshold used in mortgage tests is sometimes higher than what's actually safe for long-term consumption.
The Bureaucratic Nightmare
What happened to the Giroux family after they discovered the contamination is a story that every CT well owner should read before they need it.
They contacted the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and the Department of Public Health (DPH). Both agencies tested the water. Both confirmed the elevated nitrates. Both issued reports saying the water was not potable.
Then, one month later, the same DEEP division issued another report saying the water was potable and safe.
The contradiction wasn't a mistake. It was a structural problem. DEEP's routine monitoring for the Giroux property was part of a 1988 EDB (ethylene dibromide) settlement — a legacy program for wells contaminated by tobacco pesticides decades ago. That program only tests for EDB. When DEEP ran their routine test and found no EDB, they issued a "safe" report. The nitrates weren't their problem.
"That's what I think is messing people up," Erica Giroux said. "They say the state is testing it, not realizing these are the only things they're testing for."
It took four years, two state agencies, a state representative's intervention, and thousands of dollars in bottled water before the Giroux family got connected to a clean water supply.
State Representative Jaime Foster, who represents East Windsor and helped the family navigate the process, put it plainly: "Well water contamination is like crumbling foundations was — no one is responsible, no one is taking ownership." The parallels between Connecticut's crumbling foundation crisis and the well water crisis are more precise than they might seem.
Who Is Most at Risk in Connecticut
The risk is not evenly distributed. Well owners in agricultural areas — the Connecticut River Valley, the tobacco-growing areas of the north, the farm towns of Tolland and Windham counties — face elevated nitrate risk from fertilizer runoff. Well owners in eastern Connecticut and the Litchfield Hills face elevated radon and uranium risk from the granite bedrock geology. Well owners anywhere near a military base, an airport, or an industrial site face PFAS risk.
But the honest answer is that any well owner who hasn't tested recently doesn't know what's in their water. The aquifer doesn't send you a notification when something changes.
When was the last time you tested your well water? Enter your ZIP code at CheckYourTap.com to see what's in your tap water — free, in 30 seconds.
What To Do
Test your well water comprehensively, not just for the basics. The CT Department of Public Health recommends testing annually for bacteria and nitrates, and every three to five years for a full panel including heavy metals, PFAS, radon, and volatile organic compounds.
The cost of a comprehensive well test runs $200-$500 depending on what you're testing for. The CT DPH maintains a list of certified labs that can perform these tests. That's a fraction of what the Giroux family spent on bottled water while waiting for the state to figure out whose problem their contaminated well was.
If you're buying a home with a well, negotiate for a comprehensive test — not just the mortgage minimum. The bank's test protects the bank. A full test protects your family. For more on this, read about why the mortgage water test doesn't test for what's actually dangerous.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should I test my private well water in Connecticut?
The CT Department of Public Health recommends testing annually for bacteria and nitrates, and every three to five years for a full panel including heavy metals, PFAS, radon, and volatile organic compounds. Connecticut only requires one test at construction, so ongoing testing is entirely the homeowner's responsibility.
Can a single storm event really change my well water quality?
Yes. The Giroux family in East Windsor saw their nitrate levels jump from 5.6 mg/L to 20 mg/L — a 400% increase to twice the federal safety limit — after the remnants of Hurricane Ida hit Connecticut. Heavy rain carries fertilizer, animal waste, and septic overflow into the ground, directly affecting well water quality.
What does the standard mortgage well water test actually cover?
The standard mortgage test covers bacteria and basic minerals — enough to satisfy the lender, but it does not cover PFAS, radon, uranium, or a thorough arsenic panel. A comprehensive test costs $200-$500 and covers the contaminants that actually pose long-term health risks in Connecticut.
Keep Reading
- Connecticut's Crumbling Foundation Crisis Taught Us One Thing. The Well Water Crisis Is Next.
- Your Well Water Arsenic Test Came Back 'Safe.' Here's Why That Might Not Mean What You Think.
- There's Uranium in Some Eastern Connecticut Wells. It's Not from a Nuclear Plant.
Sources: Inside Investigator / Marc E. Fitch, "Passing the Buck," July 27, 2025; CT DPH Private Well Testing Guidelines; CT DPH Private Well Water Program; Rep. Jaime Foster, D-East Windsor.