Well Water Interpretation Tool

The Ohio State University in conjunction with the Ohio Department of Health and Ohio EPA have developed an online assessment tool that offers instant water quality interpretation for Ohio residents.  Please review instructions for this tool before entering your results. Please note that we are in the process of updating the first link to the Ohio Department of Health within the "Results" section of the well interpretation tool under the heading “Web Resources.”

To reach that link go to:

https://odh.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/odh/know-our-programs/private-water-systems-program/water-quality-treatment/quality

There you will find useful information all in one place on the parameters found in our tool including information on health effects, treatment, and additional resources.  If you scroll down you will see a table that can be expanded.  To use the table, scroll to the group the parameter you are interested occurs in (it will be similar to the way they are displayed in our tool) and select the drop down arrow to reach the parameter of interest. 

For instance to find information on arsenic you will scroll to the “Inorganic Chemical Contaminants” area of the table, select the down arrow to expand the menu, and then click on the link to “Arsenic.”  

If you can not find what you are looking for, contact your local health district https://odhgateway.odh.ohio.gov/lhdinformationsystem/Directory/GetMyLHD  or Ohio Department of Health's Private Water Systems Program: https://odh.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/odh/know-our-programs/private-water-systems-program/welcome.

Dissolved gas
Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S)
Methane (Dissolved in water)
Field parameter
pH
Specific Conductivity
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)
Total Suspended Solids
Turbidity
Inorganic major constituent
Alkalinity
Calcium
Chloride
Hardness as CaCO3
Magnesium
Potassium
Sodium
Sulfate
Inorganic trace constituent
Aluminum
Antimony
Arsenic
Barium
Beryllium
Bromate
Bromide
Cadmium
Chlorine
Chlorite
Chromium
Copper
Cyanide
Fluoride
Iron
Lead
Manganese
Mercury (inorganic)
Nickel
Selenium
Strontium
Thallium
Zinc
Microbiological
Cryptosporidium
E. coli
Fecal coliform
Giardia lamblia
Total Coliform Bacteria
Total Coliform Bacteria (Counts)
Nutrient
Ammonia
Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)
Nitrate (as N)
Nitrite (as N)
Phosphorous
Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (as N)
Total organic carbon (TOC)
Pesticide
2,4,5-TP (Silvex)
2,4-D (2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid)
Atrazine
Carbofuran
Chlordane
Dalapon
Dibromochloropropane
Dinoseb
Diquat
Endothall
Endrin
Glyphosate (aka Roundup©)
Heptachlor
Lindane
Methoxychlor
Oxamyl (Vydate)
Picloram
Simazine
Toxaphene
PFAS
GenX (HFPO dimer acid)
PFBS (Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid)
PFHxS (Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid)
PFNA (Perfluorononanoic acid)
PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid)
PFOA + PFOS
PFOS (Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid)
Radionuclide
Alpha emitters
Beta/photon emitters
Combined radium
Radon
Uranium
Synthetic organic contaminants
Alachlor
Benzo(a)pyrene (PAH)
Di(2-ethylhexyl) adipate
Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate
Dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD)
Epichlorohydrin
Ethylene dibromide
Heptachlor epoxide
Hexachlorobenzene
Hexachlorocyclopentadiene
PCBs (Polychlorinated biphenyls - aka Aroclor, Arochlor)
Pentachlorophenol
Volatile organic contaminants
1,1,1-Trichloroethane
1,1,2-Trichloroethane
1,1-Dichloroethylene (aka 1,1-DCE; 1,1-Dichloroethene; Vinylidene dichloride)
1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene
1,2-Dichloroethane
1,2-Dichloropropane
Benzene
Carbon tetrachloride
Chlorobenzene
cis-1,2-Dichloroethylene (aka 1,2-DCE; 1,2-Dichloroethene; 1,2-dichloroethylene)
Dichloromethane (aka Methylene chloride)
Ethylbenzene
o-Dichlorobenzene
p-Dichlorobenzene
Styrene
Tetrachloroethylene (aka Perchlorethylene, Perchloroethylene, PERC)
Toluene
trans-1,2-Dichloroethylene (aka 1,2-DCE; 1,2-Dichloroethene; 1,2-dichloroethylene)
Trichloroethylene (TCE)
TTHMs (Total trihalomethanes)
Vinyl Chloride
Xylenes