If you have a home with a private well, consider yourself to be lucky. Well water often tastes better than public water because it is not treated and processed. And the price is right -if comes without a monthly water charge. But, well ownership requires certain precautions.

First, you want a properly installed well. The well should be installed by the right licensed professional. This is water that you and your family will be drinking. It needs to be safe and that means the well needs to be installed correctly, and in the right place.

Drinking water wells (or potable wells) are drilled holes which contain a casing that protects the upper portion of the well. This casing has two functions: it maintains the well structural integrity and it stops surface or subsurface contaminants from being drawn into the drinking water. Wells rely on a pumping mechanism which pulls the water up from the ground.

That pump is also surrounded by the casing layer. This protective casing is a very important part of the well and it must meet all kinds of specifications. Again, you need to hire a licensed, professional well installer who has done this many times and understands the applicable safety regulations.

After installation, you need to check for cracked or corroded well casings, broken or missing well caps and signs of settling. Several times a year you really need to go out and look over the well assembly. Well location and depth are very important concerns. Your well should be sloped so that surface run off drains away from it. I know of one well that was placed at the bottom of a hill, and was contaminated by a varity of surface spills and natural runoff. Don't let that happen to you. Very often, the deeper the well, the better. Many older wells were shallow, perhaps as little as twenty feet deep. Often, those wells are much more prone to contamination than deeper wells. Also, deeper wells may be less prone to becoming dry. While your well water experts will inform you of the best depth and location for your well, it is often the case that deeper wells are better wells.

While you don't not have to pay a water bill, you really need to pay a laboratory to test your water. Hint: this is where many folks fall short. You need to find a licensed or certified laboratory. Your Department of Health should suggest how to locate a good lab, and yes, some labs are better than others. "Better" usually means more accurate.

What will you test for? Usually, you will test for bacteria, metals such as lead, and perhaps certain industrial chemicals such as degreasers and solvents. You may also look for oil, gasoline and gas additives. A lot of what you test for depends on where you live and what is located near you. Ask you Department of Health and your laboratory what they suggest.

Often, homeowners do not want to know whether they have a problem. It is almost as if people believe that if no one is aware of a problem, there is no problem. Of course, the truth is that you need to keep your drinking water in order and you need to test your water.

If there is a problem with either your well or your water, solutions are often readily available. If the problem is mechanical, either a fix, or in extreme cases, a new well, will cure the problem. If the problem is with the water, often a filter or the installation of a deeper well will do the trick.

Sometimes other solutions are necessary. In every case, you need to work with a qualified professional in order to understand your options. Some States have funding available for affected homeowners. Your local Board of Health should be able to direct you in the right direction. There are times when you may have to contact a lawyer. For example, if you know who polluted your water and if the cure is quite costly, you may need to hire a lawyer. Or, if your family has consumed harmful substances due to well contamination, you may require legal assistance as well. In such cases, speak to a lawyer promptly so as to ensure that the statute of limitations does not expire and that necessary evidence is not lost.

The information provided in this column is written by Stuart Lieberman,a practicing environmental attorney, and is for general information purposes only. It is not legal advice and should not be used in place of legal advice.

Stuart Lieberman, Esq., and IRED.Com, Inc., will not accept any responsibilty for any reliance on the information in this column or any damages whatsoever resulting from reading this column.