By Adam Chubbuck, Team Leader, Team Alpha Charlie of Douglas Realty. Retired U.S. Navy Chief. Licensed in Maryland and Virginia.
Large parts of Anne Arundel County are on private wells. Davidsonville, Crownsville, much of south county, pockets of Pasadena and the Broadneck peninsula, and plenty of scattered properties everywhere else.
If you are coming from a city or from out of state, this is probably new to you. It is not a problem, and plenty of the best property in this county is on a well. But it changes what you need to check, and none of it shows up in a listing photo.
Here is the list.
A Standard Home Inspection Does Not Cover the Well
Start here, because buyers assume it does.
Your general home inspection does not include the well. You need two separate things, and they are not the same:
A mechanical inspection of the well system itself.
A water quality test of what comes out of it.
Order both. Order them early in your contingency period, because specialists in this county book up and a delay can push you past your deadline.
What the Mechanical Inspection Covers
Flow rate. This is the one that matters most for daily life. It measures how much water the well produces, usually in gallons per minute.
A well that is adequate for one person may not support a family of five with two showers running and a dishwasher going. If flow rate comes back marginal, take it seriously. Running out of water mid-shower is not a theoretical problem.
The pump. Submersible or jet, and how old it is. Pumps fail, and when yours does you have no water at all until it is replaced. That is a different experience than a municipal outage.
The pressure tank. Age and condition.
The well cap and seal. A compromised cap is a contamination path.
Well depth and age, where records exist.
Ask the inspector directly: how old is this system, and what is its remaining useful life? A pump and tank near the end of their lives is a real near-term expense you should be pricing into your offer.
What to Test the Water For
Bacteria and nitrates are the baseline. Every test should include them.
And in Anne Arundel County, talk to your provider about radium.
This is a documented concern in parts of this county, significant enough that the Anne Arundel County Department of Health operates an assistance program specifically covering radium water treatment systems alongside septic and private well assistance.
If a county runs a program for it, it is real. Ask about it.
Also worth discussing with your tester depending on the property: iron and manganese, which affect taste and staining, hardness, pH, and arsenic.
The county has also conducted targeted well testing investigations in specific areas, including published results for wells on Summerfield Road in Gambrills. If you are buying somewhere with any history of groundwater concern, ask about it directly rather than assuming.
Do not skip water testing to save a few hundred dollars. It is the cheapest insurance in the entire transaction, and it is the one thing you genuinely cannot evaluate by looking.
If a Test Comes Back With a Problem
Most issues are treatable. Softeners, filtration, UV treatment, and radium treatment systems all exist.
What matters is who pays and when. A treatment system installed before closing is a solved problem. One discovered after closing is your problem.
Raise it during your contingency period and negotiate it properly.
The Things Nobody Tells Buyers
Where is the well head? Know its location, make sure you can get to it, and understand that you need to protect the area around it. That corner where you pictured a shed may be the wrong spot.
What about the neighbors? Your site plan and the county’s requirements account for neighboring wells and septic systems within a certain distance. If the property next door has a failing septic system near your well, that is worth knowing.
Setbacks constrain your plans. Distance requirements between the well, the septic system, the house, and any structure you want to add will limit where you can put a pool, a shed, an addition, or a garage. Check before you buy if any of that matters to you.
Annual testing is on you. Nobody sends you a water quality report. Test at least yearly.
No water bill, but not free. You are paying in electricity to run the pump, in filter changes and salt, and eventually in a pump replacement.
If the Property Also Has Septic
Most well properties do. That is a second separate inspection with its own specialist.
And pull the septic permit, because the system is permitted for a specific bedroom count that may not match what the listing advertises. The Anne Arundel County Department of Health can pull that record at 410-222-7193.
What to Ask the Seller
- How old are the well, the pump, and the pressure tank?
- Do you have the well construction record or permit?
- Any water quality testing results, and when?
- Is there a treatment system, and what does it treat?
- Have you ever run out of water or had pressure problems?
- Any history of contamination in this area?
A seller who hands you a file of records and test results is telling you something good. A seller who shrugs is telling you something too.
This Should Not Scare You Off
Well water is often excellent, the properties on wells in this county tend to be on larger and more private lots, and thousands of families here live on them happily.
The point is to check properly rather than assume, and to do it early enough that the results are useful.
Let’s Look at It Together
If you are considering a well and septic property in Anne Arundel County, I will tell you what to order, who to call, and what the results actually mean before your contingency clock runs out.
Reach out to Team Alpha Charlie of Douglas Realty.
Quick Answers
Does a home inspection include the well?
No. You need a separate mechanical inspection of the well system and a separate water quality test. Order both early in your contingency period, since specialists book up.
What should I test well water for in Maryland?
Bacteria and nitrates at minimum. In Anne Arundel County, also ask about radium, which is a documented concern significant enough that the county Department of Health operates an assistance program for radium treatment systems. Depending on the property, also consider iron, manganese, hardness, pH, and arsenic.
What is a good flow rate for a well?
It depends on household size and usage. What matters is whether the well supports your actual daily demand, including simultaneous use. If the measured flow rate comes back marginal for your household, treat that as a serious finding rather than a technicality.
What happens if the well pump fails?
You have no water until it is replaced, which is different from a municipal outage. Ask the inspector for the age and expected remaining life of the pump and pressure tank, and price replacement into your offer if they are near end of life.
Can water quality problems be fixed?
Most can, through softeners, filtration, UV treatment, or radium treatment systems. What matters is negotiating who pays during your contingency period rather than discovering the issue after closing.
Is there a water bill with a well?
No bill, but it is not free. You pay in electricity to run the pump, filter and salt replacement, periodic testing, and eventually a pump replacement.
Well and septic requirements, testing programs, and assistance programs reflect published guidance from the Anne Arundel County Department of Health. Verify current requirements and program availability directly at 410-222-7193. This is general information, not engineering, environmental, or health advice.
I am Adam Chubbuck, Team Leader of Team Alpha Charlie of Douglas Realty. Retired U.S. Navy Chief, licensed in Maryland and Virginia, and my team has sold in excess of 400 homes across the Baltimore to Annapolis corridor. Team Alpha Charlie is Zillow Preferred and serves buyers and sellers throughout Anne Arundel County, Howard County, Baltimore County, Baltimore City, and the surrounding markets, with deep experience supporting military, veteran, and Department of Defense families.
443-347-6692 | [email protected] | TACMD.com
Smile more,
Adam Chubbuck
