What to Do After a Flood: Resources for NC Well Users
Well flooded by Hurricane Helene? Get a free well disinfection & water sample kit, locations below!
Drinking or washing with water from a well that has been flooded can cause serious illness. If your well has been flooded:
- Disinfect it: instructions – video tutorials below
- Test it for bacteria
- Wait until you receive the test results letting you know it is safe to use the water.
Free Well Disinfection & Water Sample Kit Locations, for counties impacted by Hurricane Helene:
- AppHealthCare – Alleghany location: 157 Health Services Road, Sparta, NC 28675
- AppHealthCare – Ashe Environmental Health Building: 626 Ashe Central School Road, Jefferson, NC 28640
- AppHealthCare – Watauga location: 126 Poplar Grove Connector, Boone, NC 28607
- Burke County Health Department: 700 E. Parker Road, Morganton, NC 28655
- Buncombe County Health Department – Environmental Health Building: 30 Valley St., Asheville, NC 28801
- Caldwell County Health Department: 2345 Morganton Blvd., Lenoir, NC, 28645
- Cherokee County Health Department: 228 Hilton St., Murphy, NC 28906
- Haywood County Environmental Health: 157 Paragon Parkway, Suite 200, Clyde, NC 28721
- Henderson County Health Department: 1200 Spartanburg Highway, Suite 100, Hendersonville NC 28792
- Madison – Environmental Health Building: 5707 US-25, Marshall, NC 28753
- Toe River Health District – Mitchell location: 130 Forest Service Drive, Bakersville, NC 28705
- Toe River Health District – Avery location: 545 Schultz Circle, Newland, NC 28657
- Yancey County Health Department: 202 Medical Campus Drive, Burnsville, NC 28714
Well water & septic safety resources:
- Identify Safe Water: English, Spanish.
- How to Disinfect Your Well After A Flood: English, Spanish.
- Septic Repairs: English, Spanish.
- NCDHHS Provides Free Well Disinfection, Well Water Collection Kits to Communities Impacted by Hurricane Helene
- Well and Septic Safety Following Hurricane Helene | NCDHHS
- Hurricane Helene Recovery Communications Toolkit (includes info on mold, feeding babies, and more.)
- Video tutorials on disinfection (bleach or calcium hypochlorite) & testing
- NC Certified Well Contractors– find one near you
Need well water testing, but don’t live in one of these counties?
For NC residents outside these counties who need to test their well water, your local health department is here to help. The cost of testing varies by county.
Find your local health department contact in the map below:
Disinfect Your Private Well (with Bleach) Before Testing
Disinfect Your Private Well (with Calcium Hypochlorite) Before Testing
How to Collect a Well Water Sample
If you are struggling to access resources for testing your well water locally, contact us!
Learn More!
Science-based environmental justice.
Started in 1984, Clean Water for NC (CWFNC) supports communities to fight for clean drinking water and a healthy environment.