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Salisbury-Rowan Utilities plans to end in-house well-water bacteriology testing service July 1, 2025
Summary
SRU staff told council they will discontinue bacteriology (coliform) testing for private wells and nontraditional customers effective July 1, 2025, citing liability, regulatory complexity and cost; customers and county officials were notified and alternatives exist within an hour’s drive.
Salisbury-Rowan Utilities (SRU) staff informed City Council on Jan. 21 that SRU will stop providing bacteriology (coliform) testing for private wells and other nontraditional customers effective July 1, 2025.
Jim Emeril (identified in the meeting as SRU laboratory staff) told the council the service, begun about 2008, currently serves private well owners, contractors, home inspectors and some public well systems. He said the service “exceeds revenues,” imposes an administrative and training burden on SRU laboratory staff, and can introduce regulatory and liability risks because testing requirements and reporting obligations differ depending on the size and use of a well system. Emeril said inaccurate paperwork from customers has in the past delayed reporting obligations when coliform bacteria were detected.
Emeril said the department polled other municipal utilities across North Carolina and found most do not offer this service; SRU identified nine laboratories within an hour of Salisbury that can accept samples or provide mail-in kits and said the county also provides testing and does not object to SRU ending the service. SRU staff said they will notify existing customers in advance and remove the service from the SRU fee schedule for the next fiscal year.
Utilities Director Jason Wilson and City Manager Jim Green joined the presentation to answer questions. Wilson said the service takes resources away from core SRU customers who use the municipal water-distribution system and that SRU maintains records for 74 regulated well-water systems for five years for auditing. Council members asked about the cost burden for residents; staff said county testing runs $70, the city had been charging $60, and private labs average $70–$90. Emeril said SRU had received one direct complaint so far after it stopped forwarding some nitrate/nitrite samples to the contracted lab.
Ending: Council offered no objection; staff will notify past customers and remove the testing service from the fee schedule effective in the next budget cycle. No formal council vote was required for the administrative change and none was taken.
