Well water · Grant programs

New York's private well PFAS testing and rebate programme

New York is paying to test private wells for PFAS in six counties, and paying again to fix the water where the result comes back high. Five-year pilot, fixed budget per county, reimbursement rather than voucher — and a deadline that starts running the day your results letter is dated.

1. The programme in one paragraph

The Private Well PFAS Testing and Mitigation Rebate Pilot was announced in March 2026, with a programme outline published in July 2026. It's funded at $15 million over five years — $1.5 million per county — from updates to the Clean Water Infrastructure Act of 2017, flowing through the Environmental Facilities Corporation to participating counties. The state pays for the well test. The county reviews rebate applications and issues payment. The state plans around 850 tests per county, roughly 4,500 in total.

2. Which counties

Six: Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Suffolk, Ulster and Westchester. If your well is anywhere else in New York, this programme isn't open to you, and there's currently no statewide equivalent.

We list a contact only where we've confirmed it. For the counties still marked unconfirmed, start with the state information line on 800-458-1158, which will route you. We're working through the remaining counties and will publish names and direct numbers as we get them.

3. Who qualifies

• Your drinking water comes from a private well.
• The property is in one of the six pilot counties.
• Your test shows PFOA or PFOS at or above 10 parts per trillion. The state tests and reports eighteen PFAS compounds; only those two count toward eligibility.
• The county is still accepting applications — each one pauses at 600 testing applications.

4. What you can claim

These are ceilings, not fixed awards. The county reimburses eligible costs up to the limit; anything above it is yours.

Not covered

Bottled water. Water softeners and neutralisers. Pressure tanks and booster pumps. Permit fees. Sales tax. Interest and late fees. Sampling for contaminants other than PFAS. And — the one that matters most in the long run — operation and maintenance after installation. The state pays to put the system in. Replacing the carbon when it fills up is yours, permanently.

5. Reimbursement, not a voucher — and the form that changes that

The default mechanism is reimbursement. You hire the installer, you pay the bill, you submit the paperwork, and the county pays you back. For a $5,000 job that means fronting $5,000.

6. How to apply, step by step

1. Apply for the free test through your county health department or the state programme page. Confirm the county is still accepting applications before you plan around it.
2. The well is sampled and analysed for eighteen PFAS compounds by a certified laboratory.
3. You receive results. If PFOA or PFOS is at or above 10 ppt, the letter confirms eligibility. Note the date on it. What the numbers mean →
4. Choose the route — whole-house, single tap, or public water connection where a main is available.
5. Get quotes. Ask each contractor whether they'll accept payment by assignment, and what annual maintenance will cost.
6. Have the work done, including the post-installation laboratory testing that confirms the system is performing. The job isn't complete without it, and that testing is an eligible cost.
7. Submit the application to the county with invoices, receipts and lab reports. The county reviews and issues payment — to you, or to the contractor if you filed the assignment form.

7. How often does a result actually come back high?

More often than most people expect. Putnam County's health department reported to the county Legislature on 22 July 2026 that it had received 540 applications, tested 480 wells, and found just over 20% above the 10 ppt guideline for PFOA and PFOS.

That's roughly one in five, and it means around a hundred Putnam households became eligible for a $5,000 entitlement in the space of four months, in a single county. If you've been assuming your water is probably fine, the county's own numbers are the argument for testing: the test is free and the odds aren't negligible.

8. If you're a contractor or a laboratory

Three things about this programme are worth your attention:

• The Assignment of Payment Form means you can be paid directly by the county rather than waiting on a homeowner who's waiting on a reimbursement. Homeowners who learn this exists are considerably easier to close.
• Post-installation laboratory clearance testing is an eligible cost, which makes a certified lab part of every job rather than an optional extra.
• Every installed system is a maintenance customer for life. The state doesn't pay for operation and maintenance, and carbon media doesn't last forever.

We're building a checked directory of DEC-registered well contractors, water treatment installers and NYSDOH-certified laboratories serving these counties — sourced from the official registers, with registration numbers shown, on the same basis as our septic installer directory. Listing is free. Email listings@nysepticguide.com.

9. A different programme, for a different problem

Note for Orange County residents: Orange is in the PFAS pilot but is not a participating county in the septic replacement fund. It appears nowhere on the EFC eligible-waterbody list. The two county lists don't overlap.

What this programme is not

• It isn't permanent. Five years, a fixed budget, and a pause mechanism built in at 600 applications per county.
• It isn't a general well-water grant. Only PFAS. If your problem is arsenic, iron, bacteria or a failing pump, this money doesn't reach it.
• It doesn't clean the aquifer. It filters your water on the way into the house. The PFAS stays in the ground.

More on private wells

• Well water: start hereThe section hub
• Common well problemsSmells, brown water, no water, sediment
• Testing your well in Putnam CountyLabs, what to test for, mortgage requirements
• Your PFAS result explainedWhat the numbers mean and what to do