If water is declared potable by the Campbell County or Bedford County health department it is safe to drink.

The safety is determined by examining the water at your source and the conditions around it. You will probably not be surprised to learn that animal manure and soil bacteria are usually harmful to a water supply.  Human sewage and poisonous sprays are the primary causes of contaminated water.

Drinking, tasting or smelling water will tell you little about its potability, because even clear, good tasting water may be contaminated.

However, your local Campbell County or Bedford County health or sanitation department will gladly conduct a free or inexpensive water analysis for you.

A health inspector will come out to collect the sample and to examine the source and surrounding area.  The inspector will determine if an existing or intended septic tank, outhouse or cesspool is too close to the water source.  If the water flows through farmland or irrigated land it can be tested for the presence of insecticides.   Hazardous-waste-disposal sites are an increasing source of groundwater contamination.  If your land is very isolated, the health inspector will give you a sanitized bottle and tell you how to properly collect a water sample for the testing.  The basic water test includes a coliform bacterial count, which reflects the amount of human and other war-blooded animal excreta in it.  If you want a more complete mineral and bacterial analysis, which is not usually necessary, you will have to pay to have it done by a commercial laboratory.

Underground well or spring water is usually safer than surface water.

Underground water has been sifted through the porous earth, which purifies it, whereas contaminated surface water must travel a long distance to get the cleansing effect of underground sifting.

I always recommend that you get the basic water test done, no matter the history of the water on the land is.

The family living there now may have been drinking the water for 50 years, but pollution can occur virtually overnight.  Polluted water can cause choler, typhoid fever, amoebic dysentery, infectious hepatitis and possibly polio.  Don’t take any chances, get the test done.