In Pennsylvania, a community well refers to a water supply source that serves the same population year-round, typically as part of a Community Water System (CWS) regulated under the Pennsylvania Safe Drinking Water Act. A community water system provides water to at least 15 service connections or regularly serves at least 25 individuals year-round, such as residential developments, mobile home parks, apartment complexes, municipalities, or small towns. The well supplying this system must meet Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) requirements for construction, operation, monitoring, reporting, and treatment.
Unlike private individual wells that serve a single home, a community well is subject to routine regulatory oversight, including required sampling for microbiological contaminants (such as total coliform and E. coli), nitrate, disinfection byproducts, metals, and other parameters depending on system size and classification. Operators must also comply with public notification requirements, maintain certified operators when required, and meet state construction and setback standards. In short, a community well in Pennsylvania is a regulated public drinking water source that serves a defined residential population on a continuous, year-round basis.
In Pennsylvania, community wells (Community Water Systems, or CWS) are regulated under the PA Safe Drinking Water Act (25 Pa. Code Chapter 109) and must follow specific monitoring schedules. The exact frequency depends on system size, source water type, treatment, and prior results, but below is a practical regulatory summary for groundwater community systems (i.e., community wells).
Minimum monthly monitoring is based on population served:
Population Served
Minimum Samples Per Month = 1 ≤ 1,000
Minimum Samples Per Month = 2 1,001–2,500
Minimum Samples Per Month = 3 2,501–3,300
Minimum Samples Per Month = 4 3,301–4,500
Number of samples required for populations greater than 4,500 served is based on the size of the overall population.
Note: Nitrate/ Nitrate is a minimum of once per calendar year.
