When a house isn’t served by the municipal water system, the water test is not a formality. It answers two different questions — is the water of good quality, and does the well supply enough of it — and it comes down to three things: a well-drafted condition in the promise to purchase, a realistic deadline, and a complete file.

Artesian well, surface well, well point, spring catchment, intake from a lake: in parts of Mirabel, the Laurentians and Lanaudière, that is the reality for many houses. Here is how the water test works when you buy one of these properties, and how to prepare for it when you sell one.

Two tests, two questions

People talk about “the water test” in the singular, but there are two separate checks, and they don’t answer the same question.

  • The quality test checks, among other things, the physical, chemical and bacteriological characteristics of the water. It is done on a sample, analyzed by an accredited laboratory.
  • The quantity test aims to determine whether the well can supply enough water for the property’s needs. It is done on site, by a specialized company.

Good-quality water in a well that can’t keep up with a family of five is an incomplete answer. The reverse too. Depending on the property, one, the other or both may be needed.

What the Government of Québec recommends testing

Water that is clear, odourless and tastes good is not, for all that, tested water. The Ministry of the Environment’s fact sheet L’eau de mon puits (in French) recommends that a well owner test:

  • microorganisms (E. coli or enterococci) at least twice a year, in spring and in fall;
  • manganese and arsenic at least once during the period the well is in use;
  • nitrates and nitrites every spring and every fall, in an agricultural zone or in an area where septic systems are individual.

The analysis is done by a laboratory accredited by the Ministry, for the right field of analysis. The laboratory supplies the containers and the sampling instructions. The list of accredited laboratories, sorted by region, is published by the Centre d’expertise en analyse environnementale du Québec.

You’re buying: the condition in the promise to purchase

The broker representing the buyer must recommend that the buyer make the promise to purchase conditional on a water test. The form provided for this is the OACIQ’s Annexe – Eau potable et installations septiques (schedule on drinking water and septic systems). The decision to include the condition belongs to the buyer; the recommendation is made in writing and kept on file.

Three points make the difference between a condition that protects and one that only seems to.

  • The right clauses, the right boxes. Quality, quantity, or both: what isn’t checked isn’t covered.
  • A realistic deadline. It has to cover ordering the kit, taking the sample, transport, analysis by the laboratory and receipt of the report. The laboratory can give its turnaround times before the date is set — that is the question to ask before signing, not after.
  • The test provided for in the contract. An old analysis supplied by the seller is a useful document, but it does not automatically replace the test provided for in the promise to purchase. The test is done in accordance with the condition written into it.

If the result indicates that the water is unfit for consumption, the notice to the seller and the copy of the result are sent in writing, within the deadline and according to the terms set out in the form. A phone call is not a notice.

The sampling: the buyer does it

The sample is taken by the buyers, following the laboratory’s instructions to the letter. The broker accompanies and facilitates — the broker does not take the sample in the buyers’ place, and certainly not in their absence.

Four habits to have:

  • follow the laboratory’s instructions rigorously;
  • label the sample correctly;
  • respect the storage conditions and the return deadline;
  • keep proof of the sampling and of the handing over of the sample.

At RE/MAX Crystal, sampling kits are available at our branches. Once the buyers have taken the sample, the kit can be brought back there: the branch then acts as a drop-off point so the laboratory can pick it up, and I coordinate that pickup with the laboratory myself.

You’re selling: question D9.9 of the seller’s declarations

The mandatory form Declarations by the Seller of the Immovable asks the question directly, in section D9.9 (our translation):

“Is the immovable supplied with water by a source other than the municipal water system?”

If you answer yes, four sub-questions follow: the source (artesian well, tubular well, surface well, well point, spring catchment or other), whether the water is drinkable, whether you have documents attesting to the quality and quantity of the water, and whether there have ever been problems with quality or quantity.

The third one is prepared before listing, not during. Gather what you have:

  • the well drilling report;
  • previous water analyses;
  • any agreement relating to a private network or a water-drawing servitude;
  • invoices for maintenance, treatment or correction;
  • any document reporting a problem that was declared or corrected.

And if you have no recent analysis, now is the time to check: the buyer will do their own test anyway, but you will have had time to know the answer before they do. It’s the same reasoning as for the rest of the building — know early, while there’s still time ahead.

A result that’s hard to read? Don’t interpret it yourself

A laboratory report contains parameters, units and thresholds. When a result is ambiguous, neither the seller, nor the buyer, nor the broker should settle it by eye. The person who answers is the laboratory that did the analysis, or a specialist in domestic drinking water treatment. The recommendation to consult them is made in writing, and kept.

What weakens a file

  • a deadline too short for the sampling, the analysis and the report;
  • an unchecked box in the schedule;
  • a sample taken by the broker without the buyers present;
  • follow-up done verbally rather than in writing;
  • a report kept without proof that it was sent.

Good practice comes down to five verbs: recommend, accompany, document, track the deadlines, keep the proof. On file: the recommendation made to the client, the signed schedule, proof the test was ordered, the laboratory report, the communications and any notice sent.

Frequently asked questions

The broker representing the buyer must recommend that the buyer make the promise to purchase conditional on a water test, using the OACIQ schedule on drinking water and septic systems. The decision to include this condition belongs to the buyer. The recommendation is made in writing and kept on file.

The quality test checks, among other things, the physical, chemical and bacteriological characteristics of the water, from a sample analyzed by an accredited laboratory. The quantity test aims to determine whether the well can supply enough water for the property’s needs. Depending on the property, one, the other or both may be needed.

The buyers, following the laboratory’s instructions: labelling the sample, storage conditions, return deadline, and proof of the sampling and of the handing over. The broker accompanies and facilitates the process, but does not take the sample in the buyers’ place or in their absence.

A realistic deadline that covers ordering the kit, taking the sample, transport, analysis by an accredited laboratory and receipt of the report. The safest approach is to ask the laboratory for its turnaround times before setting the date in the promise to purchase.

It is useful, but it does not automatically replace the test provided for in the promise to purchase. The test recommended to the buyer is done in accordance with the condition written into the contract.

The seller’s declarations form asks, in section D9.9, whether you have documents attesting to the quality and quantity of the water. Before listing, gather the well drilling report, previous analyses, any private network or water-drawing servitude agreement, invoices and any document about a problem that was declared or corrected.

Don’t interpret it yourself. The laboratory that did the analysis, or a specialist in domestic drinking water treatment, is the person who can explain it. If the water is declared unfit for consumption, the notice to the seller and the copy of the result are sent in writing, within the deadline and according to the terms set out in the form.

Selling a property with a well?

I produce a value report for your property — comparable sales in your area, the features that matter, an opinion of value — and I also offer a marketing plan that takes into account what the buyer will ask for, water test included.

Request my value report

Read also: the seller’s declarations, read and explained · what to check before putting your house on the market · real estate broker in Mirabel · all the seller tips

Sources: Québec Ministry of the Environment, “L’eau de mon puits” · OACIQ mandatory form “Declarations by the Seller of the Immovable”, section D9.9.

Ernso Cléus, residential and commercial real estate broker — RE/MAX Crystal. Your broker who knows buildings.