How the checkup decides
The checkup is a transparent rules engine. Every recommendation it can produce is listed below with its trigger and its authority. It never uses your answers for anything except rendering your result in your browser — see Privacy.
| If… | The checkup says… | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| You have a private well (always) | Bacteria + nitrate/nitrite every year | Maine CDC, Well Water testing recommendations |
| No full panel in 3–5+ years (or never/unknown) | Arsenic, uranium, radon, lead, manganese, fluoride, pH and related panel due | Maine CDC (3–5 year list) |
| Flooding, well/pump work, or a change in taste, odor, color, staining | Retest bacteria + nitrates now | Maine CDC / US EPA event-trigger guidance |
| Buying with FHA financing | Coliform, nitrate, nitrite, lead test | HUD Handbook 4000.1 (individual water systems) |
| Buying with VA/USDA financing | Well test satisfying the local health authority (bacteria + nitrate/nitrite floor, commonly lead) | VA / USDA program requirements |
| Selling | Maine sellers disclose the date of the last water test | 33 M.R.S. §173 |
| Rental property on a well | Arsenic test at least every 5 years; share results with tenants | 22 M.R.S. §2660-Y |
| Infant under 1 / pregnancy in household | Do not defer the nitrate test | Maine CDC / US EPA (methemoglobinemia risk) |
| Near historic sludge/septage spreading | PFAS testing is a consideration; see Maine DEP map | Maine DEP PFAS investigation |
| Coastal well | Include chloride/sodium next panel | Maine CDC (saltwater intrusion) |
Status logic: any overdue or event-triggered item → Testing is due now; items inside their window → coming due; otherwise on schedule. "I don't know" is always treated as due — the conservative reading.
Full citations with URLs and access dates: Sources. Limitations of area-level data: Disclaimer.