The University of Georgia's Agricultural and Environmental Services Laboratories (AESL) conduct a water-testing program for private drinking water wells. In a review of over 27,000 tests performed during the ten-year period (1993 to 2004), 4- and 6% of the well water samples had copper and lead levels above 1.3 mg L-1 and 15 µg L-1, the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) maximum contaminant levels (MCL) for copper and lead, respectively. Copper and lead are commonly used to manufacture water pipes, solder, and plumbing fixtures. With low pH or acidic and low ionic strength waters, these materials could corrode causing copper and lead to dissolve into the drinking water. However, the most prevalent problems in private drinking water wells were high levels of manganese and iron. Approximately, 15- and 18% of the household wells tested had iron and manganese levels above the EPA secondary drinking water standards of 0.3- and 0.05 mg L-1, respectively. The occurrence of these elements is usually due to dissolution of iron and manganese-containing minerals as water percolates through soil and rock. It is also possible for corroding iron or galvanized steel pipes to be a source of iron in household water. Iron and manganese usually do not present a health hazard when they are present in the household water supply; however, they can cause nuisance problems such as staining and objectionable taste. Four percent of the samples tested had nitrate-N levels above the EPA's MCL of 10 mg L-1. High nitrate levels appeared more often in shallow wells and may be a result of poor wellhead protection. Bacterial tests on 1413 well water samples submitted from 2002 to 2004 indicated about 41- and 7% of the wells had positive detections for total coliform bacteria and E. coli, respectively.