Best to test before selling or purchasing your home

This blog is from our seven part Year in Review series “Topics of Note Influencing the Nantucket Real Estate Market in 2021.” Read the comprehensive real estate analysis here.

Nantucket’s water is known to be among the best and purest water in the northeast. This is in many parts due to the 150 feet of fine sand that filters the water as it makes its way to the aqueduct. Nonetheless, we always encourage homeowners and prospective buyers to order well water tests out of an abundance of caution.  In 2020, various fresh water wells around the island tested positive for toxic fluorinated chemicals named Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).  These are a group of man-made chemicals that includes PFOA, PFOS, GenX, and many other chemicals that potentially have adverse health impacts.  The wells that tested positive for these chemicals were likely due to chemical runoff from the airport.  After the results were found, the airport provided the affected properties with point of entry treatment systems which are proven effective to remove PFAS from drinking water.  All of this raised a bit of concern with the island’s quality of water and is another important reminder for homeowners, or prospective homeowners, to take the right steps in testing the water supply of properties.

And it’s not just PFAS that one might want to test for in the water.  Higher concentrations of minerals or salinity could also be of concern, so we recommend that testing be a regular part of due diligence for any prospective real estate transaction.  Water testing kits are relatively cheap, costing about $60, and can be gathered at the Nantucket Health Department.  There are instructions on how to take the samples and how to submit the samples for off-island testing.  The results will be informative and hopefully will offer peace of mind.  For more information, feel free to email or call me, my contact info can be found on my bio page.