ALPENA — The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy released a new program on Tuesday that allows Michigan residents to receive free well water testing kits.

Sara Pearson, supervisor of the Source Water Unit at EGLE, said a lot of wells only get checked once they are built, but it’s important to frequently check them for issues.

“There can be chemistry changes from the geological setting around the well,” Pearson said. “Bacteria and metals may be introduced to your system and people really only check the wells until they realize there’s a problem.”

Pearson said it’s best to check annually, but even every other year is more effective than nothing at all.

People can request free private test kits online at Michigan.gov/EGLEPrivateWells.

Once the government sends the kit, private well owners can go back to the webpage to find instructional videos on how to conduct the tests and get a sample.

After retrieving a sample, well owners can send it back to the government and their lab results will soon come.

Pearson mentioned that, if anyone has trouble understanding the results and wants additional information, the state website offers a link to a program called Be Well Informed that can give them clearer answers.

Another thing Pearson said people can do is to contact their local health department to help get the results they need.

“A lot of people forget that they’re responsible for their own water system,” Pearson said. “It’s really important to know what’s going on in the water that you drink.”

The Legislature allocated $5 million to provide free well water tests to Michigan residents.

For the past year, EGLE has worked on the website and systems so residents can easily get their tests and results.