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Columbia County
UGA Extension Office

Testing Services

As of March 1, 2024: Cost - $10 per sample for routine test.  Only credit cards will be accepted. 

Soil samples can be dropped of at the UGA Extension Columbia County office, 6420 Pollards Pond Road, Appling, GA. Our office hours are Monday - Friday, 8:30 am -4:30 pm.  We are closed for lunch from 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm.

Drop off sites at local garden or nursery centers are available:

  • ACE Hardware - 4532 Washington Road Evans, GA 30809 
  • Grovetown Farm & Garden Center - 5234 Wrightsboro Road Grovetown, GA 30813

Soil Sample Form

Turnaround time for test results is approximately ten business days. The soil analysis can be either e-mailed or mailed. A routine soil test will provide the following results:

  • pH W Potassium (k) Zinc (Zn)
  • Lime requirement (pH b) Calcium (Ca) Manganese (Mn)
  • Phosphorus (P) Magnesium (Mg)
  • Other tests are available at additional costs. Please contact the Columbia County Extension Office, (706) 541-4011, for more information. 

Collection Instructions

Water Testing

UGA Extension can test water for minerals and other problems. For details on our Basic and Expanded Tests, please use one of the links below.

  • W1 Basic Water Test/W2 Expanded Water Test (Download PDF)- W1 is for ponds only- Cost $23 / W2 is for household well testing drinking water - Cost $66.00 (Both test to be paid by Credit Card at UGA Extension-Columbia County)
  • E-Coli Test (Download PDF)- It is suggested that this test be ran along with the W2 test, and then ran yearly. The test cost is $60.00 + the cost of overnight shipping.  A special bottle must be used and is available at the UGA Extension office, and then MUST be mailed overnight to the UGA lab during a 24 hour window only. Sample will need to be taken to UPS Monday-Wednesday 12-2 pm, along with a check payment to be sent with sample. 
  • Home Loan Closing Test (Download PDF)- For this test you must come to the office and pick up the test kit.  The cost for this test is $85.00 + the cost of overnight shipping.  The sample  must be collected by a third party, not to include anyone afiliated with the home purchase. The kit MUST then be mailed overnight to the UGA lab during a 24 hour window only. Sample will need to be taken to UPS Monday-Wednesday 12-2 pm, along with a check payment.  

Lead Water Testing

Is there lead in Columbia County's drinking water?

There is no lead in Columbia County's raw water supplies (i.e. Savannah River and Clarks Hill Lake) or in the treated water leaving the plants.

However, lead in the plumbing and fixtures of older homes may leach into water that stands in the pipes for several hours.

If your house was built before 1988, pipes could contain lead solder which could leach into your drinking water. An initial water test is advised and future testing semi-annually. The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Services Laboratories does Lead Water Testing. The cost for the lead water test is $35.00.

In order to get accurate test results, the water needs to be collected in the Lab's clean and acid washed water bottles. You can obtain this bottle from the UGA Extension - Columbia County office located at 6420 Pollards Pond Road, Appling, GA, (706) 541-4011.

Lead-contaminated drinking water is most often a problem in houses that are very old. Up through the early 1900’s, it was common practice to use lead pipes for interior plumbing. Plumbing installed before 1930 is most likely to contain lead. Copper pipes have replaced lead pipes in most residential plumbing. However, the use of lead solder with copper pipes is widespread. Experts regard this lead solder as the major cause of lead contamination of household water in the U.S. homes today.

We recommend that all drinking water samples be collected from the first draw water out of the kitchen faucet or from the faucet used most often for drinking water.

Please follow the three basic protocols when collecting a drinking water sample:

  1. A first draw water sample will be collected after a minimum of six (6) hours, but not more than a twelve (12) hour period during which time there was no water usage prior to the sampling. The GA-EPD recommends that either early morning or evenings upon returning home are the best sampling times to ensure that the necessary stagnant water condition exits.
  2. A kitchen or bathroom cold-water faucet is to be used for sampling. If the primary concern is the well pump, draw the water from as near the well head as possible.
  3. Place a clean lab bottle below the faucet and gently open the cold water tap. Completely fill the sample bottle.

The kit MUST then be mailed overnight to the UGA lab during a 24 hour window only. Sample will need to be taken to UPS Monday-Wednesday 12-2 pm.  You will receive your results in approximately ten business days in the mail or through email.