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McDuffie County
UGA Extension Office

Testing Services

November 1st, 2022 pricess will go up $2 per sample for soil, water, & forage samples.

*Bacteria and Home Loan Closing tests will not increase in price*
For more information on prices for common tests, please use link below.

Testing Services

Soil Testing

Cost - $8 per sample for routine test. Cash or check accepted.                                                                               

Soil samples can be dropped off at the UGA Extension McDuffie County office 337 Main Street, Thomson, GA, (706) 595-1815. Our office hours are Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm.

We are closed for lunch from 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm.

How to take a sample for home lawns and gardens for successful results. Turnaround time for test results is approximately ten working 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 McDuffie County Extension Office, (706) 595-1815, for more information.

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.

  • Basic Water Test  - Mineral tests can determine if the mineral content of your water is high enough to affect either health or the aesthetic and cleaning capacities of your water. A mineral test may include calcium, magnesium, manganese, iron, copper, zinc and some others. An abundance of these minerals can cause hard water, plumbing and laundry stains, or bad odors.
  • W2 Expanded Water Test - House hold well - drinking water (required for water treatment design)
  • New Home Loan Closing test.  For this test you must come to the office and pick up the test kit.  The cost for this test is $95.00.  The cost for overnight shipping is already including in the price.  This water for this test must be taken by a third party.  Water must be collected mid-morning and sent overnight to the UGA lab.

Bacteria Water Testing

Samples are accepted for analysis on Monday through Wednesday ONLY. Please take the sample around 1p.m. and return it back to the office no later than 2 p.m. The cost for this sample is $46.00. Payment is due upon receipt of sample unless prior arrangements are made.

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.

Bring the water sample back to the UGA Extension McDuffie County office, Monday - Wednesday by 2:00 pm. We do not accept samples on Thursday, Friday or the day before a holiday as there will be no one in the lab to process the samples on the weekend or on the holiday. You will receive your results in approximately ten working days in the mail or through email.