JOHN A RABER & ASSOC

I just recently had a well test done by the licensed sanitarian at John A. Raber & Associates, Inc.. The water was tested at our outside spigot. I did not witness the test but I went into the house for a couple of minutes and came back and he was gone. I went onto the Illinois Department of Public Health web site to review sampling guidelines and there it stated NOT to sample from an outside spigot due to likely contaminants, and to instead sample from a frequently used indoor faucet. The guidelines also say that there should be an immediate re-sample if the test comes back positive for bacteria. The sample results came back positive for coliforms. Because I am selling my home and time was important I obtained 2 sample collection bottles and sampled at an indoor faucet and at the well. Both samples came back negative. The Raber report suggested immediate chlorination of the well and NOT a resample. I called the Raber sanitarian to discuss and was told they do not follow the public health guidelines I read because they have more experience than public health so they do it their own way. He also stated they have done more research on sampling methods than the federal agencies that oversee this process. They also find that it is easier for people to chlorinate their well rather than wait for another sample which is why they suggest not resample. He said he was happy to sample again but at a cost to me. Chlorinating a well is the last solution in national and state guidelines as it is first important to get the results from a well collected sample so that, if positive, once can try and address the contamination issue first prior to chlorination. I find it appalling that this sanitarian/company do not follow public health or EPA guidelines and actually say they know more than these agencies. EPA states: If a problem is detected, immediate retesting requirements go into effect along with strict instructions about how to inform the public. Until the system can reliably demonstrate that it is free of problems, the retesting is continued. Raber/this company disregards the EPA, the IDPH, CDC and USGS guidelines for water collection. I can only imagine what they do in the rest of their business.