State-Level Policies Concerning Private Wells in the United States

Drinking private well water: Groundwater quality and management of wells in southern Alabama

Private wells provide a source of household water for over 40 million people in the United States and an estimated 1 million people in the Coastal Lowlands Aquifer system along the Gulf of Mexico. Well water quality is dependent on the local geology and factors that contribute to anthropogenic contamination from the surface. Here, we evaluated groundwater quality and well management in southern Alabama, USA, to better understand factors that influence exposures through drinking water from private wells. The most common constituents that exceeded USEPA primary or secondary human health benchmarks were pH (92%), and total coliform (TC) (25%), followed by Fe (7%), Pb (6%), nitrate (1%), and As (1%). Most wells (68%) also displayed temporal changes in the number of exceedances, often showing positive for TC during one sampling campaign and negative in another, while the secondary standard for pH (6.5-8.5) was consistently not met. We also found that the common choices of water treatment did not protect against the most common water quality exceedances. Our results underscore the need to understand well water quality coupled with management practices when assessing potential exposures to the private well population through drinking water.

Exploring Demographic Disparities in Private Well Water Testing in North Carolina

The natural, built, and social environments shape drinking water quality supplied by private wells. However, the combined effects of these factors are not well understood. Using North Carolina as a case study, we (i) estimate the demographic characteristics of the private well population; (ii) evaluate representation in well testing records; and (iii) demonstrate how spatial scale influences knowledge of well-using household demographics and representation in testing. We leverage a statewide database of 117,960 well testing records collected over 20 years and a national model predicting well locations. An estimated 25% well-using households identify as Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color (BIPOC) and 15% have incomes below the poverty threshold. While there is robust well sampling (an average of 4,269 wells tested annually), we observed that most testing records were from predominately White block groups (BGs). Well-using households that did not participate in state testing were 2.4 times more likely to be from predominately BIPOC BGs compared predominately White BGs. Due to the spatial heterogeneity of the well population, demographic differences in well populations were more evident using higher resolution data. Multifaceted testing approaches that couple government-driven efforts with localized studies that engage underrepresented communities are needed to facilitate evidence-based management.

The private well water climate impact index: Characterization of community-level climate-related hazards and vulnerability in the continental United States

BACKGROUND

Private wells use groundwater as their source and their drinking water quality is unregulated in the United States at the federal level. Due to the lack of water quality regulations, those reliant on private wells have the responsibility of ensuring that the water is safe to drink. Where extreme weather is projected to increase with climate change, contamination due to climate-related hazards adds further layers of complexity for those relying on private wells. We sought to characterize community-level climate-related hazards and vulnerability for persons dependent on private wells in the continental United States (CONUS). Additional objectives of this work were to quantify the burden to private well water communities by climate region and demographic group.

METHODS

Grounded in the latest climate change framework and private well water literature, we created the Private Well Water Climate Impact Index (PWWCII). We searched the literature and identified nationally consistent, publicly available, sub-county data to build Overall, Drought, Flood, and Wildfire PWWCIIs at the national and state scales. We adapted the technical construction of this relative index from the California Communities Environmental Health Screening Tool (CalEnviroScreen 4.0).

RESULTS

The distribution of climate-related impact census tracts varied across CONUS by nationally-normed PWWCII type. Compared to the Southeast where the majority of the 2010 estimated U.S. private well water population lived, the estimated persons dependent upon private well water living in the West had an increased odds of living in higher impact census tracts for the Overall, Drought, and Wildfire PWWCIIs across CONUS. Compared to non-Hispanic White persons, non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) persons had an increased odds of living in higher impact census tracts for all four PWWCII types across CONUS.

CONCLUSIONS

The PWWCII fills a gap as it provides a baseline understanding of potential climate-related impacts to communities reliant on private well water across CONUS.

Domestic groundwater wells in Appalachia show evidence of low-dose, complex mixtures of legacy pollutants

Lack of water quality data for private drinking water sources prevents robust evaluation of exposure risk for communities co-located with historically contaminated sites and ongoing industrial activity. Areas of the Appalachian region of the United States (i.e., Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia) contain extensive hydraulic fracturing activity, as well as other extractive and industrial technologies, in close proximity to communities reliant on private drinking water sources, creating concern over potential groundwater contamination. In this study, we characterized volatile organic compound (VOC) occurrence at 307 private groundwater well sites within Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. The majority (97%) of water samples contained at least one VOC, while the average number of VOCs detected at a given site was 5 ± 3. The majority of individual VOC concentrations fell below applicable U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Maximum Contamination Levels (MCLs), except for chloroform (MCL of 80 μg L-1; n = 1 at 98 μg L-1), 1,2-dibromoethane (MCL of 0.05 μg L-1; n = 3 ranging from 0.05 to 0.35 μg L-1), and 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane (MCL of 0.2 μg L-1; n = 7 ranging from 0.20 to 0.58 μg L-1). To evaluate well susceptibility to VOCs from industrial activity, distance to hydraulic fracturing site was used to assess correlations with contaminant occurrences. Proximity to closest hydraulic fracturing well-site revealed no statistically significant linear relationships with either individual VOC concentrations, or frequency of VOC detections. Evaluation of other known industrial contamination sites (e.g., US EPA Superfund sites) revealed elevated levels of three VOCs (chloroform, toluene, benzene) in groundwaters within 10 km of those Superfund sites in West Virginia and Ohio, illuminating possible point source influence. Lack of correlation between VOC concentrations and proximity to specific point sources indicates complex geochemical processes governing trace VOC contamination of private drinking water sources. While individual concentrations of VOCs fell well below recommended human health levels, the low dose exposure to multiple VOCs occurring in drinking supplies for Appalachian communities was noted, highlighting the importance of groundwater well monitoring.

A state-by-state comparison of policies that protect private well users

BACKGROUND

While the Safe Drinking Water Act allows states and localities to adopt stronger protections for drinking water, state and local requirements concerning private drinking water wells vary dramatically and often do not provide necessary protections for residents who rely on well water.

OBJECTIVE

This paper inventories ten types of policies including laws, regulations, programs, and activities that states have adopted or partaken in to encourage safe drinking water for residential well owners.

METHODS

To identify categories of private well protections, we conducted a preliminary internet search with key search terms to create an initial list of 10 categories of laws, regulations, programs, and activities (collectively referred to as "policies") that states have taken to protect residential well water quality. To have a private well safety category present, the law, regulation, program, or activity must fit within the scope of the ten classifications. To limit the breadth of our search, we excluded local and county protections, as well as activities by non-governmental organizations. We also excluded basic construction standards for new wells and licensing standards for well drillers, both of which are covered under a previous study. We conducted an additional internet search to complete a comprehensive review of each state and category and to validate our previous findings. In addition to this internet search, we completed phone and email outreach to the state agencies implementing the well safety categories identified in our internet search to confirm our results.

RESULTS

The results indicate a wide range of state-based well water protections. The number of residential well water protections present in each state ranged from 8 policies in Iowa, Kentucky, and Maine to 1 policy in Oklahoma, with a median of 5 policies across the 50 states.

IMPACT

This paper examines protections that states have implemented to safeguard residential well water quality and to protect the health of people who rely on well water. This research reviews state-level regulations, laws, and programs, as opposed to local, municipal, county-level, or quasi-governmental protections for residential well owners. Residential well policies were examined across ten categories. Without any protections at the federal level, this research reveals gaps in state regulation and demonstrates the need for broader adoption of comprehensive state-level policies to better protect residential well owners from drinking water contaminants and their associated public health impacts.

Water, Water Everywhere, but Every Drop Unique: Challenges in the Science to Understand the Role of Contaminants of Emerging Concern in the Management of Drinking Water Supplies

The protection and management of water resources continues to be challenged by multiple and ongoing factors such as shifts in demographic, social, economic, and public health requirements. Physical limitations placed on access to potable supplies include natural and human-caused factors such as aquifer depletion, aging infrastructure, saltwater intrusion, floods, and drought. These factors, although varying in magnitude, spatial extent, and timing, can exacerbate the potential for contaminants of concern (CECs) to be present in sources of drinking water, infrastructure, premise plumbing and associated tap water. This monograph examines how current and emerging scientific efforts and technologies increase our understanding of the range of CECs and drinking water issues facing current and future populations. It is not intended to be read in one sitting, but is instead a starting point for scientists wanting to learn more about the issues surrounding CECs. This text discusses the topical evolution CECs over time (Section 1), improvements in measuring chemical and microbial CECs, through both analysis of concentration and toxicity (Section 2) and modeling CEC exposure and fate (Section 3), forms of treatment effective at removing chemical and microbial CECs (Section 4), and potential for human health impacts from exposure to CECs (Section 5). The paper concludes with how changes to water quantity, both scarcity and surpluses, could affect water quality (Section 6). Taken together, these sections document the past 25 years of CEC research and the regulatory response to these contaminants, the current work to identify and monitor CECs and mitigate exposure, and the challenges facing the future.

Targeted education and outreach to neighbors of homes with high gross alpha radioactivity in domestic well water

Gross alpha, a measurement of radioactivity in drinking water, is the most frequent laboratory test to exceed primary drinking water standards among wells tested under the New Jersey Private Well Testing Act (NJ PWTA). Certain geological factors prevalent in New Jersey (NJ) are primarily responsible for the presence of radioactivity in private well drinking water and thus, many of the estimated one million private well users in NJ may be at-risk of water contamination from naturally occurring radionuclides. Neighbor-based private well outreach methodology was utilized to identify high risk wells in both northern and southern NJ regions and offer free private well testing for radionuclides. Previously tested wells with gross alpha exceeding or equal to 3.7 becquerels per liter (Bq L^-1; 100 pCi/L) were selected (n = 49) to identify neighbors (n = 406) within 152.4 m (500 feet). Invitation letters were mailed to selected neighbors and some of the previously tested high wells (n = 12) offering free water sampling for the following parameters: gross alpha (48-hour rapid test), combined radium-226 and radium-228 (Ra-226 + Ra-228), uranium-238 (U-238), radon-222 (Rn-222) and iron. Overall, 70 neighbors and 5 high PWTA wells participated in this free water testing opportunity. For neighboring wells, gross alpha results revealed 47 (67.1%) wells exceeding the gross alpha MCL of 0.555 Bq L^-1 (15 pCi/L) mainly due to radium activity in the raw/untreated water. Of those with water treatment (n = 62), 12 (19.4%) treated water samples exceeded the gross alpha MCL. Targeting neighbors of known highly radioactive wells for private well testing is an effective public health outreach method and can also provide useful insight of regional contaminant variations.

Developing Toxic Metal Environmental Justice Indices (TM-EJIs) for Arsenic, Cadmium, Lead, and Manganese Contamination in Private Drinking Wells in North Carolina

Toxic metal exposure via private drinking wells is an environmental health challenge in North Carolina (NC). Policies tainted by environmental racism shape who has access to public water supplies, with Black People, Indigenous People, and People of Color (BIPOC) often excluded from municipal services. Thus, toxic metal exposure via private wells is an environmental justice (EJ) issue, and it is under-studied in NC. In this study, we developed four Toxic Metal Environmental Justice Indices (TM-EJIs) for inorganic arsenic (iAs), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and manganese (Mn) to quantitatively identify areas of environmental injustice in NC. TM-EJIs were calculated at the census tract level (n = 2038) as the product of the following: (1) number of well water tests with concentrations exceeding national standards, (2) percentage of the low-income and minority population, and (3) population density. Mn had the greatest proportion (25.17%) of positive TM-EJIs, which are indicative of socioeconomically disadvantaged groups exposed to toxic metals. Positive TM-EJIs, particularly for Pb and Mn, were primarily located in eastern NC. These results highlight several new counties of concern and can be used by public health professionals and state environmental agencies to prioritize remediation efforts and efforts to reduce environmental injustices.

Private Well Testing in Peri-Urban African-American Communities Lacking Access to Regulated Municipal Drinking Water: A Mental Models Approach to Risk Communication

Majority African-American neighborhoods on the edges of North Carolina municipalities are less likely than white peri-urban neighborhoods to be served by a community system regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act. These households rely on unregulated private wells, which are at much higher risk of contamination than neighboring community water supplies. Yet, risk awareness of consuming well water is low, and no prior research has tested risk communication interventions for these communities. We present a randomized-controlled trial of an oversized postcard to promote water testing among this audience. The postcard design followed the mental models approach to risk communication. To our knowledge, this is the first U.S. randomized-controlled trial of a mailed communication to promote water testing in any audience and one of few trials of the mental models approach. We evaluated the postcard's effects on self-reported water testing with and without a free water test offer (vs. no-intervention control) via a survey mailed one month after the interventions. The combined communication and free test doubled the odds of self-reported water testing, compared to the control group (p = 0.046). It increased the odds of testing by 65%, compared to the free test alone. Recall of receiving a postcard about water testing increased the odds of self-reported testing twelve-fold (p < 0.001). Although these results suggest that targeted risk information delivered by mail can promote water testing when paired with a free test, the mechanism remains unclear. Additional research on beliefs influencing perceptions about well water may yield interventions that are even more effective.

User experience of point-of-use water treatment for private wells in North Carolina: Implications for outreach and well stewardship

Private well users are potentially exposed to a range of chemical contaminants through their drinking water. Point-of-use (POU) water treatment represents one potential solution to reduce harmful exposures through well water, but well users frequently do not adopt household treatment even if they learn their water is contaminated. This study elucidates the experiences, perceptions, and beliefs of 17 households on private wells in North Carolina that participated in a pilot-scale POU water treatment intervention to better understand the drivers and barriers of POU treatment adoption among well users. The intervention consisted of an under-sink activated carbon block POU filter designed to remove lead and two long-chain perfluoroalkyl acids. Filter effluents and influents were tested monthly for eight months. Questionnaires administered before and after the intervention showed a significant decrease in participants' perceived vulnerability to well water contamination, with 77% feeling vulnerable to poor well water quality before, compared to 23% after the filter was installed. However, the POU filters did not fully eliminate feelings of water insecurity (for example, concerns about exposure to contaminants when bathing remained). Lack of knowledge and skills associated with installing and maintaining POU treatment were important barriers to adoption for some well users. Perceptions of POU treatment were also significantly correlated with the intent to implement other well stewardship behaviors such as well water testing. The results highlight the need for strengthened outreach and support programs that provide technical assistance, education, and financial support for households relying on private wells.

Disparities in well water outreach and assistance offered by local health departments: A North Carolina case study

Drinking water supplied by private wells is a national concern that would benefit from improved outreach and support to ensure safe drinking water quality. In North Carolina (NC), local health departments (LHDs) have private well programs that enforce statewide well construction standards, offer water testing services, and provide well water outreach and assistance. Programs were evaluated to determine their capacity and capability for well water outreach and assistance and identify differences among programs. All LHDs reported overseeing the construction of new wells as required by law. However, services provided to existing well users were offered infrequently and/or inconsistently offered. Lack of uniformity was observed in the number of LHD staff and their assigned responsibilities; the costs and availability of well water testing; and the comfort of LHD staff communicating with well owners. While the total number of staff was lower in LHDs in rural counties, the number of outreach activities and services offered was typically not related to the number of well users served. Variations in structure and capacity of well programs at LHDs have created unequal access to services and information for well users in NC. This research underscores the need to examine infrastructure that supports the well water community on a national scale.