Around 23 million U.S. households depend on private wells, but studies show that only half of well owners test their water regularly. This article explores the risks of untested well water and how a simple intervention can increase testing rates. It also discusses the broader policy challenges around agricultural pollution and the burden on individual households to ensure their water is safe. Water supply and sanitation in the United States, Groundwater
Millions Rely on Private Wells, But Few Test Their Water Regularly
Around 23 million U.S. households, or about 15% of the population, depend on private wells as their primary drinking water source. These homeowners are solely responsible for ensuring their well water is safe for consumption. However, studies show that at best, only half of private well owners test their water with any frequency, and very few households test their water annually, as public health officials recommend.
This lack of water quality testing can be risky, as private wells can be vulnerable to contamination from agricultural runoff, septic systems, and other sources. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that one in five households with private wells have at least one contaminant at levels exceeding the thresholds for public water systems. Exposure to these contaminants, such as nitrates, can lead to serious health issues, including ‘blue baby syndrome’ in infants and chronic diseases like colorectal cancer and thyroid disease.
Increasing Water Testing Through Simple Interventions
To better understand the behaviors and perceptions of private well owners, researchers conducted a study in rural Iowa, where agricultural runoff regularly contaminates drinking water sources. They found that only 9% of households had tested their water for nitrates in the past year, despite the CDC’s recommendation to test annually.
Interestingly, the study also revealed that 77% of households classified their well water as ‘good’ or ‘great’, even though they lived in high-risk areas. This suggests a ‘not in my backyard’ mentality, where people believe the problem exists elsewhere but not in their own community.
To see if providing information and access to testing materials could change these views, the researchers sent a mailer containing a nitrate test strip, information about the risks of nitrate contamination, and contact details for a free water quality testing program to a random 50% of the survey respondents. The results showed that over 40% of households that received the mailer reported testing their water, compared to 24% of those who did not. While this is a small but statistically significant impact, the researchers could not determine if the outreach ultimately decreased the households’ exposure to contaminated drinking water.
Addressing the Burden on Households and the Need for Policy Changes
The study highlights the burden that rural households bear in dealing with unsafe well water, either through the costs of treatment and testing or the health impacts. However, policymakers have been slow to address the primary source of this problem: agricultural pollution.
One exception is in southeastern Minnesota, where state agencies are providing free well water testing and offering filtration systems to households with nitrate-contaminated wells. But this effort only began after environmental advocates petitioned the EPA.
More broadly, experts have called for rethinking agricultural policies that encourage the expansion of crops associated with high nutrient pollution, such as corn. Increased restoration of wetlands and prairies, which filter nutrients from surface water, could also help mitigate the problem.
The EPA could also provide better support for households when contaminants are found in their drinking water, even though it cannot force well owners to test or treat their water. By tracking the costs to households of dealing with contaminated water, government agencies could use this information to better assess the benefits of conservation programs.
Overall, the article highlights the need for a more comprehensive approach to addressing the challenge of unsafe private well water, one that considers the burden on individual households and the broader policy changes required to address the root causes of the problem.
