Consumers receive their water from one of two sources: a private well or a city water system. A household well pumps Groundwater for household use, and the source of a city water system may be either surface water or Groundwater.

Private Household Wells: Approximately fourteen percent of the U.S. population relies upon owned and operated drinking water sources, such as wells, cisterns, and springs. The majority of household wells are found in rural areas.

Those who receive their water from a private well are solely responsible for the safety of the water. Private wells are not subject to federal regulations and are generally regulated on a minimal basis by states. Local health departments may assist well owners with periodic testing for bacteria or nitrates, but the bulk of the responsibility for caring for the well falls on the good owner.

Since the good owner is primarily responsible for the water, knowing what poses a threat to the well and the groundwater source is essential. Well-water can become contaminated through a variety of sources.

Some contaminants occur in nature that may present a health risk if they are found in drinking water. These contaminants include bacteria, viruses, uranium, radium, nitrate, arsenic, chromium, and fluoride. Many of these contaminants are naturally present in rock formations and end up in the water supply.

Other contamination sources result from human activities such as manufacturing, agriculture, or individual misuse. The following actions may cause harmful chemicals to enter the well water owner’s water supply:

• Leakage from waste disposal, treatment, or storage sites.
• Discharges from factories, industrial sites, or sewage treatment facilities.
• Leaching from aerial or land application of pesticides and fertilizers on yards or fields.
• Accidental chemical spills.
• Leakage from underground storage tanks.
• Improper disposal of household wastes such as cleaning fluids, paint, and motor oil.

Well owners generally disinfect or otherwise treat the water from their wells to remove the contaminants caused by such activities. As a private well owner, ensuring your water is safe from harmful contaminants is best. Even though one might not be able to taste the difference in filtered water, the difference in health would be revealed over time and is non-reversible.

Our Environmental health services include promoting environmental protection, improvement, and sustainability, focusing on protecting our water, food, and environment. This includes principles and techniques to assess water and the environment to meet applicable regulations and implement corrective measures.

The most effective means of consistently ensuring the safety of a drinking-water supply is through a comprehensive risk assessment and risk management approach that encompasses all steps in the water supply from catchment to consumer. In these Guidelines, such systems are termed water safety plans. 

The primary objectives of a Water Safety Plan in ensuring good drinking-water supply practice are the prevention or minimization of contamination of source waters, the reduction or removal of contamination through treatment processes, and the prevention of contamination during storage, distribution, and handling of drinking water.

These objectives apply equally to large piped drinking water supplies, small community supplies, and household systems. They are achieved through the development of an understanding of the specific system and its capability to:

• Supply water that meets water quality targets;
• Identification of potential sources of contamination and how they can be controlled
• Validation of control measures employed to control hazards;
• Implementation of a system for operational monitoring of the control measures within the water system;
• Timely corrective actions to ensure that safe water is consistently supplied;

Our Water Protection Program comprises, as a minimum, the three key components that are the responsibility of the drinking-water supplier to ensure that drinking water is safe. These are:

• A system assessment;
• Effective operational monitoring;
• Management and communication.