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Drinking Water From Household Wells
Environmental Protection
Agency
January 2002
Table of Contents
Introduction
What
Is Ground Water and How Can It Be Polluted?
Where
Do Ground Water Pollutants Come From?
What
Are Some Naturally Occurring Sources of Pollution?
What Human Activities Can Pollute My Ground
Water?
Should I Be Concerned?
How Much Risk Can I Expect?
What Should I Do?
Six Steps to Well
Water Safety
Protecting Your Ground Water
Supply
Find Out More - Sources of Information on Well
Water
Definitions - Common Terms About Wells and
Ground Water
If your family gets drinking water from your own well, do you know if your water is safe to drink? What health risks could you and your family face? Where can you go for help or advice?
This pamphlet helps answer these questions. It gives you general information about drinking water from home wells (also considered private drinking water sources). It describes types of activities in your area that can create threats to your water supply. It also describes problems to look for and offers maintenance suggestions. Sources for more information and help are also listed.
All of us need clean water to drink. We can go for weeks without food, but only days without water. Contaminated water can be a threat to anyone's health, but especially to young children.
About 15 percent of Americans have their own sources of drinking water, such as wells, cisterns, and springs. Unlike public drinking water systems serving many people, they do not have experts regularly checking the water's source and its quality before it is sent through pipes to the community.
To help protect families with their own wells, almost all states license or register water-well installers. Most also have construction standards for home wells. In addition, some city and county health departments have local rules and permitting. All this helps make sure the well is built properly. But what about checking to see that it is working correctly and the water is always healthy to drink? That is the job of the well owner, and it takes some work and some knowledge.
What Is Ground Water And How Can It Be Polluted?
Ground water is a resource found under the earth's surface. Most ground water comes from rain and melting snow soaking into the ground. Water fills the spaces between rocks and soils, making an "aquifer". (See Watershed Graphic.) About half of our nation's drinking water comes from ground water. Most is supplied through public drinking water systems. But many families rely on private, household wells and use ground water as their source of fresh water.
Ground water - its depth from the surface, quality
for drinking water, and chance of being polluted - varies from place to place.
Generally, the deeper the well, the better the ground water. The amount of new
water flowing into the area also affects ground water quality. Ground water may
contain some natural impurities or contaminants, even with no human activity or
pollution. Natural contaminants can come from many conditions in the watershed
or in the ground. Water moving through underground rocks and soils may pick up
magnesium, calcium and chlorides. Some ground water naturally contains
dissolved elements such as arsenic, boron, selenium, or radon, a gas formed by
the natural breakdown of radioactive uranium in soil. Whether these natural
contaminants are health problems depends on the amount of the substance
present.
A "watershed" is the land area where water soaks through the earth filling an underground water supply or aquifer. It is also called a recharge area. The "water table" is the line below which the ground is saturated or filled with water and available for pumping. The water table will fall during dry seasons. A well can pump water from either the saturated zone or an aquifer. Wells must be deep enough to remain in the saturated zone.d
In addition to natural contaminants, ground water is often polluted by human activities such as
These problems are discussed in greater detail later in this brochure.
Suburban growth is bringing businesses, factories and industry (and potential sources of pollution) into once rural areas where families often rely on household wells. Growth is also pushing new home developments onto the edge of rural and agricultural areas. Often municipal water and sewer lines do not extend to these areas. Many new houses rely on wells and septic tanks. But the people buying them may not have any experience using these systems.
Most U.S.
ground water is safe for human use. However, ground water contamination has
been found in all 50 states, so well owners have reason to be vigilant in
protecting their water supplies. Well owners need to be aware of potential
health problems. They need to test their water regularly and maintain their
wells to safeguard their families' drinking water.
The hydrologic cycle is the natural process of rain and snow falling to earth and evaporating back to form clouds and fall again. The water falling to earth flows into streams, rivers, lakes and into the soil collecting to form groundwater.d
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