ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
Private Wells: Regulations, Testing
Recommendations and a New Public
Health Lab Initiative in Iowa
by: Susie Dai, PhD, associate director, Environmental Health Programs, State Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa; Alyssa Mattson,
administrative services specialist, State Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa; Michael Schueller, assistant director, Environmental Operations,
State Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa; Christl Tate, program manager, Program & Partnership Development, National Environmental Health
Association; and Steve Wilson, groundwater hydrologist, The Private Well Class, Illinois State Water Survey at the University of Illinois.
• State public health laboratories
typically provide more thorough
follow up with well owners with
contamination issues than private
laboratories.
About one in eight Americans rely on a
private well as their primary drinking
water source but public health protection
of those sources is inconsistent
nationwide. In Iowa, approximately
110,000 private wells supply drinking
water to nearly 300,000 people. These
private wells are unregulated in the
state, and only about 20% have been
characterized for water chemistry and
physical characteristics.
In 2017, the State Hygienic Laboratory
at the University of Iowa (SHL) launched
the Iowa Well Survey (IWS) to increase
awareness of the need to characterize
private well water. IWS is a sustained
statewide alliance in partnership with
Iowa Department of Public Health,
Iowa Department of Natural Resources,
University of Iowa professors and
students, and several local health
departments. Through IWS, wells are
tested free of charge for bacteria (total
coliforms, E. coli), nitrates and arsenic as
well as emerging contaminants, such as
neonicotinoid insecticides.
A Case for National Testing
Standards
The National Environmental Health
Association recently conducted an
overview of state private well water
quality testing regulations and guidance
to determine public health protection
variability. Thirty states have no well
water testing regulations, and the
remaining 20 have regulations with
differing testing requirements, such
as post-construction, post-repair and/
or when a real estate transaction
occurs. Local regulations and guidance
information is often specialized to meet
the needs of the immediate jurisdiction
and may not be relevant state-wide. Some
states have well programs that provide
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LAB MATTERS Fall 2018
• States or localities with focused
sampling or reduced-cost testing
events generate more frequent testing.
IWS Provides More Information
The State Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa offers
more than 20,000 tests for private wells annually. Private well
samples are typically tested for total coliforms, E. coli bacteria,
arsenic and nitrates. Photo: SHL
free testing and well owner educational
programs whereas other states do not.
General takeaways from the overview
include:
• Multiple agencies are often involved in
private well testing, which can lead to
confusion for well owners if efforts are
not coordinated.
• States or localities that collect water
quality data from well testing often
create contaminant-specific programs.
• In most states, university extension
services partner with state agencies,
but in some states they provide
guidance independent of the state.
Preliminary survey results from
Iowa indicate areas of concern.
Approximately half of the samples
have a quantifiable concentration of
one or more contaminants of concern,
with some of the wells exceeding US
Environmental Protection Agency
Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCL)
for bacteria, nitrate or arsenic. Those
who use these private wells now know
they have a health concern based on
empirical evidence and are able to pursue
appropriate mitigation.
IWS is paid for through existing funding
streams and testing projects. Current
project success can be attributed to:
• coordinating existing resources and
partners with similar motivations
• good customer service and
communication
• offering testing for contaminants of
concern
• providing benchmark information
for each county in relation to other
counties in the state.
The ultimate goal is to test as many
wells as possible in all 99 Iowa counties,
to better understand contaminants of
concern and to create a sustained market
for private well testing, to increase public
health protection across the state. n
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