Homeowners who rely on private wells as their drinking water source can be vulnerable to bacteria, nitrates, and other contaminants that have known human health risks.
Homeowners who rely on private wells as their drinking water source can be vulnerable to bacteria, nitrates, and other contaminants that have known human health risks. Because they are not connected to a public drinking water supply, the homeowners are responsible for ensuring that their own drinking water is safe.
Similar to concerns that public drinking water treatment plants face, groundwater wells may be impacted by another group of contaminants — and they might be part of your daily use!
Ingredients in personal care items, over-the-counter and prescription medicines, and even food and drink products are introduced into domestic wastewater streams and can persist through treatment technologies. “This causes trace-levels of these chemicals to be found in the environment,” says Heather Gall. “Recently developed analytical technologies are now advanced enough for us to detect these compounds in water at increasingly low levels.” Gall is an assistant professor at Pennsylvania State University who studies contaminants of emerging concern in surface and groundwater.
Read more at American Society of Agronomy
Image: Private water wells are a vital source of drinking water in Pennsylvania. They provide water to nearly one million rural homes and farms. (Credit: Chad Voorhees)
