The traditional rural population within the United States has changed significantly with the emergence of urban centers in the past 50 years. Although this development has provided for other sources of water, there are many areas in the country that still rely on wells and ground water for drinking. Recent EPA estimates assert that over 15% of the population still uses well water for drinking, washing, crop support and other general purposes; close to 45 million Americans depend on well water for their basic necessities in life.

Well water is continually under the threat of contamination from a number of sources however, and the burden of testing the ground water is placed upon individual landowners rather than governmental agencies. As a result, pure drinking water is depleting in rural and suburban America because testing by the individual landowner is not required. This, in turn, will eventually become a considerable problem.

The Problem:

Unlike municipal and bottled water sources, drinking water from wells is not regulated by any governmental bodies including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Because each well is its own source of water, effective regulation of millions of wells clearly proves beyond the scope and power of governmental regulatory authorities.

In addition, well water is subject to contamination from a number of sources. The risk of significant health problems depends on a number of factors including:

• How the well was constructed • The location of the well on the property • Local environmental factors • The condition of the aquifer that supplies the well • Human, animal and industrial activities in proximity to the well

What Exactly is Well Water?

Well water or ground water is formed as a result of rain and snow seeping into the ground and filling the space between rocks and soil in what is known as an “aquifer.” The bulk of the nation’s drinking water comes from ground water aquifers although the portion that sources municipal water supplies as tap water is subject to quality standards.

Clean drinking water is necessary for a healthy life and contamination of ground water poses a substantial threat to health in rural and suburban America. The actual well drillers and installers are subject to state regulations but the quality of the water output is not regulated and remains the responsibility of the well owner. Well water significantly varies in quality from place to place throughout the country. Depth of the water table and the quality and quantity of replenishment sources are also considerations.

The burden of maintaining safe drinking water from wells is directly placed on the homeowner; the testing is at best a cumbersome process. Simple tests are not adequate to identify all contamination sources and expensive laboratory testing is often required. Repeated testing is also required to ensure that varying conditions do not introduce new contaminants.