FORT DODGE, Iowa — Allison Roderick has a warning and a pledge to rural residents in her county: Their well water could be contaminated, but the government can help make it safer.
Roderick is the environmental health manager for Webster County in north-central Iowa, where a few thousand rural residents live among vast fields of corn and soybeans. Many get their water from private wells, which are exempt from most federal testing and purity regulations. Roderick sends the message that they are not safe from danger.
More than 43 million Americans rely on private wells, which are subject to a patchwork of state and local regulations, including standards for new construction. But in most cases, residents are free to use obsolete wells without having them tested or inspected. This practice is common despite concerns about runoff from farms and industrial sites, as well as carcinogenic minerals that can taint groundwater.
“You cook with it. You clean with it. You bathe in it — and, these days, there are so many things that can make you sick,” Roderick said.
Federal experts estimates more than a fifth private wells have contaminant concentrations above levels considered safe.
Like many states, Iowa offers assistance to homeowners who use well water. The state provides about $50,000 a year to each of its 99 counties to cover testing and help fund well repairs or treatment. The money comes from fees paid on agricultural chemical purchases, but about half goes unused each year, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
Roderick, who started his job in 2022, aims to spend every penny allocated to his county. Last spring, she raised an additional $40,000 that other counties had not used. She promotes the program online and by sending stacks of postcards. Traveling the countryside in a second-hand Sheriff’s Department SUV, she takes water samples from outdoor faucets and sends them to a lab.
When it discovers contamination, it can offer up to $1,000 in state grant money to help repair it, or up to $500 to plug an abandoned well.
Experts urge all users of private wells to have them tested at least once a year. Even if wells meet modern construction standards and have tested clean in the past, they can become contaminated as the water table rises or falls and conditions change above them. A faulty septic tank or excessive application of fertilizers or pesticides can quickly alter groundwater.
Too many residents think everything is fine “as long as the water comes out of the faucet and it doesn’t smell funny,” said Sydney Evans, senior science analyst for the Environmental Working Group, a national advocacy organization that studies the water pollution. .
The main concerns vary depending on the geology and industries of a region.
In agricultural regions of the Midwest, for example, primary contaminants include bacteria and nitrates, which may be present in agricultural runoff. In rural Nevada And Maine, arsenic and uranium often spoil water. And, across the country, concerns are growing about the health effects of PFAS chemicalswidely used products also known as “forever chemicals”. A recent federal stud farmIt is estimated that at least 45% of tap water in the United States contains it.
Investigation: Dangerous levels of PFAS detected in water for 27 million. Did the EPA find it near you?
Filters can help ensure safety, but only if they are selected to address the specific problem affecting a home’s water supply, Evans said. A bad filter can give a false sense of security.
Evans said people who are wondering about possible contaminants in their area can ask to see test results from wells supplying nearby community water systems. These systems are required to test their water regularly, and the results must be public, she said: “It’s a great place to start, and it’s free and easy. »
She also said people who rely on private water wells should ask local health authorities if they are eligible for help paying for testing and possible repairs or filters. Grants are often available but not made public, she said.
A study by Emory University Researchers published in 2019 found that all states have standards for building new wells and most states require permits for it. However, the researchers write, “even in states with water quality testing standards, testing is generally infrequent or nonexistent.”
Some longtime rural residents live in homes that have been in their families for generations. They often do not know their water source well. “They will say: ‘This is the well that my grandfather dug.’ We’ve been using it ever since and no one has had a problem,” said David Cwiertny, director of the University of Iowa. Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination. They may not realize that impure water can harm health over time, he said.
Some states require inspection and testing of private wells when properties are sold. Iowa does not impose such measures, although Webster County does. It’s a good idea for homebuyers anywhere to apply, said Erik Day, who oversees the private well program for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. He also recommends hiring a technician who can lower a flexible telescope into the well to visually inspect the interior.
Day estimates that fewer than 10 percent of private well owners in Iowa have them tested each year, even though testing may be free under the state’s grant program.
In Webster County, Larry Jones recently took advantage of free well testing on a weathered ranch he purchased west of Fort Dodge, in a subdivision bordering a large soybean field. Jones lives next door to the 54-year-old’s home and is renovating it as a place for his loved ones to stay.
Roderick, the county health officer, sampled the water from the well and found it was contaminated with bacteria. She offered Jones $1,000 from the state grant to help repair the problem. He added a few thousand dollars and hired a contractor.
“It’s an investment for the future,” he said. “You’re talking about your family.”
The old well consisted of a 2-foot-diameter concrete casing sunk vertically in sections about 60 feet into the ground. A small plastic pipe ran down the middle of the case to water the bottom. A pump drew water through the smaller pipe and into the house.
Lynn Rosenquist, owner of a local well repair company, told Jones that the well was likely the home’s original one and likely met standards when it was built. But at least one piece of concrete broke away and collapsed.
The repairs required two days of hard work from Rosenquist and his brother Lanny, who are the third generation of their family to maintain the wells. The brothers used a backhoe and a small crane to remove much of the concrete covering. They replaced it with a narrower PVC pipe, which they sealed with a cement mixture to prevent seepage from the surface. Once finished, they “shocked” the system with a bleach solution, then rinsed and tested it again.
Such modern construction is less likely to be tainted, Roderick said. “If it’s not sealed tightly, bacteria can get in and it’s just disgusting,” she said.
Rudeness isn’t the only thing Roderick considers. Besides E. coli and other bacteria, it looks for nitrates and sulfates, which may exist in runoff from farms or lawns or come from natural sources, as well as arsenic and manganese, which may be present in rock formations. She plans to add testing for PFAS chemicals soon.
She collects the water in small plastic bottles that she mails to a laboratory. It enters information about each well into a national database. If tests reveal contaminants, she informs homeowners of their options.
Roderick said she likes routine. “I’ve met so many people – and I’ve met a lot of dogs,” she said with a laugh.
“I like the feeling of really helping people.”
KFF Health Newsformerly known as Kaiser Health News (KHN), is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism on health issues and is one of the major operating programs of KFF — an independent source of health policy research, polling and journalism.