Test well water to insure it's safe to drink, use

Clean drinking water is a top priority for families. But homeowners who rely solely on well water can be open to certain risks.

If your water is provided by a city or county source, it isn’t necessary to have it tested unless an in-house contamination is suspected. Public and municipal water supplies are routinely tested and must meet Environmental Protection Agency standards.

Homeowner's responsibility

Well water can become contaminated from various sources and can make homeowners sick. Since there are no federal or state monitoring regulations for private wells, it is the homeowner’s responsibility to make sure their well water is safe to drink.

Well water may not be safe to drink if:

You have frequent and unexplained illnesses in your household.
Your neighbors find toxic chemicals in their well water.
You are concerned about the lead pipes or soldering in your home.
You detect a difference in the taste, smell or color of the water.
You are buying a new home with a well that has been out of use.
It comes from an improperly sealed or unprotected well, spring or cistern.
You spill fertilizers, pesticides, oil, gasoline or other toxic substances on the ground in or near the well.

Water isn't just for drinking

Poor water quality not only affects drinking water. It can also affect a variety of household functions. Contaminated water used for cooking may affect your health, while an excess of certain minerals can hamper cleaning tasks in laundry or bathroom.

Unfortunately, no single test can provide information on all possible contaminants.

Bacteriological tests determine if water is free of disease-causing bacteria. But there are many types of tests that cover a variety of bacteria. The most common bacteriological test checks for E. coli and total coliform bacteria, which can come from fecal contamination.

Mineral tests can determine if the mineral content is high enough to affect either health or the water’s aesthetic or cleaning capacities. This test often pinpoints calcium, magnesium, manganese, iron, copper and zinc. An abundance of these minerals can cause hard water, plumbing and laundry stains or bad odors.

Pesticide and chemical tests are generally performed only if there is reason to believe a specific contaminant has entered the water system, such as pesticides.

Inspect regularly

It is important to regularly inspect your well for sources of contamination.

Other potential problems can exist with the slab, the well screen, the building covering the well or landscaping. University of Georgia Cooperative Extension offers well assessment through the HOME*A*SYST program. These self-assessments determine the risks associated with your well.

If you suspect a problem with your well water, contact a licensed well driller to inspect the well and have it tested for bacteria. This test should be done at least once a year, especially after well water disinfections.

Have water tested

Well testing can be done through local UGA Extension offices. Water samples are tested through the UGA Agricultural and Environmental Services Laboratory in Athens.

A basic test, which tests for pH, hardness and more than 15 minerals, is $15. An expanded water test, which tests for minerals, soluble salts and alkalinity, is $50.

Contact your UGA Extension office at 1-800-ASK-UGA1 for information on troubleshooting water quality issues or testing your well water for bacteria.

Contact your county health department for information on how to take proper care of your septic system. Septic system problems can affect well water quality.

By Paul Pugliese
University of Georgia

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Study suggests Surface Water Contaminated with Salmonella More Common than ThoughtS

A new University of Georgia study suggests that health agencies investigating Salmonella illnesses should consider untreated surface water as a possible source of contamination.

Researchers, whose results appear in the March issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, tested water over a one-year period in rivers and streams in a region of south Georgia known for its high rate of sporadic salmonella cases. The team found Salmonella in 79 percent of water samples, with the highest concentrations and the greatest diversity of strains in the summer and after rainfall.

“Streams are not routinely tested for Salmonella, and our finding is an indication that many more could be contaminated than people realize,” said Erin Lipp, associate professor in the UGA College of Public Health. “We found our highest numbers in the summer months, and this is also the time when most people get sick.”

Lipp, who co-authored the study with former UGA graduate student Bradd Haley and Dana Cole in the Georgia Division of Public Health, said that although contaminated water used to irrigate or wash produce has been linked to several well-publicized outbreaks of salmonellosis in recent years, the environmental factors that influence Salmonella levels in natural waters are not well understood. She said understanding how Salmonella levels change in response to variables such as temperature and rainfall are critical to predicting—and ultimately preventing—the waterborne transmission of the bacteria.

The team studied streams in the upper reaches of the Suwannee River Basin, which begins in south Georgia and flows into central Florida. The study area contains a mix of forested lands, row crops, pasturelands, wetlands and small cities. The researchers chose sampling sites near a variety of those environments but found little variation in Salmonella concentrations by location. The diversity of Salmonella strains, however, was highest near a farm containing cattle and a pivot irrigation system, suggesting that close proximity to livestock and agriculture increase the risk of contamination. The researchers also found a strong and direct correlation between rainfall for the two days preceding sample collection and the concentration of Salmonella, suggesting that runoff contributes to the contamination.

Salmonella can be found in the intestinal tracts of several species of animals and in humans. The bacteria are shed in feces, but Lipp said recent data suggest that they can persist and possibly grow in water if given the right conditions. Her study found that the diversity and concentration of Salmonella increased as temperatures increased. The highest concentrations and greatest diversity of strains were found in August, the warmest month of the year. Lipp adds that her study, which was funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Joint Program on Climate Variability and Human Health, lends support to the idea that Salmonella illnesses could increase as a result of global warming.

Lipp notes that her study area had 58 cases of Salmonella illness per 100,000 people in 2007, the last year for which figures are available, compared to a state average of 22 cases per 100,000 people and a national average of 15 cases per 100,000 people. She said the exact mechanisms by which people in her study area are being exposed to environmental Salmonella are unclear, but the most commonly detected strain in the studied streams was among the top ten associated with human infections in the health district. The porous nature of the soil in the study area means that surface water and groundwater are prone to mixing, especially after rainfalls, and Lipp said that poorly sited wells might be a factor in many illnesses. Another possibility, especially common among children, is so called incidental exposure by which people become infected with the bacteria when playing in or near contaminated waterways.

“Understanding the environmental factors that contribute to salmonella illnesses can guide our efforts to educate people about how they can avoid being sickened through the proper construction and maintenance of wells, basic hygiene such as hand washing and good food safety practices,” Lipp said. “We also have the potential to decrease the likelihood of larger outbreaks related to produce, because in many cases contaminated irrigation water, and not the produce itself, may be the cause of the outbreak.”

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