NEHA March 2023 Journal of Environmental Health

ADVANCEMENT OF THE PRACTICE

 DIRECT FROM CDC ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

Community Resources for Contaminants of Concern in Private Wells

Brian Hubbard, MPH

Raquel Sabogal, MPH

Max Zarate- Bermudez, MSc, MPH, PhD

Based on their findings, funding recipients increased access to services for private well users by hosting outreach activities such as well owner workshops and partner meetings. They provided information on testing of well water, interpreting test results, and exploring ways to improve wells and choose treatment options. By closing program gaps, recipients were bet- ter able to help reduce private well user expo- sure to harmful contaminants in their drinking water. For example, recipients collected and tested 26,427 well water samples. They found that 4,346 wells serving approximately 11,000 people had high levels of contaminants. Work to reduce exposures to contaminants included repairing wells, installing new treatment sys- tems, and in some cases, changing source water. NCEH also supported recipient eorts to monitor water quality, improve the organiza- tion of data, develop targeted interventions, and expand tool kits. As recipients improved water quality monitoring, they enhanced their understanding of contaminants of con- cern and routes of exposure in the communi- ties they served. CDC Organized Information About Top Contaminants of Concern in Wells At the close of the funding program, NCEH conducted exit interviews with recipients to learn which well contaminants were of great- est concern in their jurisdictions. Recipi- ents provided their insights based on their improved water quality monitoring eorts. Among the top 10 mentioned (Figure 1), their top 5 contaminants of concern were: 1. arsenic, 2.bacteriological agents ( E. coli and total coliform),

Editor’s Note: The National Environmental Health Association strives to provide up-to-date and relevant information on environmental health and to build partnerships in the profession. In pursuit of these goals, we feature this column on environmental health services from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in every issue of the Journal . In these columns, authors from CDC’s Water, Food, and Environmental Health Services Branch, as well as guest authors, will share tools, resources, and guidance for environmental health practitioners. The conclusions in these columns are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the ocial position of CDC. Brian Hubbard is a health scientist and the Safe Water Section lead. Raquel Sabogal is an epidemiologist and environmental health scientist and is a subject matter expert in water quality. Max Zarate-Bermudez is an environmental epidemiologist and a subject matter expert in water quality. All work at the National Center for Environmental Health in the Water, Food, and Environmental Health Services Branch within CDC.

P ublic Health Programs Can Help Private Well Owners Understand Water Quality Results In the U.S., approximately one in five water samples collected from private wells were found to be contaminated with at least one chemical at levels high enough to harm health (DeSimone et al., 2009). Given that about one in eight U.S. residents obtain their water from a private well, access to safe drinking water is vital (Centers for Disease Control and Pre- vention, 2022). Many private wells are not routinely tested for contaminants, which can be microbiological, chemical, or radiological. Environmental health practitioners serve as a valuable resource, helping their communi-

ties to increase well testing, identify contami- nants of concern, and understand well water testing results. CDC Worked to Improve Drinking Water in Private Wells During 2015–2020, the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) within the Centers for Disease Control and Preven- tion (CDC) funded 19 state and local public health agencies to improve drinking water programs as part of Safe Water for Com- munity Health. These recipients used the Environmental Public Health Performance Standards (www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehs/envphps/ default.htm) to identify and address pro- gram gaps.

Volume 85 • Number 7