Extension Highlights

Fact Sheets Target Well Water Quality

So, what’s down your well, anyway?

Assuming, that is, you get your water from a private well – and according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, more than 400,000 Massachusetts residents do, in fact, drink private well water.

Many of those folks, notes Barnstable County Extension water quality educator Marilyn B. Lopes, simply don’t know what contaminants may be lurking there.

That’s why Lopes has spearheaded a UMass Extension initiative to assemble 27 easy-to-read, easy-to-access fact sheets on well water quality and testing. The fact sheets, distributed to the state’s municipal conservation commissioners and staff earlier this year, are now available on the UMass Extension, Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation website, and at the Cape Cod Extension website.

Presented in an easy-to-print PDF format, the fact sheets are generating an excellent response from well owners.

“We’re very eager to increase consumer knowledge and understanding of the importance of private well water testing,” said Lopes. “The primary purpose of this project is to encourage private well owners to test their well water on a regular basis to determine that it meets drinking water standards.”

Private wells in Massachusetts are regulated by towns and cities, and testing requirements vary widely. Because many of these contaminants have no taste, odor or color, their presence can only be determined through laboratory testing. In the case of bacteria and nitrates, the state recommends annual testing, since these contaminants can come from common human activities like lawn fertilizing or the use of septic systems.

The fact sheets, a collaboration between UMass Extension, Barnstable County, the federal EPA and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, offer a detailed rundown on what various water purification technologies can and can’t accomplish, and provide contact information for a wide variety of outside resources.

The project is an outgrowth of the New England Private Well Initiative, a program of the New England Regional Water Program, which in turn is a partnership of land grant colleges and universities, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service.