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A state-by-state comparison of policies that protect private well users

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 34, pages 155–160 (2024)Cite this article

Abstract

Background

While the Safe Drinking Water Act allows states and localities to adopt stronger protections for drinking water, state and local requirements concerning private drinking water wells vary dramatically and often do not provide necessary protections for residents who rely on well water.

Objective

This paper inventories ten types of policies including laws, regulations, programs, and activities that states have adopted or partaken in to encourage safe drinking water for residential well owners.

Methods

To identify categories of private well protections, we conducted a preliminary internet search with key search terms to create an initial list of 10 categories of laws, regulations, programs, and activities (collectively referred to as “policies”) that states have taken to protect residential well water quality. To have a private well safety category present, the law, regulation, program, or activity must fit within the scope of the ten classifications. To limit the breadth of our search, we excluded local and county protections, as well as activities by non-governmental organizations. We also excluded basic construction standards for new wells and licensing standards for well drillers, both of which are covered under a previous study. We conducted an additional internet search to complete a comprehensive review of each state and category and to validate our previous findings. In addition to this internet search, we completed phone and email outreach to the state agencies implementing the well safety categories identified in our internet search to confirm our results.

Results

The results indicate a wide range of state-based well water protections. The number of residential well water protections present in each state ranged from 8 policies in Iowa, Kentucky, and Maine to 1 policy in Oklahoma, with a median of 5 policies across the 50 states.

Impact

  • This paper examines protections that states have implemented to safeguard residential well water quality and to protect the health of people who rely on well water. This research reviews state-level regulations, laws, and programs, as opposed to local, municipal, county-level, or quasi-governmental protections for residential well owners. Residential well policies were examined across ten categories. Without any protections at the federal level, this research reveals gaps in state regulation and demonstrates the need for broader adoption of comprehensive state-level policies to better protect residential well owners from drinking water contaminants and their associated public health impacts.

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Fig. 1: Private well safety categories by state.
Fig. 2: Number of well safety categories present in each state.

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Data availability

Data were collected via online Google search and through phone and email interviews with relevant government agency staff. For online results, various government agency web pages were used. Further information can be requested via the authors who can provide contact information for the relevant government agency staff, or provide the relevant statute or applicable website link for each well safety category present.

References

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Acknowledgements

Assistance comes from various government agencies, including the Arkansas Department of Public Health, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, Illinois Department of Public Health, Indiana Department of Public Health, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, New Mexico Environment Department, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health, North Dakota Environmental Quality, and the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality.

Funding

Sophie Loeb and Katlyn Schmitt are supported by the Center for Progressive Reform. Mary H. Ward is supported by the Intramural Research Program of the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health (Project Z01 CP01012522). Darya Minovi has no funding to disclose.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Progressive Reform, 1250 Connecticut Ave NW Suite 700, Washington, DC, 20036, USA

    Katlyn Schmitt & Sophie Loeb

  2. Union of Concerned Scientists, 1825 K St NW #800, Washington, DC, 20006, USA

    Darya Minovi

  3. Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Room SG/6E138, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA

    Mary H. Ward

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  1. Katlyn Schmitt
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Contributions

Sophie Loeb assisted with data collection for the private well data spreadsheet, which was used to create Figs. 1, 2. Loeb also assisted in the authoring of the manuscript. Darya Minovi assisted in the authoring of the manuscript. Katlyn Schmitt created the private well data spreadsheet and assisted with the data collection. Schmitt also assisted in the authoring of the manuscript. Mary H. Ward reviewed, provided input into the manuscript content, and authored portions of the paper related to the importance of state-level well water protections and water quality.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Katlyn Schmitt.

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Ethical approval was not required for this research as no human or animal subjects were used, nor were private, protected, or culturally significant research locations used.

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Schmitt, K., Minovi, D., Loeb, S. et al. A state-by-state comparison of policies that protect private well users. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 34, 155–160 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-024-00645-2

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