Newsletter #106 for October 2024
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Celebrating Six Months of the Private Well Hotline
and Help Center!
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Our Private Well Hotline, Help Center, and Knowledgebase launched on April 1 of this year, meaning that today marks six months of our team providing information and advice to well owners. We have had a blast talking to well owners and learning about the range of issues that can occur for wells across the country.
In our first six months, we have:
Talked to 250 well owners on the phone from 35 states (And Ontario!)
Published 143 articles on the knowledgebase, which have received 9,769 hits from 7,255 users
Found that 45% of callers ask about sampling and testing — Which is by far the most common area of inquiry!
Please continue to use and spread the word about our Help Center. We're looking forward to assisting many more well owners to come!
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Newsletters for Well Owners
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Have you ever had a well owner inquire about newsletters or groups they could join for well information? While we would welcome any well owner who wanted to receive this newsletter, there are other options that are better suited for well owners instead of well professionals.
Check out two options you can recommend below ⬇️
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Wellowner.org Insights Newsletter
Wellowner.org is run by the National Groundwater Assocation and the Groundwater Foundation with funding from RCAP and the US EPA. Their bimonthly newsletter provides easy suggestions to maintain water wells, and has covered topics like seasonal maintenance, what to asking before hiring contractors, and precautions to take before extreme weather.
Sign up form here »
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wellcare® Well Owners Network (WON)
WON is a national network, run by the Water Systems Council, providing well owners with education and information on the construction, testing, and maintenance of water wells and septic systems to protect safe drinking water. Signing up to join the network is free and provides several benefits, including access to a quarterly newsletter with tips and tools for maintaining a water well.
Sign up form here »
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How do groundwater wells get contaminated?
Wells, unfortunately, can become polluted and contaminated by the natural environment or by any number of human actions.
Read this article from our help center and watch the companion video to learn more on how contamination occurs. To find additional articles and resources for private well owners, explore the rest of our Private Well Help Center.
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From the Tap Talk Archives:
TT002 — Private Wells vs. Public Water Systems
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As we gear up for Season 5 of our podcast, Tap Talk: Drinking Water in Rural America, coming later this fall, revisit some of our older episodes focusing on private well topics! Today we recommend going all the back to just our second episode, where Steve and Jennifer talked with Barb Liukkonen, a former water resources specialist at University of Minnesota Extension. The conversation centered on the pros and cons of both private wells and public water supplies, and whether
it's always a better choice for a private well owner to connect to city water if given the opportunity.
Listen to TT002 here »
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Upcoming Webinars & Recent Recordings
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Groundwater and Well Construction 101
October 30, 2024 | 1 PM CT
Hosted by PrivateWellClass.org
In this free webinar training hosted by The Private Well Class, you’ll learn about how water moves through the ground to your well and how well construction can increase contamination vulnerability. There will be an opportunity to submit questions in advance as well as live on the webinar. The event will be recorded. | Register »
We'd love your support in distributing this information, please feel free to share this link.
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Well Care 101 -
What You Need to Know to Protect Your Family
November 21, 2024 | 1 PM CT
Hosted by PrivateWellClass.org
In this free webinar training hosted by The Private Well Class, you’ll learn how to determine if your water is safe for drinking, simple best practices for well maintenance, and solutions to the most common well problems. There will be an opportunity to submit questions in advance as well as live on the webinar. The event will be recorded. | Register »
We'd love your support in distributing this information, please feel free to share this link.
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What Real Estate Professionals Need to Know
About Homes with Well Water
Recorded on September 26, 2024
This webinar recording, designed for real estate professionals, focuses on the water well issues that are important to homeowners, how to determine if well water is safe to drink, and what a homeowner needs to know about well care.
Watch Recording »
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Potential Impacts of Drought and Flooding on Private Wells
Recorded on August 27, 2024
This webinar recording discusses how to serve and support well owners, public health, and cooperative extension in the face of increasing drought and flood events. Viewers will also learn about the impacts of these drought and flood events.
Watch Recording »
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Wells and Groundwater in the News |
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High toxin levels are illegal in public water. But not for Americans using private wells.
The Washington Post
"On a Tuesday morning in May 2021, during a brief period when Cathy Cochrane’s chemotherapy sessions had paused, her hair was beginning to grow back and the intense pain from the treatments was subsiding, she nervously logged into a Cowlitz County [Washington] commissioner meeting to testify about what she believed had caused her ovarian cancer and her fears that others were in danger too. ... The previous November, Cochrane discovered that the water she had been drinking for nearly a decade contained 638 parts per billion of arsenic, a toxin that can cause cancer and increase the risk of diabetes and heart disease. The maximum allowable level of arsenic in water for public utilities is 10 parts per billion — or 10 micrograms of arsenic per liter
of water — meaning their water had nearly 64 times what would be legal in public drinking water."
Read for free here.
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Partner Events & Workshops
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Alternative and Innovative Septic Systems
October 16 | 12 pm ET | Online
Hosted by University of Maryland Extension
For home sites that present challenges to the design and operation of a septic system, such as high-water table, poor soils, and small lots, there are several tools designers may be able to employ to allow for a septic system. Options will be discussed in this webinar.
Register here.
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Private Drinking Well Water Stakeholder Webinar:
Proactive Preparedness
October 28 | 4:30 pm CT | Online
Hosted by the Midwest Assistance Program
In this webinar, you'll learn how best practices are part of a greater strategy to assist private well owners with emergency preparedness. Using best practices to prepare for possible disasters will lessen the impact and decrease recovery time for private well owners.
Register here.
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Septic System Operation and Maintenance
October 30 | 6:00 pm MT | Polson, MT
Hosted by the Midwest Assistance Program
This in-person training in Montana will provide guidance for septic system owners on the responsibilities and maintenance requirements of different septic systems, and teach how to get the most life out of an onsite wastewater system.
Register here.
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Bad Medicine – Pharmaceuticals in the Environment: Sources and Response Strategies
November 6 | 2 pm ET | Online
Hosted by the National Groundwater Association
This webinar investigates the roots of Pharmaceuticals in the Environment (PiE), the sources of active pharmaceutical ingredient contamination, and strategies for coping with the challenges PiE poses to society. Water well drilling contractors are among the groups encouraged to attend. The session requires a fee of $35-$65, depending on NGWA membership status and date of registration.
(Fee will increase by $10 after November 1).
Register here.
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Wellcare® Information for You About
Iron Bacteria & Well Water
Water Systems Council
This document, from the Water Systems Council, explains the basics of what iron bacteria is, its health effects, how to test for it, and how to treat or prevent its contamination in well water.
View the document.
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Featured Video:
Flushable Wipes Jar Tester Experiment
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This video, brought to you by Icon Water, compares the flushability of toilet paper and "flushable" wipes, in an ongoing competition of toilet paper and other materials. Remember, what you flush down your toilet is of critical importance, whether you live on city sewer or have a septic tank/private well system!
Watch the video.
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PrivateWellClass.org is a free, grant-funded service to support private well owners and the professionals that work with these wells. The program seeks to raise awareness of private well issues and help well owners understand their responsibilities to be a good steward of their well and water source. The Private Well Class, developed at the Illinois State Water Survey at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, is a collaboration with the Rural Community Assistance Partnership with funding from the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency. Call us at 1-866-945-0699 for assistance.
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Visit our other websites:
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Click here to unsubscribe | Sent to: _t.e.s.t_@example.com
Illinois State Water Survey, 2204 Griffith Drive, Champaign, IL 61820, United States
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