Newsletter #107 for November 2024
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North Carolina DHHS Provides Free Well Disinfection,
Well Water Collection Kits to Communities Impacted by Hurricane Helene
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Devastation in Asheville after Hurricane Helene. Bill McMannis / Flickr (CC BY 2.0 DEED)
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On October 22, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced that free well disinfection and well water collection kits are available for communities impacted by Hurricane Helene. The kits are available at local health departments for households with flooded or damaged wells. The initial pickup dates listed in the NCDHHS press release ended October 31, but additional dates and times are to be provided by the local health departments. You can
also find the list of participating health departments and links to additional hurricane resources from the state government in the press release.
To understand test results, NCDHHS recommends using the online Be Well Informed tool or contacting the environmental epidemiology branch of their department.
More news on Hurricane Helene and groundwater impacts:
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Buying or Selling a Home with a Private Well Brochure
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The Minnesota Department of Health has recently released a new brochure with a guide on buying or selling a home with a private well,
meant for real estate professionals and local government employees. The brochure has key info on what to look for, questions to ask, legal requirements, and other resources. While the brochure is tailored for the state of Minnesota, it has general guidelines that can be useful elsewhere as well.
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Is my well safe after a flood?
Find out how to handle having floodwaters over your well and what preventative measures you can take to prevent it.
Read this article and watch the companion video to understand the risks if your well is contaminated and how to protect your family from contamination. To find additional articles and resources for private well owners, explore our Private Well Help Center.
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From the Tap Talk Archives:
TT006 — Protecting Well Users in North Carolina
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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 our sixth episode, in which Steve and Jennifer talked with Wilson Mize of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. The conversation centered on North Carolina's notable work with private wells; including using downhole cameras, the unique challenges of older
wells, and how the pandemic impacted outreach efforts.
Listen to TT006 here »
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Upcoming Webinars & Recent Recordings
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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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Is My Water Safe to Drink?
Common Questions about Private Wells
December 19, 2024 | 1 PM CT
Hosted by PrivateWellClass.org
In this free webinar training hosted by The Private Well Class, you’ll learn how to get your well water tested, what to do to take care of your well, and if your well is susceptible to contamination. 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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Groundwater and Well Construction 101
Recorded on October 30, 2024
This webinar recording discusses how water moves through the ground to your well and how well construction can increase contamination vulnerability.
Watch Recording »
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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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A medieval saga told of a man thrown in a well.
Scientists found him.
The Washington Post
"An 800-year-old Norse saga makes a glancing mention of a dead man tossed in a drinking well after a raid on a castle in Norway, almost as an aside. The poor guy doesn’t even get a name. Scientists now believe they’ve found him. Researchers report the results of radiocarbon dating, analysis of ancient DNA, and a detailed study of a skeleton discovered decades ago at the bottom of a well outside Sverresborg castle near Trondheim. They make the case that this 'Well-man' is the same person briefly mentioned in the Sverris saga, a 182-verse story about an early Norwegian king. ... The Well-man corroborates and fleshes out a tiny piece of the tale. Radiocarbon analysis of the skeleton suggests he died around the time of the castle invasion in 1197. The
study also turns him from a plot device — a body thrown into the water supply to poison it — into a person."
Read for free here.
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Partner Events & Workshops
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Safe Drinking Water Clinic
November 4 | 2:00 pm CT | DuBois, Pennsylvania
Hosted by Penn State Extension
Over one million homes and farms in Pennsylvania get drinking water from a private well or spring. This free clinic will cover how to test and protect your well or spring, and when water treatment might make sense. Well and spring system inspection and maintenance will also be discussed so you know how to protect your family, your property, and the groundwater we share. Attendees will also have the opportunity to test their home's water.
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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Temperature Influences on Seasonal-Use Wells
November 12 | 10:30 am ET | Online
Hosted by the Great Lakes Community Action Partnership
Many well and public water users leave for weeks and/or months at a time, returning and using their water as if they just left yesterday. These seasonal-use wells can be greatly influenced by temperature and other impacts. This webinar session will focus on regional considerations for preparing to leave and what needs to be done when returning to ensure your drinking water is safe.
Register here.
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Drinking Water — To Filter or Not To Filter
November 20 | 12 pm ET | Online
Hosted by University of Maryland Extension
Whether it be an unpleasant smell, scale, or a health risk contaminant, fortunately there are numerous water filtration units to effectively treat these contaminants. This webinar will present options for homeowners to treat their drinking water.
Register here.
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Wellcare® Information for You About
Emergencies & Disasters and Wells
Water Systems Council
This document, from the Water Systems Council, explains what you need to know about drinking water supplies in the event of a natural disaster or emergency such as flood, fire, hurricane, tornado, or windstorm occurring on or near properties with private wells and septic systems.
View the document.
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Featured Video:
Disinfect Your Private Well (with Bleach) Before Testing |
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This video, brought to you by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, demonstrates and explains how to disinfect your well before testing it. Particularly important in North Carolina following Hurricane Helene, the department instructs well owners not to drink their well water until the well has been disinfected, tested, and results have been received from the local health department. Floodwaters submerging a wellhead often contaminate the water supply with bacteria, which are killed by disinfection.
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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