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BACKGROUND: Approximately 43 million people (14% of the U.S. population) rely on domestic wells as their primary source of drinking water. West Virginia—a predominantly rural state—has numerous residences that use privately owned wells as their drinking water source. While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates public drinking water sources, it does not regulate private drinking water wells. Our goals were to quantify contaminant (i.e. analyte) levels in private well water and compare levels by geologic age (i.e. US Geological Survey’s divisions of geologic time) of three regions of West Virginia.
METHODS: West Virginia Bureau of Public Health (BPH) selected ten counties representing three regions (central, eastern, southern) and mailed recruitment letters to households with private drinking water wells; 139 households agreed to participate. We collected well water samples from all participants and mailed them to Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Laboratory Services Division within 24hr of collection for testing. All water samples were analyzed for the EPA-recommended primary and secondary water analytes, as well as radon-222. One-way ANOVA tests were used to test for differences in analyte concentrations by geologic age of the well location. Fisher’s Exact Test was used to test for differences in E.coli/coliform presence by geologic age.
RESULTS: We collected 139 water samples. All basic water quality parameters (e.g., pH, turbidity, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, and salinity) were within normal range. Of the 13 primary drinking water analytes, only arsenic was detected at levels above the EPA recommended limit of 0.010 mg/L; this occurred in 10 samples from the central region. Elevated radon-222 levels (>300 pCi) were detected in 105 (71.4%) samples disbursed throughout the three regions. Coliform bacteria or E.coli was detected in 55 (37.4%) of the samples. Geologic age of the region was associated with both arsenic concentrations (p<0.0001) as well as radon-222 (p<0.0001); it was not associated with E.coli/coliform presence (p=0.16). All results and relevant fact sheets were shared with all participants. A free radon air sampling kit was given to participants with high radon levels in their water samples for testing by BPH.
CONCLUSIONS: This study identified arsenic, E.coli/coliform and radon-222 as contaminants of concern in private drinking water wells in West Virginia. Our results suggest that rural communities should be targeted for education and outreach promoting private well water testing and mitigating any well water contamination that exceeds EPA-recommended levels.