BACKGROUND: Approximately 38 million people (about 13 percent of U.S. households) rely on domestic wells as their source of drinking water. Unlike community water systems, which are regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act, there is no comprehensive national program to ensure that the water is tested and safe to drink. In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collaborated with the National Ground Water Association (NGWA) to collect data from private well educational outreach program managers to gain a better understanding of existing programs and their gaps and barriers.
METHODS: Using a structured data collection instrument, NGWA interviewed, by phone and in-person, 30 state and local well owner outreach program managers, four private-sector home water treatment providers, and four regulators. Information collected from the instrument included program descriptions, program assessments, and program manager expert opinions. Programs were selected based on factors including (a) size [i.e., statewide to local]; (b) approaches [i.e., traditional and novel]; (c) experience; (d) testing focus [single contaminant versus multiple contaminants]; and (e) existing well owner awareness [i.e. programs driven, in part, by public awareness of a groundwater-based health threat.] A literature search and analysis developed a framework that delineated key components of an effective private well owner outreach program, and the interview information was compared to that framework.
RESULTS: Most program managers believed they were only reaching a small percentage of the total private well owners in their target areas. Program managers described inconvenience, cost, and lack of knowledge and motivation as common barriers preventing well owners from testing and treating their well water. Few programs measured the proportion of well owner population reached or whether those reached acted to mitigate water-related health risks. Program managers offered innovative approaches to overcoming the barriers of insufficient funding, personnel, and/or expertise to reach and effect behavior changes among well owner populations in their target areas.
CONCLUSIONS: These findings can be used by CDC and state/local environmental health staff to develop practical guidance and tools for current and future well owner outreach programs to improve effectiveness in motivating well owners to protect their water.