DEEP SUBJECT: If you have a water well and are concerned about
the quality of your drinking supply, you might want to take part in
an online survey being conducted by Penn State.

The purpose of the study, a collaboration between the College of
Agricultural Sciences and the Pennsylvania Water Resources Research
Center, is to determine the characteristics and management of
private wells and to gather opinions of homeowners with wells.

Many residents of our region depend on private water wells whose
quality varies greatly from one location to the next.

“Pennsylvania is home to more than 1 million private water
wells, and more than 20,000 new wells are drilled each year,” said
Bryan Swistock, water resources specialist for Penn State
Cooperative Extension.

“Pennsylvania is also one of only three states that have no
guidelines on the location, construction and maintenance of private
wells, so all aspects of private-well management are voluntary and
up to the respective well owner.

“Previous studies have shown that about half of all private
wells sampled fail to meet at least one drinking-water standard,”
he said.

“Especially common problems in wells are bacteria, low pH, lead
and iron. As we get more and more wells around the state, the
concern is that poorly constructed and managed wells will become a
bigger problem.”

To participate in the survey, private well owners should go to
http://water.cas.psu.edu on the Web. There is a short description
and link to the survey at the bottom of this Web page. Respondents
can follow the instructions from there.

The survey period will be open until at least the end of
January, and the results are due early in 2007.

Along with the survey, investigators are also testing the water
quality in 700 wells across the state in a study funded by the
Center for Rural Pennsylvania. By comparing survey answers and
actual water quality, a clearer picture of drinking-water safety
should emerge.

It is hoped that the survey and testing can be combined to
educate well owners about methods of protecting their water supply
through a variety of methods including annual testing for bacteria
and regular testing for other contaminants as well.