Pediatricians, environmental health experts say well water should be tested at least once a year

Notice to rural residents on well water who have children: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that you test your well water at least annually, "especially for nitrate and microorganisms such as coliform bacteria, which can indicate that sewage has contaminated the well," reports TerraDaily. "Researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, took a lead role in working with the AAP to develop these recommendations and draft a new AAP policy statement about the things parents should do if their children drink well water."

About one in six Americans drink water from private wells, which in most states are lightly regulated if at all. "Because children drink relatively more water than adults, they are more susceptible to the waterborne illnesses that can result from contaminated wells," the AAP said in a press release. The June issue of the group's journal Pediatrics has extensive background information on well water, sources of contamination and their effects. The journal is subscription-based, but the full article was available at the time of this blog posting. The authors are Drs. Michael T. Brady and Walter J. Rogan, an epidemiologist at the institute, and the AAP committees on Environmental Health and Infectious Diseases.