Public water is tested for toxins, but private well-water is not; some residents push for required testing to save lives

Well water that looks and tastes clean isn't always
contaminant free. (Photo by A. Sikdar, Unsplash)

Water used by public utilities is subject to testing and contaminant limits, but well water from private wells is not. Around 43 million Americans drink, bathe and cook with water from private wells that have never been tested, which often leaves them unaware of what's in their water, reports Silvia Foster-Frau of The Washington Post. "The levels and pervasiveness of some contaminants in [private] wells are increasing, studies show."

Public drinking water is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency, which sets ceilings for toxins; however, water from private wells is excluded from the agency's oversight. "The agency doesn’t regulate the drinking water of the more than 1 in 10 people who get their water from their own private wells," Foster-Frau writes. Private well owners often believe that their water is fresher and purer than "city water" because it's drawn directly from the earth, but that's often not the case. "Experts say private wells can be a breeding ground for a host of toxins, from dangerous bacteria to known carcinogens."

Especially in rural areas, where residents often want more independence from regulation, conflicts have grown as some individuals want required water well testing and others want it to be their choice. In the case of Cathy Cochrane, a resident in Toutle, Washington, who is struggling with cancer, she would have preferred the county had required private well testing. Foster-Frau reports, "Cochrane discovered that the water she had been drinking for nearly a decade contained 638 parts per billion of arsenic, a toxin that can cause cancer and increase the risk of diabetes and heart disease. . . . There is no reliable way to tell if cancer is caused by arsenic versus other factors."

Arsenic occurs naturally in soil, so many residents don't give it a second thought -- or they don't realize it's there to begin with. Cochrane told Foster-Frau, "Arsenic is the perfect murder weapon. You can’t detect it.” After Cochrane spoke at a Toutle commission meeting, "The commissioners agreed to extend a public water supply line from the town of Toutle to Cochrane’s neighborhood, less than a mile away."

Cochrane's presentation spurred further inquiry. "Central Washington University graduate student William Hays has taken up the issue as his thesis project," Foster-Frau adds. "He has been knocking on doors in the Toutle area where Cochrane lives and requesting samples of water from private wells. He wants to understand just how far the naturally occurring arsenic is spread throughout the county, which would provide insight into the scope of the contaminated water problem."