The State Hygienic Laboratory and county public health agencies in 15 Iowa counties recently released results from the 2017 Iowa Well Survey, an ongoing effort to monitor drinking water quality in privately owned wells across Iowa.

A report from the Iowa Water Survey shows detected compounds that had a quantifiable concentration.

Counties volunteered to participate in the survey to identify possible risks to human health. Sanitarians collected a total of 238 untreated and 48 treated well water samples, which were tested by the Hygienic Lab for coliform bacteria including E. coli, nitrates and arsenic.

All samples were also analyzed for the presence of neonicotinoid insecticides, an emerging public health concern that has been linked to the demise of honeybee colonies. Approximately half of the samples were analyzed for common nitrogen-containing herbicides, glyphosate and compounds associated with pesticide degradation.

Nearly 300,000 Iowans get their drinking water from private wells. Unlike community public water systems, water from private wells is unregulated, putting the responsibility to ensure water safety squarely on the owner of the well. Estimates suggest that only 6 to 7 percent of Iowa private well owners test their water annually.

The goal of the Iowa Well Survey is to build awareness with private well owners because so few routinely test their water.

“Most people believe their water is safe,” says Alyssa Mattson, Iowa Well Survey project coordinator at the Hygienic Lab. “Some owners don’t know that they should test, and some don’t know how to get testing done or what to look for.”

Data from the survey inform private well owners and county officials about known contaminants that have been found in their area, and contribute to the discourse on public health planning.

The State Hygienic Laboratory routinely collaborates with the Iowa Department of Public Health, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the University of Iowa Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination and county health departments to share public health and environmental health information.

A summary of the 2017 report is available online. The Hygienic Lab is continuing the Iowa Well Survey in the spring and fall of 2018. Thirty counties– twice the number that participated in 2017– have volunteered for the spring survey which began in May.

County sanitarians generally choose the wells included in the survey, but all Iowans with a private well are encouraged to contact their local environmental health sanitarian for testing through the Grants-to-Counties Program.

Funding for the survey is provided by Iowa’s Grants-to-Counties Program, established in 1987 as part of the Iowa Groundwater Protection Act, to provide financial assistance to residents for private well water testing. In some cases, Grants-to-Counties also may fund reconstruction of private wells and plugging of abandoned wells and cisterns that present a contamination risk to groundwater.