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USGS and CDC Release On-Line Report on Water Quality in Domestic Wells
USGS, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), has released an online report on the occurrence of 11
priority water-quality constituents of possible health concern in
domestic wells located in 16 States across the U.S. (
http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2007/5213/).
Measures of water-quality, water use, and other geospatial data (such
as for land use and hydrogeology) are compiled, mapped and tabulated for
each of the 16 States that are participating in CDC's Environmental
Public Health Tracking Program (EPHT). A brief summary is provided,
also by State, on the occurrence of the water-quality constituents and
comparisons of their concentrations to U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) human-health water-quality benchmarks. Findings can be used
to highlight general geographic areas within the States where
concentrations may be of potential human-health concern.
The States include California, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts,
Maryland, Maine, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New
York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.
The overall purpose of the study is to demonstrate through a pilot
effort how USGS water-quality, water-use, and associated geospatial data
can be integrated in the CDC EPHT network, which is a relatively new
nationwide, network of existing health and environmental data bases
that are being used to drive actions to improve the health of
communities. For more information on the breadth of the network, access:
http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/tracking/.
Ground-water quality in domestic wells is just one of many indicators
tracked in the EPHT network. About 17 million privately owned wells
across the U.S supply water to individual households for drinking water
and other household needs, serving about 15 percent of the population or
more than 43 million Americans.
Monitoring the quality of water from domestic wells is primarily the
well owner’s responsibility as such monitoring is not required under the
federal Safe Drinking Water Act (which focuses on public-water
supplies). Comprehensive and consistent data on the quality of this
resource is therefore limited, for many reasons, including the voluntary
nature of testing for a limited number of constituents and a relatively
small number of wells.
The 11 water-quality constituents selected for the pilot study
(primarily on the basis of expected occurrence and potential human
health impacts) included arsenic, atrazine, benzene, deethylatrazine,
manganese, nitrate, perchloroethene (PCE), radon, strontium,
trichloroethene (TCE), and uranium. USGS samples were collected using
nationally consistent field and analytical methodology.
Overall, inorganic constituents, including radon, arsenic, manganese,
nitrate, strontium and uranium, had the largest percentages of samples
with concentrations greater than their human-health benchmarks. With the
exception of nitrate, these constituents are mostly of natural origin.
In contrast, organic compounds (such as pesticides and volatile organic
compounds), whose occurrence in ground water is usually related to human
activities, had the lowest percent of samples with concentrations
greater than human-health benchmarks.
The newly released study, titled “ Summary of Selected U.S. Geological
Survey Data on Domestic Well Water Quality for the Centers for Disease
Control’s National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program" by Roy
C. Bartholomay, Janet M. Carter, Sharon L. Qi, Paul J. Squillace, and
Gary L. Rowe is available online at:http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2007/5213/.
Also available online are individual State summaries that include
summary tables, graphs, and maps of the water-quality data done for each
State.
USGS anticipates the release of a comprehensive national analysis of
domestic wells in Summer 2008, based on samples collected from 2,171
wells by the USGS National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. The
wells extend across the U.S., including in 48 of 50 States, and
represent 31 of the Nation’s 62 principal aquifers used for water
supply, irrigation, and other uses. The occurrence and distribution of
domestic well quality will be described at the national scale, as well
as regionally by principal aquifers. The USGS study will cover 219
physical properties, major inorganic constituents, nutrients, trace
elements, organic compounds, radionuclides, and investigate the
co-occurrence and common mixtures of constituents of potential human
health concern. For more information, access:
http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/qw_domestic_wells.pdf .
USGS, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), has released an online report on the occurrence of 11
priority water-quality constituents of possible health concern in
domestic wells located in 16 States across the U.S. (
http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2007/5213/).
Measures of water-quality, water use, and other geospatial data (such
as for land use and hydrogeology) are compiled, mapped and tabulated for
each of the 16 States that are participating in CDC's Environmental
Public Health Tracking Program (EPHT). A brief summary is provided,
also by State, on the occurrence of the water-quality constituents and
comparisons of their concentrations to U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) human-health water-quality benchmarks. Findings can be used
to highlight general geographic areas within the States where
concentrations may be of potential human-health concern.
The States include California, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts,
Maryland, Maine, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New
York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.
The overall purpose of the study is to demonstrate through a pilot
effort how USGS water-quality, water-use, and associated geospatial data
can be integrated in the CDC EPHT network, which is a relatively new
nationwide, network of existing health and environmental data bases
that are being used to drive actions to improve the health of
communities. For more information on the breadth of the network, access:
http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/tracking/.
Ground-water quality in domestic wells is just one of many indicators
tracked in the EPHT network. About 17 million privately owned wells
across the U.S supply water to individual households for drinking water
and other household needs, serving about 15 percent of the population or
more than 43 million Americans.
Monitoring the quality of water from domestic wells is primarily the
well owner’s responsibility as such monitoring is not required under the
federal Safe Drinking Water Act (which focuses on public-water
supplies). Comprehensive and consistent data on the quality of this
resource is therefore limited, for many reasons, including the voluntary
nature of testing for a limited number of constituents and a relatively
small number of wells.
The 11 water-quality constituents selected for the pilot study
(primarily on the basis of expected occurrence and potential human
health impacts) included arsenic, atrazine, benzene, deethylatrazine,
manganese, nitrate, perchloroethene (PCE), radon, strontium,
trichloroethene (TCE), and uranium. USGS samples were collected using
nationally consistent field and analytical methodology.
Overall, inorganic constituents, including radon, arsenic, manganese,
nitrate, strontium and uranium, had the largest percentages of samples
with concentrations greater than their human-health benchmarks. With the
exception of nitrate, these constituents are mostly of natural origin.
In contrast, organic compounds (such as pesticides and volatile organic
compounds), whose occurrence in ground water is usually related to human
activities, had the lowest percent of samples with concentrations
greater than human-health benchmarks.
The newly released study, titled “ Summary of Selected U.S. Geological
Survey Data on Domestic Well Water Quality for the Centers for Disease
Control’s National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program" by Roy
C. Bartholomay, Janet M. Carter, Sharon L. Qi, Paul J. Squillace, and
Gary L. Rowe is available online at:http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2007/5213/.
Also available online are individual State summaries that include
summary tables, graphs, and maps of the water-quality data done for each
State.
USGS anticipates the release of a comprehensive national analysis of
domestic wells in Summer 2008, based on samples collected from 2,171
wells by the USGS National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. The
wells extend across the U.S., including in 48 of 50 States, and
represent 31 of the Nation’s 62 principal aquifers used for water
supply, irrigation, and other uses. The occurrence and distribution of
domestic well quality will be described at the national scale, as well
as regionally by principal aquifers. The USGS study will cover 219
physical properties, major inorganic constituents, nutrients, trace
elements, organic compounds, radionuclides, and investigate the
co-occurrence and common mixtures of constituents of potential human
health concern. For more information, access:
http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/qw_domestic_wells.pdf .
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