Rural towns in CT aren’t testing their well water enough. This program is trying to change that

About one in four state residents get their drinking water from a private well. But the rules surrounding testing for Connecticut’s roughly 300,000 private wells, which are often found in rural parts of the state, can often go unrealized by homeowners.

Currently, Connecticut has no obligations for homeowners to test their wells. The tests are only required after installation, which can be decades prior.

For many homeowners, that means keeping tabs on what’s in their drinking water can become an afterthought.

“Think about it for yourself. Your water tastes fine and doesn’t smell bad, so it’s probably very low on your priority list. And there are 1,000 other things that you need to do … it just does not rise very high to something that’s important for people,” said Michael Dietz, director of the Connecticut Institute of Water Resources.

Dietz and his team are trying to change that.

The group, which works with colleges and universities in the state to resolve water-related issues, is now working to reach a new audience: homeowners with private wells. It’s part of an effort to raise awareness about the importance of private well testing and get more households to do it.

Discounted tests and a lot of outreach

One way his team is spreading the word about well water testing is through discounted water sampling kits.

Dietz’s group offers the tests to residents for a reduced price of $100, one-third of the average price from a state-approved testing facility.

Dietz and research assistant Alec Janis also host workshops in ZIP codes where residents are more likely to use groundwater from a well. The workshops give homeowners a chance to learn more about what’s in the water they use to drink, eat and clean.

In 2022, the program was given $350,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to expand its efforts.

The team says the outreach is sorely needed as most Connecticut residents with a private well aren’t testing it for contamination. Wells can become contaminated with high amounts of lead and copper which can have adverse effects on the body.

Fewer than one in 10 people who use private wells test their water every one to two years, as recommended by the Connecticut Department of Public Health.

History and education play a big part, Janis said. From the 1940s until the ’60s, apple orchards in Connecticut used lead arsenate as a pesticide, leaving detectable levels of arsenic in the ground. When the land was later subdivided and resold, buyers were usually not aware of this.

“Arsenic has no taste, has no smell, and so it’s one of those chemicals that’s common in certain parts of Connecticut,” Janis said. “You would never know you’re drinking it.”

Working out the workshops

The workshops started in November 2022 in Coventry. At first, the duo had difficulty gathering a variety of participants.

“It was mostly older people who had more time to come out to these workshops,” Dietz said.

They initially started with a three-class series, but they eventually cut that down to one class in an effort to appeal to younger homeowners with less free time.

“We’re trying to make it easier for people who have busy lives,” Dietz said, adding people can now submit an online request and be sent a kit by mail .

After a workshop, the team schedules a virtual follow-up explaining the results and options for homeowners’ next steps.

Participants are also able to drop off samples at their lab, located on the University of Connecticut’s Storrs campus. The lab receives up to 20 samples a week, he said.

Meanwhile, interest in the program is growing, Dietz said.

Their latest event, which was in June in Redding, gained a lot of attention from Fairfield County residents.

“We had to cap it, actually. We had too many people sign up and we had more than we could handle,” Dietz said.

While many people are becoming aware of possible health risks attached to drinking untested well water, Janis has also been working on getting the word out through different channels.

“[For] the most recent event, I reached out to all of the health district departments within each of the towns,” he said.

He also contacted the town’s library and local politicians. Among the three networks, information on the testing was shared through newsletters and social media posts.

Could PFAS be the next big thing for well water testing?

Despite the growing number of people interested in learning more about their water, Dietz still wants to do more.

“PFAS is a big deal these days, and we’ve had a few people ask about it,” Dietz said. “The Department of Public Health is very concerned about it because it has been found in some waters around the state, and there’s growing concern about it because it’s kind of in everything.”

PFAS stands for perfluoroalkyl and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, a group of man-made chemicals that were invented in the mid-20th century and can be found in everything from nonstick cookware to clothing. The compounds are hard to break down and pose a risk to human health and the environment. Research has shown that PFAS can be linked to dangerous health effects like increased risk of some cancers, high cholesterol and developmental delays in children.

But testing for PFAS is not easy , Dietz said.

“It’s a very expensive test,” he said. “It’s a special bottle, special collection protocol. With the existing grant that we have, we just don’t have the money to cover that.”

Dietz’s group plans to apply for another grant that would sufficiently cover costs of the necessary tools needed to detect these chemicals in private wells. Dietz also said there could be possible partnerships with the Connecticut Department of Public Health.

“They [DPH] have some money from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to do something related to PFAS, so we’ve been in contact with them,” Dietz said. Public water suppliers regularly test their water as part of their routine operations.

“But [for] private wells, there hasn’t been much discussion,” Dietz said. “The DPH is certainly focused on it, and it’s fairly high on our priority list to start making something happen.”

Learn more

To request a well-water sampling kit, visit the CTIWR’s page on water testing .

This story was first published July 18, 2024 by Connecticut Public.