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Strategies to Improve Private-Well Water Quality: A North Carolina Perspective.

ABSTRACT: Evidence suggests that the 44.5 million U.S. residents drawing their drinking water from private wells face higher risks of waterborne contaminant exposure than those served by regulated community water supplies. Among U.S. states, North Carolina (N.C.) has the second-largest population relying on private wells, making it a useful microcosm to study challenges to maintaining private-well water quality.This paper summarizes recommendations from a two-day summit to identify options to improve drinking-water quality for N.C. residents served by private wells.The Research Triangle Environmental Health Collaborative invited 111 participants with knowledge of private-well water challenges to attend the Summit. Participants worked in small groups that focused on specific aspects and reconvened in plenary sessions to formulate consensus recommendations.Summit participants highlighted four main barriers to ensuring safe water for residents currently relying on private wells: (1) a database of private well locations is unavailable; (2) racial disparities have perpetuated reliance on private wells in some urbanized areas; (3) many private-well users lack information or resources to monitor and maintain their wells; and (4) private-well support programs are fragmented and lack sufficient resources. The Summit produced 10 consensus recommendations for ways to overcome these barriers.The Summit recommendations, if undertaken, could improve the health of North Carolinians facing elevated risks of exposure to waterborne contaminants because of their reliance on inadequately monitored and maintained private wells. Because many of the challenges in N.C. are common nationwide, these recommendations could serve as models for other states. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP890.

SUBMITTER: MacDonald Gibson J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5744693 | biostudies-other | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Strategies to Improve Private-Well Water Quality: A North Carolina Perspective.

MacDonald Gibson Jacqueline J Pieper Kelsey J KJ

Environmental health perspectives 20170707 7

<h4>Background</h4>Evidence suggests that the 44.5 million U.S. residents drawing their drinking water from private wells face higher risks of waterborne contaminant exposure than those served by regulated community water supplies. Among U.S. states, North Carolina (N.C.) has the second-largest population relying on private wells, making it a useful microcosm to study challenges to maintaining private-well water quality.<h4>Objectives</h4>This paper summarizes recommendations from a two-day summ ...[more]

PMID: 28728142

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Project description:BackgroundPrenatal exposure to metals in private well water may increase the risk of preterm birth (PTB) (delivery < 37 weeks' gestation). In this study, we estimated associations between arsenic, manganese, lead, cadmium, chromium, copper, and zinc concentrations in private well water and PTB incidence in North Carolina (NC).MethodsBirth certificates from 2003-2015 (n = 1,329,071) were obtained and pregnancies were assigned exposure using the mean concentration and the percentage of tests above the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for the census tract of each individuals' residence at the time of delivery using the NCWELL database (117,960 well water tests from 1998-2019). We evaluated associations between single metals and PTB using adjusted logistic regression models. Metals mixtures were assessed using quantile-based g-computation.ResultsCompared with those in other census tracts, individuals residing in tracts where > 25% of tests exceeded the MCL for lead (aOR 1.10, 95%CI 1.02,1.18) or cadmium (aOR 1.11, 95% CI 1.00,1.23) had an increased odds of PTB. Conversely, those residing in areas with > 25% MCL for zinc (aOR 0.77 (95% CI: 0.56,1.02) and copper (aOR 0.53 (95% CI: 0.13,1.34)) had a reduced odds of PTB. A quartile increase in the concentrations of a mixture of lead, cadmium, and chromium was associated with a small increased odds for PTB (aOR 1.02, 95% CI 1.01, 1.03). This metal mixture effect was most pronounced among American Indian individuals (aOR per quartile increase in all metals: 1.19 (95% CI 1.06,1.34)).ConclusionsIn a large study population of over one million births, lead and cadmium were found to increase the risk of PTB individually and in a mixture, with additional mixtures-related impacts estimated from co-exposure with chromium. This study highlights critical racial and ethnic health disparities in relation to private well water thereby emphasizing the urgent need for improved private well water quality to protect vulnerable populations.

Project description:BackgroundAn estimated four million and 43 million people in Canada and the USA use private water supplies. Private water supplies are vulnerable to waterborne disease outbreaks. Private water supplies in Canada and the USA are often unregulated and private water management is often a choice left to the owner. Perceptions of water quality become important in influencing the adoption of private water stewardship practices, therefore safeguarding public health.MethodsWe conducted a systematic literature review to understand factors that shape perceptions of water quality among private water users. We searched six computer databases (Web of science, Medline, Scopus, EBSCO, PubMed and Agricola). The search was limited to primary peer-reviewed publications, grey literature and excluded conference proceedings, review articles, and non-peer review articles. We restricted the search to papers published in English and to articles which published data on surveys of private water users within Canada and the USA. The search was also restricted to publications from 1986 to 2017. The literature search generated 36,478 records. Two hundred and four full text were reviewed.ResultsFifty-two articles were included in the final review. Several factors were found to influence perceptions of water quality including organoleptic preferences, chemical and microbiological contaminants, perceived risks, water well infrastructure, past experience with water quality, external information, demographics, in addition to the values, attitudes, and beliefs held by well owners.ConclusionsUnderstanding the factors that shape perceptions of water quality among private water users is an important step in developing private water management policies to increase compliance towards water testing and treatment in Canada and the USA. As many jurisdictions in Canada and the USA do not have mandatory private water testing or treatment guidelines, delineating these factors is an important step in informing future research and guiding policy on the public health of private water systems.

Project description:Previous evidence has identified potential racial disparities in access to community water and sewer service in peri-urban areas adjacent to North Carolina municipalities. We performed the first quantitative, multi-county analysis of these disparities. Using publicly available data, we identified areas bordering municipalities and lacking community water and/or sewer service in 75 North Carolina counties. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate the relationship between race and access to service in peri-urban areas, controlling for population density, median home value, urban status, and percent white in the adjacent municipality. In the peri-urban areas analyzed, 67% of the population lacked community sewer service, and 33% lacked community water service. In areas other than those with no black residents, odds of having community water service (p<0.01) or at least one of the two services (p<0.05) were highest for census blocks with a small proportion of black residents and lowest in 100% black census blocks, though this trend did not hold for access to community sewer service alone. For example, odds of community water service were 85% higher in areas that were greater than 0% but less than 22% black than in 100% black areas (p<0.001). Peri-urban census blocks without black populations had the lowest odds of community water service, community sewer service, and at least one of the two services, but this difference was only statistically significant for sewer. Peri-urban areas lacking service with no black residents were wealthier than 100% black areas and areas with any percent black greater than 0%. Findings suggest two unserved groups of differing racial and socioeconomic status: (1) lower-income black populations potentially excluded from municipal services during the era of legal racial segregation and (2) higher-income non-black populations. Findings also suggest greater racial disparities in community water than community sewer services statewide.

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Strategies to Improve Private-Well Water Quality: A North Carolina Perspective.

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Strategies to Improve Private-Well Water Quality: A North Carolina Perspective.

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