National Groundwater Awareness Week: March 6-12, 2016

Last week was National Groundwater Awareness Week and it's a good time to think about where our water comes from. 

National Groundwater Awareness Week was established over 20 years ago to bring attention to one of our world's most vital resources - groundwater. Whether you get your drinking water from a private well or from a public system, clean groundwater is essential to your health and well-being. 

Spring is a great time to take some basic steps to maintain your well and protect your drinking water. Start with a basic inspection of your well:

• Cap - ensure the well cap is securely attached and not broken or missing, and the connections through the cap are watertight.
• Casing - observe the well pipe or casing for cracks or corrosion. Call a licensed well contractor for repairs.
• Conduit - confirm that the conduit for the electric service wire to the well is securely connected to the well cap.

Also be sure to keep insects, rodents, snakes and other undesirable critters out of the well. And keep lawn mowers, snowplows and other equipment away from wells.

Finally, have your well water tested. The Minnesota Department of Health  recommends that private well owners have their water tested annually for coliform bacteria to make sure it is safe to drink. Nitrates should be tested once every 2 years, or more often if your well has historically high nitrate levels. Arsenic and lead should be tested at least once, and more often if anything is detected. Learn More...

Where do Minnesotans get their Water?

80% from Public Water Systems
    - 55% comes from groundwater
    - 25% comes from surface water
Public Water Systems are required to meet federal safe drinking water standards and are tested on a regular basis. 

20% from Private Wells
Private wells are tested when they are first drilled and when the home is sold. It’s up to well owner to make sure water is safe.