PRIVATE WELL PROGRAM TO PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH
Protecting the health and safety of Massachusetts residents relying on private well water.
HISTORY OF THE PROGRAM
The Private Well Program to Protect Public Health is a community partnership program funded by The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts. This program has tested well water quality throughout Massachusetts, educated homeowners on what their water test results showed, and worked directly with homeowners if there was a need for remediation efforts.
The program’s goal is to move the Massachusetts legislature to enact statewide private well regulations that would ensure all residents have equitable access to healthy drinking water. Thus, the Coalition for Safe Drinking Water has been formed as a way to engage a wide range of stakeholders in working together to ensure safe drinking water for all Massachusetts residents.
UNCOVERING CONTAMINANTS
From 2020 to 2022, RCAP Solutions conducted 502 water quality tests across several Massachusetts towns which had a high concentration of private wells. We discovered that approximately 32% of wells had levels of contaminants exceeding state health standards and/or suggesting potential health risks.
Key:
■ Wells that had levels of contaminants exceeding state health standards and/or suggesting potential health risks
■ Wells that did not have levels of contaminants exceeding state health standards and/or suggesting potential health risks
In comparison, 2020–2022 data from MassDEP shows that only about 4.5% of community public water systems (PWS) throughout the state had instances of contaminants exceeding state health standards and/or suggesting potential health risks. These results show that sensible, health-based regulations and oversight for drinking water wells would lead to a public health benefit. Our full findings are outlined below.
