The U.S. EPA estimates that approximately 15 million households in the United States rely on private wells as their drinking water supply. That’s roughly 15% of Americans! Since the EPA only has the authority to regulate public water systems, these private wells are not regulated for water quality. Essentially, homeowners with private wells instantaneously become the “operator” of their own tiny water systems. The responsibility to ensure safe drinking water falls with these private well owners, alone.
There is not a national course or set of guidelines on caring for a private well. Mainly, rules and regulations vary by state, county, or other jurisdiction. With the goal to help create a more consistent set of guideline nationwide related to protecting both public health and groundwater, staff at the University of Illinois developed a 10-lesson online class, the Private Well Class, for homeowners with private wells to learn how to properly care for their water well.
Privatewellclass.org is a free service for well owners, and those that work with them, to raise awareness of private well issues and help well owners understand their responsibilities in being a good steward of their well and water source. Since its inception in 2012, the Private Well Class has had over 5,000+ well owners and public health professionals educated on groundwater and well basics through the 10-lesson course.
In addition to educating private well owners, the Private Well Class has had over 8,000+ well owners, real estate professionals, laboratory personnel, and sanitarians educated via online courses and webinars and over 600+ environmental health professionals, state regulators, and drillers in over 30 states trained on well vulnerability assessment and best practices in well owner outreach.
In the past 5 years, the Private Well Class has expanded to include a variety of multimedia content including video content, a podcast, an assessment tool, monthly webinars, partner blog, partner newsletter, a national Pledge to Test campaign, content for Spanish-speakers, social media accounts, a national Private Well Conference, and much more.
Please visit the Private Well Class website (http://www.privatewellclass.org) or contact info@privatewellclass.org for more information.
The Private Well Class is a collaboration between the Rural Community Assistance Partnership and the University of Illinois, through the Illinois State Water Survey and the Illinois Water Resources Center, and funded by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency.
