Inaugural Minnesota Private Well Forum Produces Toolkit, Resources

On Monday, May 8, 2023, the Minnesota Department of Public Health held a free inaugural Minnesota Private Well Forum. With a goal of working together to overcome safe water barriers for Minnesota’s 1.2 million private wells users, the 6-hour Virtual Forum hosted a diverse audience. The Virtual Forum included both Speaker Sessions and Collaboration Sessions and attendees included labs, licensed well contractors, delegated well programs, soil and water conservation districts, counties, well owners, and private well organizations, among others, including the Private Well Class.

The Minnesota Private Well Forum brought together people across Minnesota, and beyond, who care about private well users, and through their shared effort to ensure safe drinking water, the Forum:

• Shared how attendees are empowering private well users to protect their health;
• Gathered perspectives on barriers to well testing and treatment and possible strategies to overcome them; and
• Identified ways communities, organizations, and agencies can collaborate and create a more supportive system for private well users and next steps.

Additionally, through funding provided by the UMN Institute on the Environment and with a partnership between Minnesota Well Owners Organization and the Center for Changing Landscapes, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, a new Toolkit For Local Governments, “Safe Drinking Water For All Minnesotans” was developed. The Toolkit includes information and resources for well water quality screening clinics, information on groundwater contamination, and study findings based on a 2022 survey of 196 Minnesota well owners in Dakota and Stearns counties.

You can download the Toolkit and additional Resources below:

• Safe Drinking Water For All Minnesotans – A Toolkit For Local Governments
• Links and Resources Presenters Referenced – Minnesota Private Well Forum 2023
  

Why Sometimes Newer Isn’t Always Better: Minnesota Department of Health’s Well Disinfection Guide

We always receive questions from homeowners across the country on how to properly disinfect a private well. There are many different private well disinfection guides available for private well owners through many public health, extension and state organizations across the U.S. The Private Well Class has used the Minnesota Department of Health’s Well Disinfection guide in our 10-week class and in our Resource Library. After careful review of all of the information on well disinfection available, our opinion is that the MDH guide is one of the best and most complete available.

However, in 2015, MDH updated the 2012 “Well and Water System Disinfection for Private Wells,” with a newer, shorter “Well Disinfection” guide. Honestly, we were disappointed in the new guide because in making it shorter, they also took out some of the details that made their guide so complete. The bottom line is that we are still referring private well owners to the 2012 version of the document in our resource library and in our lessons. The step-by-step process hasn’t changed much between the two, but the supporting information has. The content in the 2012 version is not only more in-depth, but it provides more background information that tells you why you are doing something in the process instead of just how to do it. It clearly explains what disinfection is and what might cause contamination of the well and water system.

The 2012 version addresses two important questions about disinfection, “How Often Should a Well be Tested?” and “When Should a Well be Disinfected?” It provides sound advice, some of which is missing in the newer version. Understanding when to disinfect is an important issue, we often talk to private well owners who have/are disinfecting their well when it is not necessary.

The only time you should disinfect your well is after sampling indicates you have bacteria. Testing should be completed annually, as well as any time the well has been opened, or there has been an event that has impacted your well (after a flood, fire, repairs, etc.).

The Minnesota Department of Health’s Well Management Program stands out as a leader among their peers and we often refer well owners to their materials. We thought it worth noting that though we like the older version of their well disinfection guide better, we rely on many of their materials to support well owners all over the country. You can find their website at: http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/wells/

Well and Water System Disinfection for Private Wells (2012 version)

Resources for Private Well Owners Impacted by Flood

Flooding is the most common natural occurrence that can impact the function and safety of a well. In the wake of Hurricane Matthew, the National Ground Water Association issued an important reminder that one must assume that a flooded well has been contaminated by bacteria. Cliff Treyens, NGWA's director of general public outreach, offers these tips to homeowners with flooded wells:

1. Do not drink the water or wash with it. Use an alternative supply. such as bottled water.
2. Stay away from the well pump while it’s flooded to avoid electrical shock.
3. Get a qualified water well contractor or pump installer to clean and turn on the pump, flush the well, disinfect the well, and perform any other necessary maintenance.
4. Check with the local emergency management agency about any guidance relating to local conditions or specific contamination threats due to area flooding.

This video, also from NGWA, explores the topic further:

You can also refer to Chapter 6 of The Private Well Class. Here's the excerpt on flooding:

"If flood waters overtop your well, assume your well is contaminated. Once the water recedes, you should have your well disinfected and sampled for bacteria before using it again. Remember to disconnect any inline treatment prior to disinfection. You should also inspect your wellhead to be sure no debris got into your well. This is a particular concern if your vent screen is missing. If you think there is debris, have a contractor clean and disinfect your well. If water reaches your well but doesn’t overtop it, it’s still safest to disinfect and sample prior to use.

If you have the luxury of knowing a flood could happen, be prepared. Store a supply of clean water that you can use during and after the flood. Disconnect the power supply to your well to prevent any electrical damage from short circuits. Temporarily plug the vent holes to prevent debris from getting into your well.

There are other options that can help prevent flood contamination, but they are more costly. One is to have a contractor create an extension for your well to raise the pipe. We have seen wellheads in flood-prone areas that extend 10 feet or more above land surface. Another option is to replace your vented cap with a waterproof one for just during the flood event. This may provide added protection, but it’s still always best to have a sample analyzed after the flood to be sure there were no leaks or other avenues into the well that flood waters may have found.

Well pits are a shock hazard, so be sure the entire pit is dry before entering. If your pit is a confined space, then do not go into it because of the risk of dangerous gases. Have a qualified professional inspect and restart your system. If your pump is above ground, like in your basement or over the well, flood waters could short circuit the system and even start the pump. Be sure the power is off in advance of the flood, and have your pump checked and tested by a professional before using it again.

Septic systems can also be damaged or cause contamination issues during floods. Make sure the access points are sealed. Your septic system should have a backflow preventer before the tank to keep sewage from backing up into your home during a flooding event. If your septic has its own pump, be sure to shut off the power."

Minnesota’s Well and Water System Disinfection Fact Sheet

Written by Steve Wilson, Groundwater Hydrologist at the Illinois State Water Survey

When I first started working on the Private Well Class materials, we made the decision to use existing, publicly available resources from the web for images because we had no budget for creating original figures and diagrams. It required us to search the web, and quickly we discovered that there was a lot of redundancy and “reinventing of the wheel” for many of the guides and fact sheets available to well owners.  It was the right decision because so many people before us, extension, health departments, and universities, had created vast libraries of materials available for well owners. For instance, I literally looked at dozens of documents on well disinfection. Initially this was annoying, but in the end was a good thing, it allowed me to pick what I felt were the best materials to provide through our class.

The Minnesota Department of Health is a very well managed and funded state agency that provides a number of exceptional materials freely available to well owners. Their well disinfection fact sheet is no exception.  It was the one I settled on. I felt it was thorough, well written, and covered all of the important information a well owner would need to know when disinfecting their well. 

But a year or so ago, their fact sheet changed.  It went from 10 pages down to 6, and though still well written, they removed a number of details that made it clear and more comprehensive.  I was a little disappointed.  None-the-less, because we work hard to give credit to the groups that develop the wonderful materials we have available to us, we linked to the new version and suggested it to well owners.  Then, as fate would have it, I was at a meeting where a colleague brought up the manual.  He mentioned that he felt the old version was a better document.  I used that as validation, and because I had retained a copy of the previous version, I decided to go back to offering the previous version as a resource on our website.

I wanted to write something about this fact sheet because I think it is the approach everyone should be using when a well owner asks them about disinfecting their well. It includes step by step instructions, explains why taking these steps are necessary, and has pictures to clearly show you what things look like.  

• You can download the fact sheet here.

We welcome your feedback, and if you have any resources that are specific to a topic that you believe are exceptional, please share them with us at info@privatewellclass.org.

New NHDES Online Tool Helps Well Owners Understand Their Water Sample Results

The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) has developed a new free tool, the Be Well Informed Guide, for interpreting private well water testing results. Although the tool was developed for residents of New Hampshire, it's available to anyone. The tool provides an evaluation of water samples, identifying results that are over the USEPA maximum contaminal level (MCL), and can also recommend possible treatment options based on the sample results provided. The Be Well Informed Guide evaluates the pollutants that are part of the “Standard Analysis,” which is the group of commonly found pollutants is listed in the NHDES Private Well Brochure.

How the Tool Works