Private Well Owner Assistance Well Water Testing Trying to Make a Difference
Carbonwaters.org- Website Dedicated to Information and Free Resources for Private Well Owners, Evaluation of Water and Wastewater Treatment Systems, Private Well Water Testingand Education/Outreach Programs – We Need Your Help to Spread the Word!
The main reason is that most private wells and small water systems are not regulated by the EPA or the DEP in a given state and in Pennsylvania about 50% of private wells produce water that does not meet a primary health standard, i.e., Could Make the Well Owner Sick. Therefore, it is up to the individual private well owner to ensure that the water is safe.
In Pennsylvania, we have found that typically at least 10 % of private well have one or more of these problems:
a. Low pH / corrosive water
b. Elevated Iron and/or Manganese
c. Elevated Bacteria (Actually it is 40 % to 50% for this parameter)
Less than 5 % of private wells have problems with methane gas, barium, alpha/beta, and other contaminants that would suggest a saline water source. In the middle, we have found about 5 to 10% may have problems with copper, lead, arsenic, and plasticizers.
Note- There are over 1 million private wells in Pennsylvania. Assume 3 citizens per household and 50 % of households having contaminated water, this means that 1.5 million citizens of the Commonwealth are Drinking Water that could make the SICK – This is a Health Crisis. It is time to ACT.
We know this information because of the hundreds of private well owners that have released their information to the Citizen Groundwater Database and we have assisted private well owners with low cost water testing options and education programs.
To Act, we recommend the following:
1. Get Educated and Informed.
2. Get Your Water Tested
3. Work as a Community to Develop Local and State Solutions
If you are in Pennsylvania, you can contribute to the Citizen Groundwater Database and help track change for FREE and if you would like to learn about our Natural Gas Related Information, please visit us at http://www.private-well-owner.org.
Volunteer
We seek new people at all skill levels for a variety of programs. One thing that everyone can do is attend meetings to share ideas on improving CCGG, enabling us to better understand and address the concerns of well owners.
Everything we do began with an idea.
We realize your time is precious and the world is hectic. CCGG’s volunteers do only what they’re comfortable with. It can be a little or a lot.
For more information, please go to CCGG’s About Page or contact us.
Carbon County Groundwater Guardians is a 501(c)(3) IRS approved nonprofit, volunteer organization and your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Pike-Wayne Earth Day Festival
The Carbon County Groundwater Guardians can not attend this event, but we are providing approximately 100 copies of the new booklet on drinking water quality in Pennsylvania. If you can, you should stop at this this great community event.
Pike-Wayne Earth Day Festival
Date: Saturday, April 20, 2013
Time: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Cost: Free and open to the public
Location: PPL’s Wallenpaupack Environmental Learning Center
Contact: PPL at 570-253-7001 or pplpreserves@pplweb.com
Please check the website for updates and more details at www.pikewayneearthday.org.
Rain or Shine!
Activities and exhibits include:
•Arts & craft activities for kids
•Bring an old t-shirt and give it a new life! Cub Scout Pack #229 will be turning them into bags.
•Bring old tennis shoes for recycling! Girl Scout Troop #50151 is recycling them with Nike’s Reuse-a-Shoe campaign.
•Bird walks
•Door Prizes
•Live music
•Face painting and Species Celebration
•Yummy, healthy food and local maple syrup for sale
•Kayak demos on Lake Wallenpaupack
Other Partners that Should be at the event
◦Delaware Highlands Conservancy
◦Delaware Highlands Mushroom Society
◦Lacawac Sanctuary
◦Lacawanna College Lake Region Center
◦Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Management District
◦National Park Service – Upper Delaware
◦Northeast PA Audubon Society
◦Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission
◦PPL Lake Wallenpaupack Environmental Preserve
◦Pike County Conservation District
◦Pike-Wayne Conservation Partnership
◦Promised Land State Park
◦SEEDS
◦U.S. Forest Service: Grey Towers
◦Wallenpaupack Area High School
◦Wallenpaupack Historical Society
◦Wayne Conservation District
Save the Date – April 15th – Sewage Facilities Planning Module Webinar
DEP invites you to participate in an important upcoming webinar about Draft Technical Guidance for DEP’s review of Sewage Facilities Planning Modules for onlot sewage systems proposed in Pennsylvania’s High Quality and Exceptional Value Watersheds.
The proper location and management of community and individual onlot septic systems is key to safeguarding public health and Pennsylvania’s water quality resources. The new draft technical guidance will ensure cost-effective and reasonable best management practices (BMPs) for nonpoint source control are achieved to maintain and protect water quality when reviewing sewage facilities planning modules for proposed individual or community onlot sewage systems in high quality and exceptional value watersheds.
During the one-hour webinar, DEP staff will describe BMPs for individual and community onlot sewage systems that can achieve nonpoint source control in High Quality and Exceptional Value waters, and review the process for selecting appropriate BMPs to achieve such control.
The webinar will be held from 2-3 p.m., Monday April 15. The webinar is free but registration is required. To register, visit https://copa.webex.com/copa/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=645447507
The Draft Technical Guidance can be found here: http://www.elibrary.dep.state.pa.us/dsweb/Get/Document-93420/385-2208-001.pdf Public comments regarding the Draft Technical Guidance are due to DEP May 1.
Water Cycle, Wellowner, Groundwater, and Pollution Prevention Workshops Available
The Carbon County Groundwater Guardians is partnering with the Pocono Northeast RC&D Council to make available a number of informational and education workshops in Pennsylvania. The topics that are currently available include:
Groundwater and Surfacewater Interconnection and the Water Cycle
The Care and Mainteance of Your Well
Water Quality and the Need for Water Treatment
Baseline Testing as it Relates to Marcellus Shale, Shale Gas Development, or Development in Your Community
Citizen Science and the Groundwater Surfacewater Database
Taking the First Step and Getting Back to Zero with Stormwater (Rain Barrel Workshop and Water Conservation)
How to Test, Screen, and Track Well Water Quality – Interpreting Water Quality Data.
To request a workshop in your community, please email bfenviro@ptd.net and put CCGG in the subject. Please tell us your location and the type of assistance you need.
New Booklet on Drinking Water Quality in PA – sales of booklets support groundwater education in Pennsylvania.
PADEP Proposes Antidegradation Standard for On-lot Septic Systems
PADEP Proposes antidegradation for On-lot septic systems -Sewage Facilities Planning Module Review for Onlot Sewage Systems Proposed in High Quality and Exceptional Value Watersheds – Proposed Policy – 385-2208-XXX.
POLICY: The Department will assure that cost-effective and reasonable best management practices (BMPs) for nonpoint source control are achieved to maintain and protect water quality when reviewing sewage facilities planning modules for proposed individual or community onlot sewage systems in high quality and exceptional value watersheds.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this guidance is to describe BMPs for individual and community onlot sewage systems that can achieve nonpoint source control in High Quality and Exceptional Value waters, and to provide a process to select appropriate BMPs to achieve such control.
Problem
1. Implementation – Policy says it applies to only new systems or permits, this will therefore include all existing lots not developed. The policy also suggests it should be used for all repairs.
2. Cost to Implement- Could add up to cost of installing and maintaining septic systems in PA.
3. PADEP says the problem is because of nitrate. The only problem is that nitrates are not a problem in PA and the nitrate loading from septic systems to the stream may be only 4%. The major sources fossil fuels, atmospheric deposition, agricultural runoff, urban runoff, and wastewater treatment plants.
Encouraging Others to learn More – My personal blog on the subject.
To review the proposed policy
PA DEP Presentation on the Policy
Rachel Carson State Office Building
400 Market Street
Harrisburg, PA 17105-8774
tstarosta@pa.gov
Penn State Master Well Owner Network looking for new volunteers for winter online course
Note – Have a Water Quality Questions – Ask Us Or Visit the Drinking Water Help Guide
Bryan Swistock [ brs@psu.edu ]
MWON is taking applications for our winter online course which will start on February 11, 2013. Space is limited to 20 new volunteers
Applications Being Accepted for Next Master Well Owner Course
Pennsylvania is home to over one million private water wells and springs but it is one of the few states that do not provide statewide regulations to protect these rural drinking water supplies. In 2004, Penn State Cooperative Extension and several partner agencies created the Master Well Owner Network (MWON), a group of trained volunteers who are dedicated to promoting the proper construction, testing, and maintenance of private water wells, springs and cisterns throughout Pennsylvania. Since its inception, hundreds of MWON volunteers have attended Saturday training workshops to learn about proper water supply management practices. Starting on February 11, 2013, this same training will be available entirely online.
Prospective volunteers need to submit an application and be accepted into the program. Applications will be limited to about 15 eligible volunteers. Once accepted, each volunteer will receive seven weekly emails with links to short reading assignments and video presentations. Participants in online training will largely be able to determine their own training schedule. One optional online meeting will be offered in March to help answer questions (attendance at this optional meeting this will require a computer with high speed connection and speakers).
Volunteers who successfully complete the training course and pass a short exam will receive a free copy of the 80 page publication – A Guide to Private Water Systems in Pennsylvania and access to various MWON educational materials. In return, MWON volunteers are asked to pass along what they have learned to other private water supply owners and submit an annual report of their educational accomplishments. To learn more and complete an application, visit the following website: http://extension.psu.edu/water/mwon/volunteer/online-mwon-volunteer-training
Here are a few comments from volunteers who recently completed the online course:
• I believe people buying homes or properties with wells located on them should have this information prior to purchase. The problem is not many people are aware of the information that is available. Hopefully this course helps correct the problem.
• Excellent opportunity, especially in light of the drilling operations surrounding Marcellus well development activities throughout the state and in the area where I live.
• Very Useful information. The presentation format via adobe connect was very easy to work with.
For Water Testing Go to Private Well Water Testing Program
New Booklet – PA Guide To Drinking Water – What Do the Numbers Mean?
Free Information at Private Well Owner Outreach and the Water Research Library.
Website Provided for Educational Purpose.
Carbon County Groundwater Guardians is a 501(c)(3) IRS approved nonprofit, volunteer organization and your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
DEP calls for further probe of wildcat sewers
www.tnonline.com/2012/dec/04/dep-calls-further-probe-wildcat-sewers
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
By JACOB SEIBEL TN Correspondent tneditor@tnonline.com
Unpermitted sewer lines that discharge untreated sewage, known as wildcat sewers, have officially delayed the nearly decade-long Act 537 project for West Penn Township and Walker Township.
With the plan supposed to be finished by the end of December before what supervisors hoped to be the start of the implementation process of fixing defective sewers in the township, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has called for further investigation into the wildcat sewers.
Although an investigation of the wildcats was unavoidable, West Penn Township Solicitor Gretchen Sterns and Township Engineer Ronald B. Madison, PE hoped that it could be done while the project was being worked on. They said there is no sense to delay the project to investigate a problem that they already know is there.
“I find that it is unbelievable, quite frankly,” Sterns said at last evening’s supervisor meeting, “that DEP showed great concern that there are areas where these wildcat sewers are where you literally have black water is coming out, causing a huge pollution concern, but their response is not to fix it. Their response is lets study it some more. I’m appalled, frankly, by that result.”
“Unfortunately, it’s more time and more expense,” Madison said.
The estimated cost for West Penn and Walker Township since the planning phase of Act 537 began in 2003 up this point has been $356,107.
A West Penn Township board of supervisors reorganization meeting will be Monday, Jan. 7 at 6 p.m. in the municipal building.
Emerging water topics focus of upcoming webinar series
Webinar topics will include water testing, septic systems, groundwater quality, water education, West Nile virus and managing ponds and lakes
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA — The effects of Marcellus Shale natural-gas drilling and other emerging water-resources issues will be covered during monthly Web-based seminars produced by Penn State Extension starting this fall.
Topics over the next 12 months will include water testing, septic systems, groundwater quality, water education, West Nile virus and managing ponds and lakes.
The first webinar, “Tradeoffs for Municipal Officials in Leasing Watershed Lands for Marcellus Drilling,” will be held from noon to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 31, and can be viewed at https://meeting.psu.edu/water1.
Charles Abdalla, professor of agricultural and environmental economics in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, will be the presenter in the initial webinar, discussing the effects of shale-gas development on water resources. He will concentrate on the effects of gas-drilling activity on watershed lands used for public water supplies.
“Such activity has the potential to influence the quality and adequacy of drinking water for a large number of people and businesses,” Abdalla said. “This webinar will examine issues related to leasing municipally owned watershed lands for Marcellus Shale gas exploration by reviewing the findings of a recent study of eight Pennsylvania municipalities.”
Abdalla stressed that there are many aspects that must be considered when municipal watersheds are leased for drilling.
“Those factors include officials’ motivations to lease subsurface gas rights, officials’ knowledge of expected revenues and potential risks to their water supply, how benefits and risks were considered and weighed, and how customers and the public were involved in decisions,” he said.
Pre-registration is encouraged but not required for these webinars. Recorded versions of each webinar also are posted on the website for those who cannot log on for the live version.
To register or learn more about future or recorded webinars, visit http://water.cas.psu.edu/webinars.htm.
For more information, contact Bryan Swistock at 814-863-0194 or by email at brs@psu.edu.
live.psu.edu/story/62243#nw69
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Penn State water-well expert testifies before state House committee
live.psu.edu/story/57083
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Bryan Swistock, senior water resources extension associate at Penn State, testified before the House Consumer Affairs Committee on problems with Pennsylvania water wells.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A Penn State Extension water specialist told a House committee on Jan. 10 that research has shown that about 40 percent of all water wells in the state fail to meet at least one safe-drinking-water standard.
Bryan Swistock, senior water resources extension associate at Penn State, testified before the House Consumer Affairs Committee in a hearing on House Bill 1855, which would create standards for water-well construction. Pennsylvania is currently one of just a few states that do not have statewide requirements for the construction of private water wells.
“While proper well construction does not completely eliminate water-quality problems, it clearly plays a role in preventing surface contaminants from getting into wells,” he said. “Our research has shown that inadequate water-well construction is a contributing factor to the failure of some private wells to meet safe-drinking-water standards.”
Swistock noted that for the past 23 years he has conducted both research and outreach programs offered by Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences related to private water wells in Pennsylvania.
“We recognize that private water wells are a critical part of the water infrastructure in Pennsylvania, providing drinking water to millions of residents in rural homes, farms and businesses,” he testified.
“In the absence of both regulatory protections and unbiased assistance, Penn State has devoted considerable research and extension efforts to meet the demands of private well owners interested in properly constructing and managing their drinking water supply.”
Over the past three decades, Swistock pointed out, the university has conducted numerous research projects on various aspects of water quality that have included thousands of private water wells.
“Our research has consistently found that approximately 40 percent of private water wells in Pennsylvania fail to meet at least one safe-drinking-water standard,” he said. “The most frequently detected pollutant with a potential health effect is coliform bacteria, which occurred in about one third of the water wells tested in our research.
“The presence of these bacteria indicates the potential for disease-causing bacteria to occur in drinking water. E. coli bacteria, which originate from either animal or human wastes and thus represent a more serious health risk, were found in 14 percent of the water wells in our recent study.”
While these bacteria can be related to various land uses near water wells, they also can occur from surface water, insects or small mammals entering poorly constructed wells, Swistock explained. This surface contamination often can be prevented by extending a properly sized well casing above the ground surface, installing a cement-like grout seal around the casing, and fitting the top of the casing with a vermin-proof or “sanitary” well cap.
According to Swistock, recent Penn State research found that many water wells lack at least one of these water well features. “More importantly, this same research showed a statistical correlation between water-well construction and the occurrence of both coliform bacteria and E. coli bacteria in the well water,” he said.
“Bacterial contamination rates in water wells with sanitary construction were about half of the rates found in water wells that lacked any sanitary construction components.”
An earlier, small-scale Penn State study found that some bacterial contamination in water wells could be removed simply by having a water-well professional disinfect the well and replace loosely fitted well caps with a sealed, sanitary well cap.
Unfortunately, many rural residents are unaware of water-quality problems, Swistock told the committee. Most bacteria problems and similar problems with health-related pollutants in water wells often are discovered only after proper testing by a state-accredited laboratory and interpretation of these water-test records.
“Several of our research projects have shown that homeowners with water wells that fail at least one health-based drinking water standard are typically unaware that their water is unsafe,” he said. “Just as one example, of the 203 water wells that contained unsafe levels of coliform bacteria in our 2006 study, only 11 percent were aware of this problem before our study.
“We have found that about one-third of water-well owners have never had their water tested properly by a state-accredited laboratory, and many who have done testing don’t understand the meaning of the results.”
Inadequate water well construction and the lack of awareness of water-quality problems by well owners represent significant potential health risks among the millions of rural residents, farmers and businesses that access the shared groundwater resource, Swistock concluded.
Panel recommends statewide statewide standards for new private water wells
http://republicanherald.com/news/panel-recommends-statewide-statewide-standards-for-new-private-water-wells-1.1188749
BY ROBERT SWIFT (HARRISBURG BUREAU CHIEF rswift@timesshamrock.com)
Published: August 15, 2011
HARRISBURG – A special state commission recommends setting statewide construction standards for new private water wells, resurrecting an issue that has been debated for the past two decades.
The Governor’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission included the recommendation in last month’s report to guide the development of the deep pockets of natural gas in the Marcellus Shale formation. The commission also recommended doubling the distance separating a gas well from a water well from 250 feet to 500 feet.
Sen. Gene Yaw, R-23, Williamsport, is considering introducing legislation to set standards for new water wells.
More than three million Pennsylvania residents rely on about one million private wells for drinking water. Methane contamination of drinking water such as occurred last year in Dimock Township, Susquehanna County, is one of the most volatile issues surrounding the hydrofracking operations used in the deep Marcellus wells in Northeast Pennsylvania. Cabot Oil and Gas Corp. agreed to pay $4.1 million to Dimock residents affected by methane contamination attributed to faulty natural gas wells.
Some 20,000 new water wells are drilled each year in the state, yet for all this reliance on well water, Pennsylvania is one of the few states without private well regulations.
The commission kept its water well standards recommendation general in scope, while referring to a 2009 study by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, a legislative research agency, that concluded that 40 percent of private water wells have failed to meet at least one health-related drinking water standard. The commission noted pointedly that poorly constructed water wells can be pathways for bacteria and contaminants such as naturally occurring shallow methane gas to migrate into water supplies.
Groundwater aquifers can be polluted by failing septic systems, fertilizer runoff and mining, the center study found, while individual wells can be contaminated by exposed well casings, or having a loose fitting well cap or no cap at all, allowing surface water to enter a well.
The study recommended passing state laws requiring testing of new water wells by a certified lab and standards for new well construction and education programs for homeowners.
The Marcellus Shale drilling has led people to call for protection of water supplies, Yaw said. The senator said there have been a few problems, but they have to be viewed in the context of hundreds of gas wells drilled in recent years.
He said setting water well standards is one way to allay public concerns.
“If there’s a concern people have, let’s do something about it,” Yaw said.
In a related vein, the federal Department of Energy’s Shale Gas Production Subcommittee recommended last week that requirements be set to do testing for background levels of existing methane in nearby water wells prior to gas drilling.
The Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors is opposed to a statewide well construction standard and prefers letting municipalities handle the issue through local ordinances.
Supervisors in some regions are concerned it will lead to state regulations on how property owners use their well water or even metering of wells, said Elam Herr, the association’s deputy director.
The last major push for regulation of private water wells came in 2001-02 when drought conditions led to enactment of a state water resources planning law. The House approved a water-well bill, but it didn’t become law.