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What’s in your water?
If you’re connected to a municipal water system, you probably don’t have to worry much. Charlotte Water conducts more than 170,000 tests a year for contaminants from fecal bacteria to heavy metals, and sends customers annual reports.
But if you’re on well water, it’s a different story. You’re responsible for testing to ensure and maintain the safety of the water flowing from your tap. And a new study released Monday by UNC-Chapel Hill finds that there are big disparities in income and race between well-users when it comes to contamination and safety.
Some brief background: North Carolina is one of the top states for private users, with about a quarter of the state’s 10.6 million people reliant on well water. They’re much more common in rural communities and small towns, but wells are far from rare even in the state’s biggest and most urban locations. A quick search of Mecklenburg records shows 98 well permits issued in the county last year.
New wells built in the state after 2008 must be tested for contaminants such as pesticides, bacteria and heavy metals. But there’s no ongoing testing requirement, and older wells aren’t required to be checked.
Contamination isn’t that uncommon either. For example, almost 39% of the private wells tested in Mecklenburg have levels of the heavy metal cadmium in excess of state guidelines, according to data from UNC-Chapel Hill.
Researchers from UNC-Chapel Hill decided to see if people from different communities are equally aware of the risks — and equally likely to do something about it. They focused on Robeson, Northampton, Chatham and New Hanover counties, four areas that were significantly flooded by Hurricanes Florence and Michael in 2018. Researchers tested nearly 500 wells and compared the results of those tests with the well users’ demographics.
The results were striking. First, 67% of the wells they tested exceeded at least one state or federal guideline for at least one contaminant, with contamination distributed equally across the study area. But more striking than the extent of contaminated water was what race and income predicted.
“You cannot see, taste or smell toxic metals in drinking water, so only households who are testing their private wells will be able to identify and address any problems. However, we found significant differences in levels of testing and treatment between income and racial groups,” said Andrew George, community engagement coordinator at the research institute.
White, higher-income well users were 10 times as likely to have had their wells tested, and four times as likely to treat their water to deal with contaminants as lower-income, Black, Indigenous or other people of color. To put it simply: The risk of contaminated water was equally distributed, but awareness of and responses to that risk were not.
“These results suggest a need for strategic efforts to increase well testing and improve treatment efforts in communities that rely on private wells for drinking water,” said study co-author Kathleen Gray, a research associate professor.
There are plenty of reasons that low-income well users might not get their well tested. One is awareness of the need to do so. Another is cost. Fees can vary widely and free programs are sometimes available, but HomeGuide.com estimates private laboratory well water testing costs an average of $100 to $350, and the NC Department of Health and Human Services recommends different tests on annual schedules (more frequently if there are known water quality problems). Installing under-sink or whole-house water filters that remove certain contaminants can cost hundreds, even thousands, more.
But the consequences can be severe. “Over time, consuming contaminated water can harm health and has been associated with cancer, cardiovascular disease, preeclampsia, neurological disorders, elevated blood lead levels and higher instances of waterborne illness,” the UNC study says.
And with 1 in 4 North Carolinians reliant on private wells for their drinking water — and major disparities in how people of different races and income levels address contamination — it’s worth asking whether it’s fair to leave those costs sitting on well owners’ shoulders.
