Liukkonen reported in 2008 that across the Upper Midwest there is a history of private well testing programs, organized by Extension, local government units, or other organizations. However, many private well owners or renters choose not to participate in these programs. Some of their reasons for not participating have been identified, but many barriers remain unidentified. Natural resources and public health professionals may find it difficult to understand why private well owners choose not to get their water tested, and this can affect the way testing clinics are implemented and promoted.That lack of understanding may also affect their attitudes toward well owners, particularly rural audiences or those living below the poverty level.
In Minnesota, 70% of residents get their drinking water from ground water; Ten-15% of private wells exceed the 10 mg/L standard for nitrate and many areas of the state have naturally-occurring arsenic at unsafe levels. When counties offer private well testing clinics, participation rates are often less than 1% of the well owners .
Project Goals included:
• characterizing the factors that influence private well testing;
• identifying barriers or challenges that prevent or discourage well owners from getting a water test;
• developing recommendations to increase private well testing to protect public health.
Conclusions from this study
- People believe their water is safe; Sometimes without validating information
- Barriers to testing include that they don’t know they should test, how or what to test for
Local arsenic risk prompts testing (not nitrate)
People want information from local sources & online
1. We’ve been drinking it for years – 53%
2. Didn’t know what to test for – 41%
3. Don’t know how to test – 35%
4. My water is probably fine – 25%
5. Didn’t know I should test it – 17%
6. Testing costs too much– 17%
7. I’ll Wait for others to find problems – 12%
8. Dealing with problem would be to costly - 12%
9. Missed the testing program – 8%
10. I don’t want to know – 8%
Managed & Built by I2M Consulting, LLC | © 2010-
