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Wellhead Protection in Scott County
Future Solutions Now For Safe Drinking Water Tomorrow
Did you know. . .
Whether you live in one of Scott County's small towns, a subdivision, or out on the farm, your drinking water is supplied by a water well.
When properly constructed and maintained, drilled wells provide a safe and plentiful supply of water. But to ensure that the water supply remains free from contaminants, certain protective measures should be taken. Even as an individual well owner, you can protect your well by following these basic guidelines:
- Always use qualified water well contractors when a well is constructed, a pump is installed or the system is serviced.
- Keep hazardous chemicals, such as paint, fertilizer, pesticides, and motor oil away from your well.
- Prevent back-siphonage of hazardous chemicals by not leaving the hose in the mixing tank.
Wellhead protection is the practice of managing an area around a wellhead to prevent contaminants released at the surface from reaching the water supply. Typically, this is achieved by restricting the activities that may occur within the wellhead protection area. Wellhead protection areas and practices are determined using geologic and hydrogeologic characteristics of the water supply, well construction, and locations of potential contaminant sources in relation to the wellhead. The large expense of developing alternate water supplies or cleaning up spills make wellhead protection plans desirable and cost-effective for water supplies
Getting started. . .
A sanitary survey is the best way to assess a water system's vulnerability to contamination. If you are on a public water supply (defined in the shaded box below), this survey is done by the Iowa Department of Public Health. Contact your water utility for more information
For a private water well, a survey (also called site assessment), can be done by a Water Well Contractor or the Health Department.
The purpose of the sanitary survey is to identify and locate all potential sources of contamination. The first step is a physical examination of the well itself to determine if there are construction deficiencies which would make the well vulnerable to surface contamination. For instance:
- Is the well in a pit?
- Does the casing extend at least 1 foot above grade?
- Is the well cap in good condition?
Once you have determined that the physical integrity of the well is not compromised, you can then begin to look for possible contamination sources:
- Septic tank and seepage field lines
- Feedlots
- Chemical mixing & storage areas
- Manure pits
- Storm water run-off
- Underground storage tanks
- Abandoned wells
Once these have been identified, you can then take action to eliminate or reduce the potential risk(s) to your well.
Scott County Code Chapter 24 has clearly defined separation requirements for all the items mentioned above. Contact the Health Department for a copy.
And of course, the survey would not be complete without a water sample, analyzed by a state certified laboratory.
Developing a plan. . .
Once the sanitary survey is complete, you, your homeowner's association or your water utility may wish to develop a comprehensive plan to protect your well from future contamination.
For further information contact:
The Groundwater Foundation
P.O. Box 22558
Lincoln NE 68542-2558
1-800-858-4844
http://www.groundwater.org
Resources:
- National Well Owners Association
http://www.wellowner.org
- National Ground Water Association
http://www.ngwa.org
- Iowa Water Well Association
http://www.iwwa.org
- Iowa Department of Natural Resources: Geological Survey
http://www.igsb.uiowa.edu
