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Situation:
Roughly 20 percent of the region’s residents rely on private drinking water sources, such as private wells. These residents are responsible for the quality of their own drinking water and need to be aware of potential man-made and naturally-occurring contaminant risks to their drinking water sources and how to protect against such risks. Changing property laws and regulations in the region have increased demand for well water testing and educational materials.
Approach:
The region’s Land Grant Universities have a long history of effective programming in Home*A*Syst and source water protection for private drinking water supplies. Program delivery approaches use a mix of educational and research tools and methods (Home*A*Syst, Watershed Stewards, Master Gardeners, well water sampling). This focus area will build upon the New England Private Well Initiative’s successes and expand into and incorporate efforts from Region 2. We will coordinate with Region 3’s Master Well Owner Network and explore piloting inter-regional programming opportunities.
Stakeholders:
Private well owners, state and local health officials, municipal officials, well water professionals, realtors and environmental organizations.
Sampling of Programs in the Region:
To learn more about the New England Private Well Initiative, review this presentation. Activities of this project will be expanded into Region 2.
In this presentation, there is a brief description highlighting accomplishments and tangible changes in
this focus area in 2007.
Using Planning and Evaluation Tools to Target Extension Outputs & Outcomes: The New England Private Well Symposium Example was recently published in the June edition of the Journal of Extension. The article is the result of a collaboration between URI and UNH.
A central output of this focus area is the Private Well Water Symposium. This Symposium was held November 2009 and brought together private well protection professionals to communicate current research, programs and educational approaches that reduce risks associated with the use of private wells. The Symposia integrated research, Extension and education and involved other focus areas. Presentations, posters and the Final Report from the 2009 Symposium are available online. At the 2009 Symposium 95 percent of survey respondents agreed that they would integrate some knowledge gained from the symposium into their educational efforts within one year of the event. Another symposium is being planned for 2011
Another outputs of this focus area in the works is the adaption of educational approaches from other regions, including the down-well camera videos of the Southern Regional Water Program and the web-based Water Test Interpreter of the University of Nevada, into presentations and on the web.
In addition, the private well testing brochure developed for Region 1 will be updated and revised for Region 2. A series of factsheets created for private well education efforts in RI has been distributed across our Region for use as a template for other state factsheets. A DVD program Private Drinking Water Well Testing and Protection was developed and distributed to planning boards, conservation commissions, and public libraries throughout RI as well as to other programs in the Region and the country. A new interactive website, Water on the Move, is a New England-wide resource for private well water management and source water protection.
Businesses Providing Safe Drinking Water is a new educational program at Cornell University on source water protection for small water system operators such as convenience stores and restaurants. The program manual Providing Safe Drinking Water: A Primer for Small Businesses and Organizations provides
basic information on source water protection, a site and operations assessment
protocol, guidance on developing an action plan to address potential risks,
and "leave behind" items that small water system operators can
use to educate their customers and employees. This project has been piloted in three phases with 20 separate small businesses.
Thanks to the workshops of URI Home*A*Syst, thousands of individuals have had their well water tested. Evaluations from the program indicate that 55 percent of workshop attendees now test their water, and 63 percent share well program information with others.
The Safe Home Program is a joint project of UMaine Cooperative Extension and the Maine DEP. The program is comprised of a set of seven fact sheets and worksheets addressing important private well topics such as mapping your wellhead protection area, hazardous wastes, lead and petroleum contamination.
UConn’s Residential Water Quality Program works with community leaders, local town health officers, other community volunteers, and residents throughout their state to educate about water supply protection, maintenance, and treatment. The program offers free educational community outreach programs and private well fact sheets for landowners and real estate agents.
The Water Resources for Sustainable Communities Program at Rutgers addresses drinking water conservation and protection through programs geered toward retrofiting public buildings for water conservation and classroom education. The overall goal of the program is to reduce water use by 10% in five pilot communities.
V.I. Home & Farm Water Quality Assessment (VI*A*SYST) Program includes drinking water testing as one of their assessment topics.
The UMaine's Watershed Stewards Program trains Maine residents to identify pollution sources and help get them corrected. As of December 2004, the program has trained about 285 watershed stewards. Each of these stewards has worked with dozens of people on Maine water resource issues.
The Cape Cod Cooperative Extension Water Quality Program increases knowledge and encourages actions to decrease hazardous material use and encourage towns to undertake new initiatives for recycling and disposal of difficult to manage wastes.
Research on Drinking Water includes:
A field-deployable monitor for measuring pesticide concentrations in surface and groundwater is being developed in Massachusetts. At the University of Rhode Island, a new research and teaching laboratory is being constructed to develop teaching modules that focus on water treatment processes. The objective of a study in Massachusetts is to develop a drinking-water disinfection system using a synergistic combination of chlorination and acoustic cavitation.
Researchers at Cornell University are investigating how roadside ditches may act as rapid conduits for pathogens, nutrients and other contaminants from agricultural lands to downstream drinking water reservoirs. NRCS at the University of Massachusetts is evaluating the effects of land use, extreme precipitation, and climatic stressors on water security and potential mitigation opportunities at a river basin scale.
Cryptosporidium parvum has emerged as one of the most significant waterborne pathogens, affecting both animals and humans. Researchers at Yale University are developing a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms controlling the attachment and transport behavior of C. parvum oocysts in subsurface materials. Research at Cornell University is studying the epidemiology of C. parvum in animals, trying to identify the internal and external sources of C. parvum as well as Salmonella on dairy farms, and developing a micro-transducer to detect C. parvum in drinking water. Water treatment plants, even small facilities, will be able to monitor the safety of their drinking water more accurately, faster and more frequently therefore helping to secure the safety of the nation’s drinking water supply.
