New England Private Well Initiative

Extension

links to research information links to education informationlinks to extension information
links to success stories links to resources links to partner information links to contact information links to event information

New England Extension programs are educating citizens on how to test and adequately treat their private well water as well as how to assess and prevent water quality contamination around their homes.

Selected Accomplishment

Working with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and U.S. EPA New England, eight of the original private well protection factsheets developed at the University of Rhode Island have been adapted for Massachusetts and placed online for broad distribution. An additional 15 factsheets are currently being developed.

In partnership with U.S. EPA New England, New England Regional Water Program, Dartmouth Toxic Metals Research Program and others, the 2007 New England Private Well Water Symposium was held in Newport, RI and provided a forum for professionals to share current research, approaches and materials. Presentations and posters from the symposium are available on the 2007 symposium webpage. Previously in 2005, the first New England Private Well Symposium was held in Portsmouth, NH. View the 2005 Symposium Final Report and the 2005 Symposium Proceedings for more information.

With funding made possible by the U.S. EPA New England, not only homeowners, but volunteers like Master Gardeners, and professionals including realtors, are now well-versed in private well protection practices. Realtors, for example, can refer to the resource guide What Every Realtor Should Know About Private Drinking Water Wells, developed for the New England Region.

Adopted Practices

One hundred percent of survey respondents from the 2007 New England Private Well Water Symposium agreed that it helped them effectively exchange ideas about private well water issues. Eighty-nine percent of these participants planned to contact at least one expert at the event within the year; and 98% percent wanted to see the symposium become a regular event.

Thousands of individuals have had their well water tested. Evaluations from the University of Rhode Island Home*A*Syst Program indicate that 55 percent of workshop attendees now test their water, and 63 percent share well program information with others.   And in Massachusetts, more than 800 brochures provided by the University of Massachusetts were distributed by Massachusetts Boards of Health to private well owners.  More than 20 percent of those who received Initiative brochures from the Massachusetts Boards of Health had their well water tested.

groundwater demonstration model

Other educational materials

A tri-fold brochure on private well testing and protection has been developed for Connecticut, external Massachusetts , New Hampshire and Rhode Island external link. The brochures will be distributed along with accompanying display board to public places within each state. A brochure for Vermont is in draft format.

An educational poster, pop-up display card and accompanying activities for adults and youth (11 MB PDF version) on groundwater and private drinking water protection have been developed. These materials are being distributed regionally for use in existing educational programs throughout New England.

A series of factsheets has been created for private well education efforts in Rhode Island, and has been distributed across the region for use as a template for other New England state factsheets. Factsheets by the Connecticut Department of Health highlight contaminates in drinking water. The Safe Home Program of Maine is a collection of seven factsheets for educating homeowners on drinking water safety.

A DVD program Private Drinking Water Well Testing and Protection external link was developed and distributed to planning boards, conservation commissions, and public libraries throught Rhode Island as well as to New England Private Well Initiative members throughout New England and the country.

A new interactive website, Water on the Move, external link is a New England-wide resource for private well water management and source water protection.people at conference

State Based Programs
Sharing Resources within the Region

The University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension’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 factsheets for landowners and real estate agents.

The University of Maine Cooperative Extension'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 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.

running faucet The Water Quality program in Barnstable County, Massachusetts 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. A variety of affiliated organizations assist in promoting these educational programs and include SEMASS Waste to Energy Facility, Senior Environmental Corps of Elder Services of Cape Cod, Americorps Cape Cod, Town Recycling Center Coordinators, and Hazardous Waste Coordinators.

UNH Extension education programs work with a variety of audiences to educate about water supply protection, maintenance, and treatment. For example, protection is included in NROC programming (NEMO) with community leaders. Specifically the program identifies the community's existing aquifers using GIS technology and discusses the influence of imperviousness on reduced groundwater infiltration an dpollution prevention.

Lake Education and Action Project (LEAP) provides pollution prevention training for organizations to assess, protect and remediate local pollution issues.