Prevalence of Microbiological and Chemical Contaminants in Private Drinking Water Wells in Maryland, USA

Rianna T. Murray, Rachel E. Rosenberg Goldstein, Elisabeth F. Maring, Daphne G. Pee, Karen Aspinwall, Sacoby M. Wilson and Amy R. Sapkota
Additional contact information
Rianna T. Murray: Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, University of Maryland School of Public Health, 4200 Valley Drive, College Park, MD 20742, USA
Rachel E. Rosenberg Goldstein: Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, University of Maryland School of Public Health, 4200 Valley Drive, College Park, MD 20742, USA
Elisabeth F. Maring: Department of Family Science, University of Maryland School of Public Health, 4200 Valley Drive, College Park, MD 20742, USA
Daphne G. Pee: University of Maryland Extension, University of Maryland, 2200 Symons Hall, 7998 Regents Drive, College Park, MD 20742, USA
Karen Aspinwall: University of Maryland Extension, University of Maryland, 2200 Symons Hall, 7998 Regents Drive, College Park, MD 20742, USA
Sacoby M. Wilson: Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, University of Maryland School of Public Health, 4200 Valley Drive, College Park, MD 20742, USA
Amy R. Sapkota: Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, University of Maryland School of Public Health, 4200 Valley Drive, College Park, MD 20742, USA

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 8, 1-13

Abstract: Although many U.S. homes rely on private wells, few studies have investigated the quality of these water sources. This cross-sectional study evaluated private well water quality in Maryland, and explored possible environmental sources that could impact water quality. Well water samples ( n = 118) were collected in four Maryland counties and were analyzed for microbiological and chemical contaminants. Data from the U.S. Census of Agriculture were used to evaluate associations between the presence of animal feeding operations and well water quality at the zip code level using logistic regression. Overall, 43.2% of tested wells did not meet at least one federal health-based drinking water standard. Total coliforms, fecal coliforms, enterococci, and Escherichia coli were detected in 25.4%, 15.3%, 5.1%, and 3.4% of tested wells, respectively. Approximately 26%, 3.4%, and <1% of wells did not meet standards for pH, nitrate-N, and total dissolved solids, respectively. There were no statistically significant associations between the presence of cattle, dairy, broiler, turkey, or aquaculture operations and the detection of fecal indicator bacteria in tested wells. In conclusion, nearly half of tested wells did not meet federal health-based drinking water standards, and additional research is needed to evaluate factors that impact well water quality. However, homeowner education on well water testing and well maintenance could be important for public health.

Keywords: private wells; groundwater; drinking water; animal feeding operation; fecal coliforms; enterococci; E. coli; Maryland (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/8/1686/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/8/1686/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:8:p:1686-:d:162495

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().