… but usually only if irresponsible private well owners let it. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently made an announcement about the relationship between well water and children’s illnesses.
Washington, D.C. – infoZine – Researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health, took a lead role in working with the AAP to develop these recommendations and draft a new AAP policy statement about the things parents should do if their children drink well water. The recommendations call for annual well testing, especially for nitrate and microorganisms such as coliform bacteria, which can indicate that sewage has contaminated the well. The recommendations point out circumstances when additional testing should occur, including testing when there is a new infant in the house or if the well is subjected to structural damage.
“Children are especially vulnerable to waterborne illnesses that may come from contaminated wells,” said Walter J. Rogan, M.D., an epidemiologist at NIEHS and lead author on the policy statement and technical report that appears in the June issue of Pediatrics. The new policy statement, “Drinking Water from Private Wells and Risks to Children,” offers recommendations for inspection, testing and remediation of wells providing drinking water for children.
“With few exceptions, well owners are responsible for their own wells,” said Rogan. Private wells are not subject to federal regulations and are only minimally regulated by states. With proper care, well water is safe; however, wells can become contaminated by chemicals or pathogenic organisms.( source )
So as usual we will tell you that nothing takes the place of a drinking water test performed by a certified drinking water laboratory and remind all well owners that they can test the drinking water from their wells on their using Drinking Water Test Kit between certifed water tests as an added level of protection.
For those wishing to have a more thorough at-home well water test kit on-hand, we suggest the Well Drillers Master Water Test Kit:
Well Drillers’ Master Water Test Kit
Each Well Drillers’ Master Water Testing Kit contains:
- 50 Free Chlorine Test Strips
- 50 Ultra Low Total Chlorine Test Strips
- 50 Hydrogen Sulfide Test Strips
- 50 Total Hardness Test Strips
- 50 Nitrate/Nitrite Test Strips
- 50 pH Test Strips
- 24 Manganese Tests
- 50 Water Metals Test Strips
- 10 Arsenic Test Strips
- 50 Iron Tests
- 50 Copper Test Strips
- 2 Lead in Water Tests
- 2 Pesticide Tests
- 1 bottle of Bacteria Test
Now once more, please don’t put all your faith in an at-home drinking water test kit if you suspect that your well water or source of drinking water may have gotten contaminated. At-home drinking water test test kits serve as effective on-site screening tools only.
