Encourage private well testing in Iowa

Iowa’s water quality debate usually centers on pollution in rivers, streams and lakes spawned in large part by farming operations. But the condition of tens of thousands of private drinking water wells serving farmsteads and acreages dotting Iowa’s landscape often is forgotten.

Tony Leys, a reporter for KFF, an independent source of news on health policy, recently reported that although 43 million Americans rely on private wells, too few are subjected to water quality tests. Like surface water, ground water is marred by nitrate and bacterial contamination, spawned by the overuse of farm fertilizer, large livestock confinements and other practices.

Iowa does not require annual well water testing, although the state does provide each county with $50,000 to cover testing as well as treatment and repairs. But half of that money goes unspent annually because few residents get their wells tested.

Drinking from contaminated wells can cause serious health conditions. Nitrate levels above federal drinking water guidelines can threaten the health of infants. But a growing body of research has found long-term exposure to lower nitrate levels can contribute to some forms of cancer.

But the message isn’t getting through.

A 2019 report issued by Food and Water Watch and the Iowa Environmental Council found that as many as 290,000 Iowans use private wells. But between 2002 and 2017 only 55,000 of those wells were tested. Among them, 40% tested positive for coliform bacteria at least twice. And more than 6,600 wells had nitrate levels about the federal safe drinking water standard. And 12,300 more wells recorded significant nitrate levels below the standard.

So the problem is clear. But what’s the solution?

For starters, people who rely on wells should take on the responsibility to get their wells tested.

Counties can find ways to inform rural residents of the resources that are available and the potential consequences of not getting their wells tested. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources can also get involved in publicizing the program.

But there’s also a fundamental need to better protect Iowa’s surface water and groundwater. For example, the state could make rules discouraging the overapplication of fertilizer and other practices that threaten groundwater.

Large, powerful agricultural interests oppose any rules regarding water quality. Their steadfast reluctance is harming rural residents who simply want clean, safe drinking water.

(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com