CDC Webinar on Rhode Island Private Well Regulations and Testing

On May 21st, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) held a webinar as part of its Private Well Initiative that featured a presentation by Peter DiPippo of the Rhode Island Department of Health about the state’s private well regulations and testing activities.  Rhode Island requires homeowners to test new wells and existing wells during real estate transactions.  Buyers are responsible for testing and sellers are responsible to disclose all previous water test results.
In addition to speaking about the state regulations and recommendations for testing private wells, DiPippo shared the state’s efforts to help one community address high levels of nitrate.  The state undertook a variety of outreach activities to get the owners of several hundred homes to test their wells, discover which wells were affected, and determine how to help them address the problem.  While some of the homeowners did not participate in the effort, the state found that homes in the neighborhood with wells that were properly constructed and protected were less susceptible to the nitrate contamination problem.  In addition, the state was able to recommend where the homeowners that needed and wanted professional assistance could get help for addressing the problem with options such as drilling a new (better constructed) well or installing a Point of Use (POU) device.   For more information about Rhode Island’s program, go to:  http://www.health.ri.gov/programs/privatewell/.