A new report from the National Ground Water Association finds that private water wells are at low risk of transmitting the coronavirus.
“There’s more to be learned about the behavior of the COVID-19 virus in water and wastewater,” Bill Alley, the association's director of science and technology and co-author of the report, said in a news release. “Based on knowledge to date, the risk to private wells is extremely low.”
The most effective action to protect against viruses, including COVID-19, from contaminating a water supply is regular maintenance of well water systems and wastewater septic systems.
The report, entitled “Groundwater, Wells, and Coronavirus,” also highlights the importance of proper septic system maintenance as well as “set back." “Set back” is a requirement that a water supply well be at least a certain distance from a septic system or sewer line to provide adequate time for sufficient natural degradation of chemicals and die off of harmful organisms that may endanger well water.
“The setback distance from well to septic system has a long history and has been built into state and local water codes to protect groundwaters tapped by wells,” said Chuck Job, also a co-author of the report. “The setback allows time for pathogens that may be carried underground to die, be filtered out or be adsorbed onto soil particles. Setbacks should take into account an area’s soils and geology.”
In addition to proper maintenance of water systems, treatment can be another important defense against pathogens in water supply, if determined by water testing to be needed. Distillation, ultraviolet (UV) treatment and reverse osmosis technologies for households are all effective in removing viruses from a water.
The report is now available online as part of the association's Water Well Journal publication (waterwelljournal.com). For more information on properly maintaining your water well system and to find a local contractor, visit wellowner.org.
