Barnstable County and Tetra Tech are looking for volunteers to collect and submit samples of their private well water for water quality testing at no cost to you, a value of over $400. In conjunction with the Barnstable County Department of Health and Environment, the collected samples will be tested for a variety of pollutants, including emerging contaminants like PFAS.
Why Get Your Private Well Water Sampled?
If you have a private well, then water quality testing should be important to you. Some drinking water contaminants have been linked to cancer and toxicity and may pose a risk to human health. Many of these contaminants can be tasteless, odorless, and colorless. The only way to know if your water is safe to drink, is to have it tested regularly by a certified laboratory.
The sandy soils and contiguous aquifer of Cape Cod make drinking water wells particularly vulnerable to contamination from activity on the land surface (such as chemical spills and pesticide application) and subsurface (such as onsite septic systems and underground fuel storage tanks). Well water originates as rain and snow that filters into the ground. As it soaks through the soil, potentially harmful materials and contaminants can dissolve in the water, possibly contaminating your well.