Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
New Jersey Geological and Water Survey, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Trenton, NJ, USA.
J Water Health. 2022 Jan;20(1):1-11. doi: 10.2166/wh.2021.018.
Over 1 million people in New Jersey (NJ) are estimated to receive drinking water from private wells. The most commonly detected contaminants in NJ private well water are naturally occurring arsenic and gross alpha (8.3 and 10.9%, respectively). Between 2015 and 2018, three free and voluntary private well testing events tested a total of 571 at-risk wells and 226 (40%) were identified as having one or more contaminants exceeding drinking water standards. Participants were invited to complete a survey to evaluate household characteristics, participant experience, and private well stewardship behavior patterns. Of 529 delivered surveys, 211 (40%) participants completed surveys. Among respondents, 63% reported plans to test their private wells in the future. Among failed wells, 45% of households reported performing mitigative action in response to the event, either through the installation of water treatment system or switching to bottled water. The survey evaluation identified previous knowledge of well contamination risks and discussing test results with a third party as important factors for promoting self-reported stewardship behavior. The evaluation provides guidance for outreach organizers to develop effective testing events and further considers the private well owners' experience of the outreach events to identify information for 'best practices' and improvements of future programs.
据估计，新泽西州（NJ）有超过 100 万人从私人水井中获得饮用水。在 NJ 私人井水检测中最常见的污染物是天然存在的砷和总α放射性（分别为 8.3%和 10.9%）。在 2015 年至 2018 年间，三次免费和自愿的私人水井测试活动共测试了 571 口高危水井，其中 226 口（40%）被确定为存在一种或多种超过饮用水标准的污染物。参与者被邀请完成一项调查，以评估家庭特征、参与者经验和私人水井管理行为模式。在已送达的 529 份调查问卷中，有 211 份（40%）参与者完成了调查。在受访者中，63%的人表示计划将来测试他们的私人水井。在失效的水井中，45%的家庭报告说，为应对该事件采取了缓解措施，要么安装了水处理系统，要么改用瓶装水。调查评估确定了之前对水井污染风险的了解和与第三方讨论测试结果是促进自我报告管理行为的重要因素。该评估为外展组织者提供了指导，以开展有效的测试活动，并进一步考虑私人水井所有者对外展活动的体验，以确定“最佳实践”信息并改进未来的计划。
