Tracking Data Inform Well Water Safety Campaign

Submission Date: April 2015

State/Territory Submitted on the Behalf of: Maine

States/Territories Involved: Maine

Funding Source: CDC

CDC Funding:

Yes

CDC Funding (Specified):

Other CDC Funding

Domain Addressed:

Epidemiology and Surveillance

Public Health Issue:

Private Well Water Safety Maintained Through Testing

• More than half of all Maine homes rely on private wells for drinking water. Many wells have levels of arsenic, uranium, or other chemicals that can cause serious health effects such as cancer or low birth weight.
• These contaminants can only be detected through laboratory testing. Private well owners are responsible for testing their own water and correcting any problems.

Program Action:

Tracking Program Displays Town-level Well Water Quality Data

• For the first time, the Maine Tracking Program is displaying town-level measures for six potentially hazardous substances on its website. Users can view data from more than 11,000 well water tests and the percentage of homes that have tested their wells. Also, users can create reports such as the percentage of wells in a specific area with contaminant levels that exceed Maine’ s health-based maximum exposure guidelines.
• While everyone who gets drinking water from a private well should regularly test the water, these data highlight areas where residents may be at higher risk for exposure to harmful chemicals.

Impact/Accomplishments:

Data Help Target Safety Interventions

• One tracking program partner, the Healthy Community Coalition, uses the tracking data to identify areas where they will target well water safety interventions. They send a mobile health unit to events in high-risk, rural areas of Maine where they educate residents about well water safety and give free well water test kits.
• Two other community partners who recently received contracts to carry out well water safety initiatives also use the tracking data to identify and select high-risk communities where they will work to increase rates of testing through community events and local media.
• “The Maine Tracking Network is the only source for private well water data or the town-level. It’s a great resource to help us focus our outreach to the towns that need it the most.” Jennifer McCormack, Executive Director, Healthy Community Coalition

Program Areas:

Epidemiology and Surveillance

State Contact Information:

ME
Maine Tracking Program

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