If your family gets drinking water from your ownwell, do you know if your water is safe to drink? What health risks could you and your family face? Where can you go for help or advice?
This pamphlet below helps answer these questions. It gives you general information about drinking water from home wells (also considered private drinking water sources). It describes types of activities in your area that can create threats to your water supply. It also describes problems to look for and offers maintenance suggestions. Sources for more information and help are also listed.
All of us need clean water to drink. We can go for weeks without food, but only days without water. Contaminated water can be a threat to anyone’s health, but especially to young children.
About 15 percent of Americans have their own sources of drinking water, such as wells, cisterns, and springs. Unlike public drinking water systems serving many people, they do not have experts regularly checking the water source and its quality before it is sent through pipes to the community.
Download the EPA.GOV PDF
