Few Wells Tested for Contamination After Major Flooding From Hurricanes

"The storms created a toxic soup that may have overwhelmed nearly 650,000 wells in the Southeast."

"Hundreds of thousands of homes in the Southeast may have had their wells inundated by record-level floodwater resulting from major hurricanes this year, yet only a fraction have been tested for harmful contaminants.

That’s because North and South Carolina, Florida and Georgia — like most other states — don’t require routine testing of private wells. Lawmakers have long been hesitant to put requirements on wells on private property.

Hurricanes Florence and Michael alone dumped more than 30 inches of rain on some areas stretching from Florida to North Carolina, creating a toxic soup that may have overwhelmed nearly 650,000 wells, according to estimates from the National Groundwater Association, an alliance of groundwater experts based in Westerville, Ohio."

Rebecca Beitsch reports for Stateline December 14, 2018.

Source: Stateline, 12/20/2018