Do You Know What's in your Well Water?

Public water supplies are tested daily for contaminants.  Private wells are tested when you do it, and you should do it every year. Prince William County Extension will be having a test your well water clinic next week.  Sign up now online BSE-VAHWQP-PW 2023 Prince William County Virginia Household Water Quality Program | Virginia Cooperative Extension (vt.edu)

Water samples will be tested for: iron, manganese, nitrate, lead, arsenic, fluoride, sulfate, pH, total dissolved solids, hardness, sodium, copper, total coliform bacteria and E. Coli bacteria. Sample kits will be $65  this year. Registration and pre-payment must be online by going to https://tinyurl.com/VCE-PW-VAHWQP before March 16th 2024. I had no trouble following the link and prepaying. Be aware they will send  a receipt and confirmation of registration from the VCEPrograms  and a payment receipt from the Bursar at VA Tech.

 The Prince William Drinking Water Clinic has 3 parts:

1. Attend a Kick-Off Meeting and Collect Testing Kit Materials, the online registration lets you select from 3 Kick-Off Options:

Option 1: In Person, Woodbridge: Board Chambers, McCoart Administration Building (1 County Complex Ct, Woodbridge, VA 22192):  Saturday, March 23rd 10:00am - 11:00am. 

Option 2: In Person, Manassas: Jean McCoy Conference Room (Sudley Government Center, 7987 Ashton Ave, Manassas, VA 20109): Tuesday, March 19th 6:00pm - 7:00pm.
Option 3: Online, through Zoom: Wednesday, March 20th 11:00am - 12:00pm. If you choose this option, you must also register for the Zoom meeting through this link: https://bit.ly/PWCVAHWQP
*Test kits for Option 3 (Zoom meeting) must be picked up at VCE-PW Office (8033 Ashton Ave., Suite 105, Manassas, VA 20109): March 21st - 22nd or March 25th - 26th, 9:00am - 4:00pm

2. The Sample Drop Off: Wednesday, March 27th from 6:00am - 10:00am ONLY at the VCE-PW Office, 8033 Ashton Ave., Suite 105, Manassas 20109.

3. Results Interpretation Meeting through (Zoom) on Tuesday, May 7th, 6:00pm - 7:00pm. There will be a live Zoom interpretation meeting co-hosted by VCE Household Water QualityCoordinator Erin Ling and VCE-PW staff to explain the report, include a discussion, and questions and answers. Zoom link and details will be emailed to all registrants.

The number of kits is limited. Pre-payment online is the only way to pay and guarantee you will get a kit. You must pay and register by March 16th 2024. No refunds will be available. Household water quality is driven by geology, well construction and condition, nearby sources of groundwater contamination, and any water treatment devices and the condition and materials of construction of the household plumbing. To ensure safe drinking water it is important to maintain your well, test it regularly and understand your system and geology. If you have water treatment equipment in your home you might want to get two test kits to test the water before and after the treatment equipment to make sure you have the right equipment for your water and that it is working properly. All participant information is kept strictly confidential

The chart below shows what was found in the  private wells tested test of testing  in Prince William County in 2023 (kindly ignore the error in my column titles).