The Virginia Master Well Owner Network and Household Water Quality Program Enhancing Outreach and Building Capacity with a Focus on Human Health

Today’s Presentation Program Overview: Virginia Household Water Quality Program (VAHWQP) Virginia Master Well Owner Network (VAMWON) Program impacts and lessons learned Future direction and opportunities 2

Private Water Supplies in Virginia 3 Majority of households in 60 of Virginia’s 95 counties rely on private water supply systems – about 1.7 million people (USGS, 2010) In 52 counties, the number of households using private wells is increasing faster than the number connecting to public systems (VA Dept of Env Quality, 2009) Homeowners relying on private water supplies:  Are responsible for all aspects of water system management  Often lack knowledge and resources to effectively manage  Usually don’t worry about maintenance until problems arise

What is the VAHWQP? 4 Established in 1989 County-based Drinking Water Clinics  Coordinated with trained local extension educators or volunteers  Kickoff Meeting – distribute sample kits  Homeowners collect sample; samples analyzed at VT BSE lab  Interpretation Meeting: test results, interpretation and basic information about maintenance and addressing problems  15,000 wells analyzed in 87 counties

Drinking water clinics 5  Manganese  Copper  pH  Total Dissolved Solids  Sulfate  Hardness  Testing for :  Total coliform (present/absent)  E. coli  Nitrate  Fluoride  Sodium  Arsenic  Lead  Quantification of bacteria

VAHWQP Drinking Water Clinics YEAR of LAST CLINIC No clinic held

VAHWQP Revitalization and Expansion  2003 budget cuts limited program activity  Mid-Atlantic Regional Water Quality Project  Funded by USDA-NIFA (CSREES) to promote regional coordination to address water quality issues.  Modeled on PA Master Well Owner Network (initiated 2004)  500 trained volunteers with >25,000 educational contacts  “Extension Education” grant awarded from USDA-NIFA (CSREES) National Water Program ( )  USDA-Rural Health and Safety Education Grant (2012)  Targeted clinics in three Virginia regions (Northern Neck, Southside, Southwest  Add analysis for lead, arsenic, and quantification of bacteria  Additional demographic and self-reported illness questions 7

VAHWQP Supporting Resources 8  Revision and creation of new Virginia Cooperative Extension water quality publications  Website:  Impact reporting  Evaluation reports  Brochures  Newsletter  Listserv

Virginia Master Well Owner Network (VAMWON) 9  Currently includes extension agents and volunteers VAMWON volunteer outreach: Fairs and home shows Speak to church or civic groups One-on-one conversations with neighbors and friends Write an article for local paper Help with drinking water clinic Training workshops across VA Groundwater hydrology Proper well location, construction and maintenance Land use impacts /wellhead protection Water testing and interpretation Solving water problems Education and outreach ideas Water conservation

VAMWON Volunteer Policy 10  Qualifications:  Attend VAMWON training and achieve 80% on post-test  Agree to a goal of making 100 educational contacts annually  Communicate effectively and diplomatically  Not work or own a business affiliated with private water systems  Option to recertify after two years  Guidelines:  Unpaid, volunteer work only  Provide general educational information  Do not give professional advice or make specific recommendations  Refer specific questions to qualified professional

VAMWON Responsibilities 11 VAMWON Agents ◦ Conduct county-based drinking water clinics ◦ Educate local private water system owners VAMWON Volunteers ◦ Assist VAMWON agents with drinking water clinics ◦ Outreach to church, service, and civic organizations ◦ Staff VAMWON booth at fairs, clinics, ag and home shows ◦ Maintain water system as a good practices demonstration site ◦ Contribute to VAHWQP newsletter and website ◦ Assist with evaluating program impacts

Trained VAMWON agent in county Lee Scott Wise Buchanan Dickenson Bland Tazewell Washington Russell Carroll Pulaski Giles Smyth Wythe Grayson Alleghany Craig Roanoke Franklin Patrick Henry Montgomery Botetourt Halifax Bedford Pittsylvania Campbell Mecklenburg Charlotte Amherst Buckingham Prince Edward Lunenburg Nottoway Brunswick Albemarle Nelson Augusta Highland Bath Rockbridge Arlington Fairfax Loudoun Clarke Frederick Page Shenandoah Rockingham Culpeper Greene Madison Orange Rappa hannock Fauquier Warren Amelia Powhatan Cumberland Fluvanna Louisa Spotsylvania Stafford Prince William Westmoreland King George Caroline Hanover Goochland Henrico Chesterfield Prince George New Kent King William King and Queen Essex Richmond James City Surry Sussex Greensville Dinwiddie Lancaster North- umberland York Gloucester Mathews Middlesex South Hampton Isle of Wight Accomack Northampton Appomattox Charles City Floyd Richmond Suffolk (city) Norfolk (city) Revised 6/11 Trained VAMWON agent after Sept 2012

Develop relationships through collaborative education and outreach Continuing VAMWON training opportunities Share innovative education delivery methods Agents conduct county-based drinking water clinics Agents better informed to address water quality concerns Strengthening VAHWQP through VAMWON Sustaining relationships: building capacity to improve water quality Community-based outreach Peer-to-peer education Virginia Master Well Owner Volunteers Virginia Master Well Owner VCE Agents 13 Private Water System Users

VAMWON and VAHWQP Impacts  45 VAMWON agents and 75 volunteers trained representing 57 counties and 4 cities in Virginia  5000 educational contacts and growing!  AND 18 VAMWON agency collaborators at Dept of Environmental Quality and Dept of Health  43 drinking water clinics in 47 counties since 2008 (2550 samples; est 5900 people using these supplies):  74% will test water annually or every few years  80% plan to share what they have learned with others  28% will seek additional testing following clinic  26% will work to determine source of pollution  23% will shock chlorinate water system  18% will pump out septic system 14

 Well drillers association  Water treatment experts  State and Federal agencies  Organizations working with underserved groups  Other sources of support Building Relationships and Capacity in Virginia 15

What IS in your water? Retrospective Analysis of Water Sample Data

Motivation  2010 report by the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) states that while the overall number of waterborne disease outbreaks has decreased since the advent of the Safe Drinking Water Act, there has been a relative increase in outbreaks associated with private systems.  Privately supplied systems – particularly those fed by groundwater – are of increased concern.  Information on private system water quality needed as few published datasets exist. 17 Number of outbreaks associated with drinking water by water system type and year: Craun, G. F., J. M. Brunkard, et al Causes of outbreaks associated with drinking water in the United States from 1971 to Clinical Microbiology Reviews 23(3): 507–528.

What system types do we reach? 18 System TypeNumber ( ) Well - Drilled Bored/Dug Unknown Total 6,966 1,512 1,092 9,570 Spring806 Cistern45 Unknown system type4,114 TOTAL14,535

Overview: What types of systems do we reach? 19 Types of treatment: acid neutralizer, carbon filter, chlorinator, iron filter, sediment filter, water softener, other

Contaminants of potential concern* 20 *Note: As compared to USEPA’s recommended standards for municipal systems.

Variation across regions  E. coli -positive samples most common in Ridge and Valley 21  High sodium most common in Coastal Plain and Appalachian Plateau

Do homeowners perceive potential health problems?  Short answer: NO. 22 Prompt “My water…”YESNO “has an objectionable odor.”8%69% “has an unpleasant taste.”12%68% “has an unnatural color.”13%68% “contains suspended particles.”16%65% “stains fixtures or laundry.”34%47% For E. coli-positive samples (n=1465)…

 Objectives  Reach underserved communities (subsidize analyses: $50  $5!)  Identify potential links between private water supplies and human health  Partner with Southeast Rural Community Assistance Program  Follow-up with 500 past participants to determine program impacts (behavior change) and potential barriers to action New effort: USDA Rural Health and Safety Education Grant 16  Add demographic and illness questions to homeowner survey  Targeted clinics in rural VA counties

Additional water quality targets (2012-now!)  Quantify coliforms and E. coli  Concentrations >2081 MN/100 mL (max detection limit)  Detection of optical brighteners (“source tracking”)  Eight samples positive (n=134)  Metals analyses (lead and arsenic)  10% (13 samples, n=134) greater than 15 ppb in the first flush sample  6 samples greater than 50 ppb  No detectable arsenic 24

Questions? 25