Special to IFN

RALEIGH — The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services has issued guidance to help keep your well safe after a flood.

Excessive rains and flooding can cause water in your private well to become contaminated, meaning the water can cause adverse health effects if it is consumed or comes into contact with the skin. After Hurricane Florence in 2018, nearly 45 percent of wells tested by the State Laboratory of Public Health were found to have bacterial contamination. More than 13 percent of these wells had detectable E. coli.

After a flood, the following steps can help ensure your well is safe for use:

♦ Do not turn on the electricity to your pump until flood waters recede.

♦ If extensive flooding has occurred, do not drink the water. Use water reserves and bottled water until your well water has been tested and deemed safe for use.

♦ Contact a driller if you think your well will need service immediately after the flood. You can find a list of certified well contractors at www.ncdhhs.gov/divisions/public-health/north-carolina-well-contractors-certification/find-certified-contractor.

♦ If you haven’t already, find a nearby water testing lab to obtain sample collection bottles and instructions for bacterial contamination. You cannot see, taste or smell bacterial contamination in your well. Often, your local health department can test your water. If there is not a health department near you, your county extension agent can help you find a lab.

♦ If you live near animal feeding operations, agricultural fields where pesticides are applied or industrial chemical factories, you should contact your local health department for additional testing, especially if you smell fuel or chemicals in your water.

If there is bacterial contamination, do not use contaminated water for drinking, cooking, making ice, bathing in any form or washing clothes or dishes. Use an alternative water source until bacteria is no longer detected in your water. Alternative sources include bottled water, a source you know isn’t contaminated or boiling your water for five minutes before use.

It is strongly recommended to call your local health department or licensed well driller to shock chlorinate the well if it has been flooded. A water well driller will have access to more effective products and will have equipment and experience that a typical well owner will not have.

LEARN MORE

For more information about well water and health, visit epi.dph.ncdhhs.gov/oee/programs/wellwater.html.