Educational Efficacy of Private Well-Testing Workshops and The Surveillance of Private Drinking Water Quality in Connecticut

Authors

Alec Janis, University of ConnecticutFollow
Michael Dietz, University of Connecticut - StorrsFollow
Meredith Metcalf, Eastern Connecticut State UniversityFollow

Author ORCID Identifier

0009-0000-2735-1570

Abstract

More than 820,000 Connecticut residents rely on groundwater from private wells, yet minimal regulations address well water quality. Extension programs across the United States have begun to provide private drinking water education and testing assistance to address this public health gap. Few studies have analyzed the efficacy of these programs.

We delivered four workshops across Connecticut, from November 2022 to November 2023, where participants were given an educational presentation on private drinking water and an opportunity to test their well-water quality at a subsidized cost. After participating in the workshops, participants believed they were more confident to begin annual testing, gained a better understanding of potential sources of contamination in their environments, and had a better understanding of how groundwater changes over time. Complacency, cost, and convenience were identified as major barriers to private well testing. Half of the wells tested (n=267) were found to have at least one contaminant over the EPA’s maximum contaminant level. Findings suggest that workshops improved residents’ short-term knowledge of private drinking water.

Recommended Citation

Janis, A., Dietz, M., & Metcalf, M. (2025). Educational Efficacy of Private Well-Testing Workshops and The Surveillance of Private Drinking Water Quality in Connecticut. Journal of Human Sciences and Extension, 13(1), 10. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55533/2325-5226.1567

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.