KANSAS
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & ENVIRONMENT
BILL GRAVES, GOVERNOR
Gary R. Mitchell, Secretary
For Immediate Release
Contact: Barry Brooks, 785-296-5600
Don Brown, 785-296-1529
Private Well Water Safety is a Priority After a Flood
Floodwaters can cause major damage to property and impact lives, and the effects often remain after the rains have stopped and the waters recede. Safe drinking water is always a concern for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). Public drinking water supplies are monitored, tested and treated both before and after floods, but flooding presents special health risks and requires extra attention for private wells.
"If your well has been flooded, you need to disinfect and test it to protect your family's health," said Gary R. Mitchell, Secretary of Health and Environment. " Floodwaters carry bacteria, viruses, and parasites, as well as chemicals. Diseases can be transmitted through private wells that have been contaminated by floodwaters."
If floodwaters covered the top of your well, you need to disinfect the well and household plumbing. If you have a shallow sandpoint or driven well and floodwaters approached it -- even if it was not inundated -- you should disinfect to make sure the water is safe to use. After disinfection, test the water supply to make sure you have completely eliminated disease-causing organisms.
Shock chlorination of a private well is relatively simple, but homeowners without a working knowledge of the procedure should contact their local health department or county extension agent for specific information or consider hiring a plumber or contractor.
In the time period between flooding and disinfecting the well, homeowners are advised to avoid drinking well water. If no other alternative is available, you can boil water at a rolling boil for 5 minutes as a temporary measure. Household treatment systems do not provide adequate protection against disease and should be disinfected. Water softeners and water heaters should also be disinfected.
It is important to have well water tested after disinfection. Testing the water will give homeowners assurance that the well is supplying safe drinking water.