Well Partners

Save the Date
Minnesota Private Well Forum - A Call for Action

Working together to overcome barriers private well users experience in Minnesota.

Monday, May 8, 2023
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Online, no cost

Registration coming soon!

Challenge

A safe, sufficient, and affordable supply of drinking water is essential to healthy communities and a healthy economy. Yet, about one in five Minnesotans (1.2 million people) have fewer safeguards in place to ensure safe drinking water because their water comes from a private well. Unlike their peers connected to public water, private well owners are responsible for voluntarily protecting and testing their well water and addressing water quality issues.

Your involvement is critical in reducing the inequitable burden private well users face!

Call for action

Whether you are connected to private well users through well construction, maintenance, and sealing; water testing and mitigation; education; or local programs and policy, your perspective is needed.

Minnesota Department of Health is hosting this Private Well Forum to:

• Share successful efforts empowering private well users to protect their health,
• Identify and break down barriers to well testing and treatment, and
• Build collaborative efforts with communities, organizations, and agencies to support private well users.

More details, including information about continuing education units and registration, will be available soon.

Please mark your calendar and share this notice with your network.

Contact frieda.vonqualen@state.mn.us with questions.

The information listed above is also available as PDF:
Save the Date: Minnesota Private Well Forum (PDF)

Private well users are in every county

About one in five Minnesotans (1.2 million people) get their drinking water from a private well. There are private well users in every county in Minnesota.

Figure 1: Each green dot is where there is a known drinking water well (2018).

Private well users have to take extra steps to protect their health

Unlike people who get their drinking water from a public water system, private well users are responsible for regularly testing their well water and treating it when necessary. They are responsible for making sure their water is safe for everyone in their household. Minnesota Department of Health testing recommendations are below.

The contaminants listed above are common in Minnesota well water and can lead to short- and long-term health effects. You cannot taste, smell, or see most of these contaminants, and water quality can change over time.

You can help private well users protect their health

Local partners play an important role in helping protect private well users’ health. You are a trusted source of information and have contact with people who get their drinking water from a private well. To help protect the health of private well users in your community, please take the following actions and check out the resources that may be of interest.

Actions All Partners can Take

• Promote regular well testing through:
  • Your webpage
  • Social media
  • Fairs and other community events
  • Postcards or letters
  • Ads: radio, newspaper, social media, or television
• Share Minnesota Department of Health educational materials. We have a lot of information available about how to test well water, how to maintain your well, contaminants in drinking water, and what to do if you have a contaminant in your drinking water.
  • Include the Water Quality/Well Testing webpage on your webpage and outreach materials.
  • Free brochures: Order Well Management Program Educational Materials.
• Provide Minnesota Department of Health contact information. Let private well users know they can contact us if they have questions about their well or water quality. They can contact us at health.wells@state.mn.us or 651-201-4600 or 800-383-9808.
• Contact us with questions about private wells, water testing, or ideas for outreach.
• Collaborate with local agencies and organizations to promote well testing. Ideas include medical providers, local government, WIC clinics, childcare providers, Soil and Water Conservations Districts, watershed districts, laboratories, environmental services, water treatment professionals, University Extension, libraries, and schools.

Actions and Resources for Specific Partners

In the next few months, we will have additional resources and more recommendations for:

• Accredited Laboratories
• Family Child Cares
• Licensed Well Contractors
• Local Public Health
• Medical Professionals
• Real Estate Professionals

Of Interest

• Safe Drinking Water For Your Baby
• Healthy Homes Minnesota - Well testing is part of a healthy home!

Questions

Well Management Section
651-201-4600 or 800-383-9808
health.wells@state.mn.us

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