Polluted runoff and E. coli in your drinking water is a big deal. Will Harrisburg finally agree?

Last week, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed HB 343, a bill that would provide important and long overdue standards for private water well construction that will protect human health and our valuable water resources.

More than 3 million rural and suburban Pennsylvania residents rely on 1 million private water wells for their drinking water supply, with approximately 20,000 new wells drilled annually. Only Michigan has a larger population relying on private water supplies. Despite this fact, Pennsylvania remains one of only two states lacking statewide regulations for private well construction.

Improperly constructed water wells can lead to poor water quality by providing pathways for bacteria and contaminants from septic systems and polluted surface runoff. In a recent study by The Center for Rural Pennsylvania, 40 percent of the 701 water wells sampled failed at least one health-based drinking water standard, and inadequate well construction was strongly correlated to the presence of coliform bacteria, which indicate the potential for disease-causing bacteria to occur, and E.coli bacteria, a more serious health risk.

The importance of sound well construction has been considered self-evident among groundwater experts as a way to prevent polluted surface water from entering and contaminating groundwater supplies. Even the state association of professional well drillers (Pennsylvania Groundwater Association) has supported well construction standards for years.

Believe it or not, previous legislative attempts to establish water well construction standards have been maligned and unsuccesful. In 2001, opponents mounted a misinformation campaign claiming the legislation would allow the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to install meters on wells and charge homeowners fees.

Let’s be clear as to what H.B. 343 does and doesn’t do. It does not allow the DEP or the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) to require a permit of any kind for construction or decommissioning of water wells nor does it allow the Commonwealth, any municipality, agency or authority to meter, charge, or tax private water wells.  It does establish statewide standards for water well construction that will protect public health and our groundwater resources.

PennFuture will be working hard to ensure its passage by the state Senate this fall.

Jen Quinn is central Pennsylvania outreach coordinator for PennFuture and is based in Harrisburg. She tweets @QuinnJen1.