Arsenic and Old Wells: Potential Causes and Risks for Private Well Owners

Schnoebelen, Doug

Arsenic and Old Wells: Potential Causes and Risks for Private Well Owners

Presented on Monday, March 16, 2015

Doug Schnoebelen, Ph.D.¹ and Sophia Walsh², (1)IIHR Hydroscience & Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, (2)Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health, Mason City, IA

Arsenic in groundwater is a known problem in Iowa and health risks associated with consuming arsenic laden drinking water are numerous. A three-year study ending in 2008 found that in 47% of the wells tested throughout Iowa, arsenic was present. The next step was to find out why the arsenic is present in the groundwater. This project was designed to reveal how arsenic can be avoided when new wells are drilled and how to assess if operating wells are at risk for arsenic levels above the Safe Drinking Water Act Maximum Contaminant Level of 10 parts per billion for public water supplies. This presentation will examine the initial results of the ongoing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funded study in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa that has focused on what indicators are found in arsenic contaminated private wells. Testing is being done on approximately 50 wells for 29 parameters including pH, temperature, and flow rate as well as total arsenic, arsenic speciation, alkalinity, and hardness. Wells and well depths have been mapped in order to allow comparison between wells in different aquifers. Well professionals, geologists, government officials, and public health professionals will be interested in the findings of this study.

MP3 Presentation Slides

Doug Schnoebelen, Ph.D.

IIHR Hydroscience & Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA

Doug Schnoebelen serves as the director of the Lucille A. Carver Mississippi Riverside Environmental Research Station (LACMRERS) at IIHR—Hydroscience and Engineering, at the University of Iowa since 2008. Previously, he worked as a research hydrologist for the U.S. Geological Survey for nearly 18 years, specializing in water quality. In addition, he serves as an adjunct professor for both the Department of Geosciences and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Iowa. Recent research includes hydrodynamic and geochemical modeling for rivers and groundwater systems

Sophia Walsh

Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health, Mason City, IA

Sophia Walsh is an Environmental Health Specialist at the Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health and has been with the department since 2010. She is the Project Coordinator for the Arsenic in Groundwater Grant funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She has served on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Arsenic Small Systems Work Group and on Iowa Department of Public Health’s Rule Writing Committee for the Grants to Counties Well Testing Program. Walsh graduated from the College of Saint Benedict|Saint John’s University with a degree in Environmental Studies.

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