TY - JOUR
T1 - Seasonal variation of water quality in unregulated domestic wells
AU - Van Horne, Yoshira Ornelas
AU - Parks, Jennifer
AU - Tran, Thien
AU - Abrell, Leif
AU - Reynolds, Kelly A.
AU - Beamer, Paloma I.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding: This project was made possible by funding through the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s’ Environmental Justice small grants program #00T77601-0. Y.O.VH. was supported through training grant #T32 ES007091 and the University of Arizona UNESCO Chair Graduate Assistantship. Y.O.VH. and P.I.B were are also supported by NIEHS P30 ES006694 and through the Agnes Nelms Haury Program in Environmental and Social Justice at the University of Arizona.
Funding Information:
This project was made possible by funding through the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s’ Environmental Justice small grants program #00T77601-0. Y.O.VH. was supported through training grant #T32 ES007091 and the University of Arizona UNESCO Chair Graduate Assistantship. Y.O.VH. and P.I.B were are also supported by NIEHS P30 ES006694 and through the Agnes Nelms Haury Program in Environmental and Social Justice at the University of Arizona.
Funding Information:
This study was a partnership between the non-profit organization Friends of the Santa Cruz River (FOSCR) and the University of Arizona. Together funding was secured from the U.S. EPA’s Environmental Justice Small Grants Program. This study was reviewed and approved by the University of Arizona Institutional Review Board (protocol number 1200000059). Eligible participants were required to be connected to a private-domestic well within one mile (1.6 km) of either the Nogales Wash or the Santa Cruz River, reside in Santa Cruz County, AZ, and use this water source as their primary drinking water supply. This is a convenience sample and well owners were recruited for participation in the study via a mail invitation or a phone call. Contact information for owners with a private well within one mile (1.6 km) of the river or the wash was obtained from the Arizona Department of Water Resources, the Friends of the Santa Cruz River, and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality well registries. Participants who agreed to participate provided written informed consent.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2019/5/1
Y1 - 2019/5/1
N2 - In the United States (U.S.), up to 14% of the population depend on private wells as their primary drinking water source. The U.S. government does not regulate contaminants in private wells. The goals of this study were to investigate the quality of drinking water from unregulated private wells within one mile (1.6 kilometers) of an effluent-dominated river in the arid Southwest, determine differences in contaminant levels between wet and dry seasons, and identify contributions from human sources by specifically measuring man-made organic contaminants (perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfate (PFOS), and sucralose). Samples were collected during two dry seasons and two wet seasons over the course of two years and analyzed for microbial (Escherichia coli), inorganic (arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, nitrate), and synthetic organic (PFOA, PFOS, and sucralose) contaminants. Arsenic, nitrate, and Escherichia coli concentrations exceeded their respective regulatory levels of 0.01 mg/L, 10 mg/L, and 1 colony forming unit (CFU)/100 mL, respectively. The measured concentrations of PFOA and PFOS exceeded the respective Public Health Advisory level. Arsenic, PFOA, PFOS, and sucralose were significantly higher during the dry seasons, whereas E. coli was higher during the wet seasons. While some contaminants were correlated (e.g., As and Hg ρ = 0.87; PFOA and PFOS ρ = 0.45), the lack of correlation between different contaminant types indicates that they may arise from different sources. Multi-faceted interventions are needed to reduce exposure to drinking water above health-based guidelines.
AB - In the United States (U.S.), up to 14% of the population depend on private wells as their primary drinking water source. The U.S. government does not regulate contaminants in private wells. The goals of this study were to investigate the quality of drinking water from unregulated private wells within one mile (1.6 kilometers) of an effluent-dominated river in the arid Southwest, determine differences in contaminant levels between wet and dry seasons, and identify contributions from human sources by specifically measuring man-made organic contaminants (perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfate (PFOS), and sucralose). Samples were collected during two dry seasons and two wet seasons over the course of two years and analyzed for microbial (Escherichia coli), inorganic (arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, nitrate), and synthetic organic (PFOA, PFOS, and sucralose) contaminants. Arsenic, nitrate, and Escherichia coli concentrations exceeded their respective regulatory levels of 0.01 mg/L, 10 mg/L, and 1 colony forming unit (CFU)/100 mL, respectively. The measured concentrations of PFOA and PFOS exceeded the respective Public Health Advisory level. Arsenic, PFOA, PFOS, and sucralose were significantly higher during the dry seasons, whereas E. coli was higher during the wet seasons. While some contaminants were correlated (e.g., As and Hg ρ = 0.87; PFOA and PFOS ρ = 0.45), the lack of correlation between different contaminant types indicates that they may arise from different sources. Multi-faceted interventions are needed to reduce exposure to drinking water above health-based guidelines.
KW - Arsenic
KW - Escherichia coli
KW - PFOA
KW - PFOS
KW - Private well water
KW - Sucralose
KW - Water quality
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85065657244&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85065657244&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph16091569
DO - 10.3390/ijerph16091569
M3 - Article
C2 - 31060292
AN - SCOPUS:85065657244
SN - 1661-7827
VL - 16
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
IS - 9
M1 - 1569
ER -