title: Meeting the public health challenge of protecting private wells: Proceedings and recommendations from an expert panel workshop.
abstract: Private wells serving fewer than 25 people are federally unregulated, and their users may be exposed to naturally occurring agents of concern such as arsenic and radionuclides, as well as anthropogenic contaminants. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Clean Water for Health Program works to protect private wells and prevent adverse health outcomes for the roughly 15% of Americans who rely on them. To understand current and emerging challenges to the private drinking water supply, an interdisciplinary expert panel workshop on "Future and Emerging Issues for Private Wells" was organized to inform strategic planning for the Clean Water for Health Program. The panel assessed current conditions of ground water as a source for private wells, identified emerging threats, critical gaps in knowledge, and public health needs, and recommended strategies to guide future activities to ensure the safety of private drinking water wells. These strategies addressed topics of broad interest to the environmental public health community including: development of new methods to support citizen science; addressing contaminant mixtures; expanding capacity for well testing; evaluating treatment technologies; building an evidence base on best practices on well owner outreach and stewardship; and research and data needs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy and Management, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 624 North Broadway, Room 407, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Risk Sciences and Public Policy Institute, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 624 North Broadway, Room 429, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. Electronic address: mfox9@jhu.edu.
authors.forename: Mary A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Fox
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy and Management, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 624 North Broadway, Room 407, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Risk Sciences and Public Policy Institute, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 624 North Broadway, Room 429, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Center for a Livable Future, Johns Hopkins University, 615 North Wolfe Street, Room W7010, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
authors.forename: Keeve E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Nachman
authors.affiliation: Risk Sciences and Public Policy Institute, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 624 North Broadway, Room 429, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 725 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
authors.forename: Breeana
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy and Management, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 624 North Broadway, Room 407, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Risk Sciences and Public Policy Institute, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 624 North Broadway, Room 429, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; University of California at San Francisco, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, Mailstop 0132, 550 16th Street, 7th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
authors.forename: Juleen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy and Management, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 624 North Broadway, Room 407, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Office of Public Health Practice and Training, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
authors.forename: Beth
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Resnick
mesh_terms: D058735:Environmental Policy; D060587:Groundwater / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014876:Water Pollution / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014881:Water Supply / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D060986:Water Wells
keywords: Disease prevention; Emerging contaminants; Human health; Private wells; Unregulated drinking water