MDH encourages private well owners to avoid drinking water contamination amidst flooding

MINNEAPOLIS — As waters keep rising across Minnesota, so do the safety risks. But there's another flooding concern that state leaders are sounding the alarm on: healthy drinking water.

Minnesota Department of Health is urging well users to do their part to prevent well contamination. Floodwater can carry all sorts of hazardous material, from raw sewage to oils and pesticides. If that debris gets inside a well – it's unusable.

If a well is submerged, it's contaminated. If water is within 50 feet of a well, there's a chance it could be contaminated as well. MDH urges those in flood risk zones to stock up on a water supply to prepare.

"If you still can't tell if flood water has impacted your private well but if you noticed a change in your water aesthetically, I definitely wouldn't drink it and get it tested," Minnesota Department of Health hydrologist Kara Dennis said. 

Dennis said her team has received quite a number of calls from concerned private well users within the last few days. All in all, their message is that it's better to be safe than sorry.  

"If you look around your well casing and if it looks the soil around your well is kind of water logged or the ground around it is kind of water logged that could be a signal that some water go into your well," Dennis said. "Especially If you have an older well."

About 20% of the state uses well water, but a contaminated well can impact ground water too—which is what majority of the state uses and drinks.

"Do your best to protect your water supply and we want to make sure all Minnesotans have reliable drinking water," Dennis said.

To do that, MDH suggests turning off power to the well to prevent an electrical shock and wrapping a well head in some sort of plastic sheeting or electric tape to stop flood debris from coming in. Dennis adds that if there's a chance of contamination, well users need to disinfect and test the well for harmful chemicals after the water goes back down.

"It's better safe than sorry," Dennis said.

If your well gets completely flooded, there's a good chance you'll need a licensed well and boring contractor to come in to do cleaning and testing. If it's on the border, you can get a disinfectant kit and do it yourself.