The National Groundwater Association celebrates Groundwater Awareness Week from March 10-16. According to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), there are over 53,000 private wells in the state. With so many private wells providing water to Wyoming residents, it’s of the utmost importance that people get to know their well water.
Private well owners should be regularly inspecting them and doing maintenance, including testing the water. Harmful bacteria like E. Coli and Coliform can easily infiltrate your well system and has the potential to make drinkers sick. In addition to testing, well owners should also continue to be aware of potential threats to groundwater, like flooding or waste disposal, both on their property and nearby. If you have a private well, testing is encouraged twice a year, once in the late spring and once in late fall.
Cheyenne Laramie County Public Health (CLCPH) offers test kits to help well owners know their water is ok to consume. Well owners can come to the CLCPH office at 100 Central Avenue in Cheyenne and pick up a sterile test kit, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The sample is then tested by the Wyoming Public Health Lab. In addition to providing the test kit, the CLCPH Environmental Health Division can provide information on additional testing for chemical contaminants.
To learn more about well testing services from CLCPH, visit https://clcpublichealth.org/environmental-health-home/drinking-water/ or call our Environmental Health division at 307-633-4090, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
You can learn more about Groundwater Awareness Week at https://www.ngwa.org/get-involved/gwaw and more about Wyoming’s drinking water at https://deq.wyoming.gov/water-quality/water-wastewater