Arizona Domestic Well Owner's Toolkit: A User-Friendly Guide to Caring for Your Well and Improving Water Quality
It is estimated that 13% of the US population gets their domestic water from self-supplied sources (Dieter, 2017). In Arizona, it is estimated that 330,000 residents get their domestic water from a self-supplied water source. This is primarily from thousands of domestic wells across the state that are registered with the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR). For the domestic well owner, knowledge of the vulnerability of their well, the importance of water quality monitoring, and appropriate well maintenance is necessary to assure drinking water availability and sustainable supply into the future.
As a private well owner, you are responsible for the upkeep of your well and the quality of water it produces. While a loan provider or real estate company may require a water quality test, there are no federal or state laws within Arizona that require a well owner to have their well tested. This means that while public water systems must meet certain water quality standards in order to provide safe, potable drinking water for their customers, well owners are solely responsible for testing their water, in order to protect the health of anyone who drinks it.
Covered in the toolkit
- Aquifers
- Well installation and permitting
- Well operation and maintenance
- What is groundwater?
- State and federal law and regulation
- Testing well water quality
- Water treatment options
- Protecting your well water quality
- Looking towards the future