Briefing Invite: Quality and Safety of Private Drinking Water Wells

[Jennifer LaVista <jlavista@xxxxxxxx>]

Media Advisory

U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Geological Survey


For release:  March 24, 2009
Contact: Donna Myers, 703-648-5012,
dnmyers@xxxxxxxx
        Jennifer
LaVista, 703-648-4432, jlavista@xxxxxxxx

Quality and Safety of Private
Drinking Water Wells 

The quality and safety of some
private drinking water wells across the country is an issue of concern,
according to a U.S. Geological Survey study.  

About 43 million people—or 15
percent of the Nation’s population—rely on private wells for drinking
water. 

USGS scientists sampled 2,100 wells
in 48 states from 30 of the Nation's 62 major aquifers. As many as 219
properties and contaminants, such as pH, major ions, nutrients, radionuclides,
trace elements, pesticides, volatile organic compounds, and microbial contaminants
were measured. 

What: 

The media is invited to attend
a congressional briefing where the overall quality and safety of private
well water will be announced. Experts will describe how cooperating federal
agencies are using the information to answer important questions to address
public health issues, including research by the National Cancer Institute
on arsenic in drinking water and relations to bladder cancer. 

Who:

Leslie DeSimone, USGS Hydrologist
and lead scientist of the study 
Kevin McCray, Executive Director,
National Ground Water Association 
Kenneth Cantor, Senior Investigator,
National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute 
Matthew Larsen, USGS Associate
Director for Water

Where:

Cannon Caucus Room of the Cannon
House Office Building
Washington, D.C.

When:

Friday, March 27
9:30-11:30 a.m.

Sponsors:

Water Environment Federation 
USGS National Water Quality Assessment
Program

USGS provides science for a changing world.
For more information, visit www.usgs.gov.

Subscribe to USGS News Releases via our electronic
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Jennifer LaVista
Public Affairs Specialist
U.S. Geological Survey, Office of Communications
703-648-4432
Email: jlavista@xxxxxxxx
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