Climate-Driven Flooding Poses Well Water Contamination Risks

After a record-setting Midwestern rainstorm that damaged thousands of homes and businesses, Stefanie Johnson’s farmhouse in Blandinsville, Illinois, didn’t have safe drinking water for nearly two months.

Flood water poured into her well, turning the water a muddy brown and forcing Johnson, her husband and their two young children to use store-bought supplies.

Even after sediment cleared, testing found bacteria -- including E. coli, which can cause diarrhea. The family boiled water for drinking and cooking. The YMCA was a refuge for showers.

‘I was pretty strict with the kids,’ said Johnson, who works with a private well protection program at the local health department. ‘I’d pour bottled water on their toothbrushes.’

Though estimates vary, roughly 53 million U.S. residents -- about 17% of the population -- rely on private wells, according to a study conducted in part by Environmental Protection Agency researchers.