Roadside springs are a common source of drinking water in Pennsylvania but little is known about the quality of these water supplies. Penn State Water Resources Extension Educators Jim Clark and Diane Oleson presented a webinar on October 30, which included water quality results from a recent survey of 35 heavily used roadside springs across the state.

The objective of the survey was to determine the drinking water safety of these springs and to increase awareness about the use of roadside springs for drinking water supplies.

The 35 roadside springs included in the survey were mostly located within PennDOT road rights-of-ways in 19 counties. Water samples were collected by seven Penn State Water Resources Extension Educators between April and August of 2013.

Each sample was analyzed for 20 common inorganic and microbiological water quality parameters by the Agricultural Analytical Services Laboratory at Penn State University.

Overall, 97 percent of the roadside springs failed at least one drinking water standard.  The most common health-related pollutants were coliform bacteria (91 percent), E. coli bacteria (34 percent), and lead (3 percent).

Other common pollutants that could cause various tastes or other aesthetic issues included corrosive water (89 percent), low pH (40 percent), sediment (31 percent), iron (6 percent) and manganese (6 percent). Several pollutants were not found in any of the springs in excessive concentrations including aluminum, nitrate, arsenic, barium, copper and chloride. 

Clark and Oleson suggest that these results should provide caution for anyone currently collecting and drinking water from a roadside spring. They recommend that homeowners should consider having the roadside spring tested for safety by a state accredited water testing laboratory or utilize other sources of drinking water. 

The Penn State Water Resources Extension team hopes to utilize this small pilot study to seek additional funding to support more extensive testing of a larger number of roadside springs across the state.

Full results from the survey can be viewed on the 30-minute taped webinar and other supporting materials are available online.

(Written By: Bryan Swistock, Water Resources Specialist, Renewable Natural Resources, Penn State Extension, Department of Ecosystem Science and Management and reprinted from Watershed Winds newsletter.)

11/18/2013