By Stephanie Hasanali, Department of Health

If you have a private well, the state Department of Health invites you to participate in a focus group this spring.

The Division of Environmental Health Epidemiology within the Department of Health is hosting a virtual focus group on March 30 from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. to learn more about private well water use in Pennsylvania.

If you own a private well and have access to a computer and/or phone, you can participate!

DEHE staff will be asking open-ended questions on how private well owners use their water, their safety-related concerns, treatment methods, and resources they use often.

The focus group is part of a larger Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded program to ensure safe water for private well owners (Grant #1NUE1EH001414-01-00).

DEHE is partnering with Penn State Extension to expand safe water programming in Pennsylvania through webinars and free water testing for private well owners.

Please send an email to dehe@pa.gov indicating your interest in participating. A separate link to join the focus group will be provided. The maximum number of participants is 12.

Water Well Webinars

Penn State Extension and the Department of Health are collaborating on a series of county webinars on testing and protecting private water wells and springs.

The webinars will be held from Noon to 1:00 p.m.--

-- February 22: Clearfield County

-- March 15: Dauphin County

-- March 16: Monroe County

-- March 29: Beaver County

-- April 12: Westmoreland County

-- April 19-- Tioga County

-- May 17: Berks County

-- May 17: Venango County

-- May 19-- Bradford County

-- June 14: Washington County

-- July 12: Potter County

-- July 13-- Bedford County

-- July 19: Erie County

More information on this outreach effort and where local webinars are being held is available at the Private Water Supply Events website.

To learn more about private drinking water wells, visit Penn State Extension’s Master Well Owner Network webpage.

(Reprinted from Feb. 19 Watershed Winds newsletter from Penn State Extension.  Click Here to sign up for your own copy.)

Related Article - Buffers:

-- Call For Presentations, Award Nominations, Registration: 2021 Virtual Riparian Forest Buffer Summit March 10-11

Related Articles:

-- Registration Now Open For 2021 Virtual PA Groundwater Symposium May 6

-- 3-Part Webinar Series On Mapping Stormwater BMPs In Montgomery County Set For Feb. 24, March 2, 11

-- Penn State Extension: Making Riparian Buffers Work For You Webinar March 19

-- Allegheny County Master Watershed Stewards Prep For 3-Year Stream Assessment Project

-- University Of Pittsburgh Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Featured Exploring The Nature Of Water In Western PA Program By Master Watershed Stewards

-- New Watershed-Friendly Property Certification Now Available From Penn State Extension

[Posted: February 19, 2021]

2/22/2021