Private Wells

About 1 in 8 Americans get their drinking water from a private well.

About 1 in 8 American residents get their drinking water from a private well. And about 1 in 5 sampled private wells were found to be contaminated at levels that could affect health.

CDC helps health departments reduce harmful exposures from wells.

Explore these CDC private well resources for environmental health professionals.

Private Drinking Water and Public Health

Learn more about potential contaminants, their effects on health, and CDC’s role in this work.

Groundwater Corrosivity and Lead in Private Wells

Learn about corrosive groundwater and what to do when private well owners find lead in their drinking water.

Starting a Private Well Program

Learn how to start a drinking water program to protect people in your community whose water comes from private wells.

Private Wells After a Wildfire

Health departments: Learn about threats to well water after a wildfire and explore CDC’s rapid assessment form.

Success Stories for Private Well Projects

Read success stories from health departments working to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their safe drinking water programs.

Tools and Promotional Materials for Private Wells

Explore videos, case stories, and other tools developed by health departments and programs working with CDC’s Safe Water program to reduce exposures from private wells.

Safe Water Program Improvement e-Learning Series (SWPI)

Take CDC’s Safe Water Program Improvement e-Learning Series (SWPI) for safer well water through stronger public health programs.

Tribal Drinking Water Program Improvement

Learn about a project to build tribal capacity to ensure the safety of unregulated drinking water.

Improve the performance and quality of the services your drinking water program offers with these additional free resources.

More CDC and Partner Resources

CDC

Partners

Ground water and drinking waterexternal icon (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)
Water knowledgeexternal icon (American Water Works Association)
Wellowner.orgexternal icon (National Groundwater Association)

Page last reviewed: April 14, 2022

Content source: National Center for Environmental Health, Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice