If your private drinking water well has been impacted by wildfires or floodwater, your water supply may have been contaminated with pollutants from firefighting efforts or carried in the flood water. In addition, wells can be contaminated by surface water runoff even if the surrounding area is not burned or flooded. Do not use the water for cooking, drinking, or brushing teeth until laboratory analysis confirms it is safe. Fire and flooding events can also impact irrigation and livestock water well systems, respective equipment.
Approximately 85% of Nebraskans rely on groundwater for their drinking water. There are currently over 590 community water supply systems in Nebraska that serve over 1.64 million residents; this accounts for approximately 80% of Nebraska’s population. To protect public health, these public water systems have to test for over 90 different contaminants in accordance with the Nebraska Safe Drinking Water Act. In addition to consumption, groundwater is used in manufacturing and mining, power generation, irrigation, and heating and cooling of homes and businesses. Irrigation accounts for the largest use of groundwater in Nebraska and the U.S.
Throughout rural Nebraska, approximately 360,000 residents (about 20% of Nebraskans) rely on private groundwater wells as their drinking water source, but there are no mandatory testing requirements for private wells as there are for public water systems. That is why it is critical for private well and onsite wastewater system owners to maintain their well and onsite systems. Nebraska Extension recommends inspecting your systems in the spring and fall each year, use Nebraska Extension's Well & Septic Owner's Checklist to walk you through the process. Water quality is a major component of well and onsite system maintenance; annual testing of one's well water for nitrate, bacteria, and other known contaminants of concern in your area is of utmost importance in protecting the health of your family, animals, and environment.