Home > Campaigns > Safe Water > Close the Loophole on Household Wells
The Safe Drinking Water Act does not protect more than 44 million Americans who rely on household wells.
We’re working to close the loophole in the Safe Drinking Water Act
That loophole excludes the more than 44 million Americans who rely on household wells. Well water serving more than 10 million Americans is likely unsafe to drink due to elevated levels of toxic chemicals that can contaminate groundwater.
Of particular concern is arsenic, which is linked to lower IQ in children and bladder cancer; and PFAS, which is linked to testicular cancer, compromised immune systems, and thyroid disease.
Low-income families are more likely to rely on well water for drinking, cooking, and bathing, and studies show they suffer from disproportionately higher exposures to harmful chemicals that can be found in drinking water.
Well water serving more than 10 million Americans is likely unsafe to drink.
Environmental injustice
Unsafe well water is an environmental injustice, with the heaviest financial and health burdens falling on rural Americans including low-wealth families, indigenous people, farmworker communities, and people of color excluded from connections to public water supplies.
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