On Wednesday, September 27, the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources held a hearing on the private well legislation, An Act Promoting Drinking Water Quality for All (bill numbers S.482 and H.902). The Senate version of the bill is sponsored by Senator Jamie Eldridge. The House version of the bill is sponsored by Representative Dan Sena and Representative Smitty Pignatelli. This bill aims to provide protections to the over 500,000 Massachusetts residents who rely on private wlls for their drinking water. This bill would enable the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) to develop a set of health-based regulations which would provide statewide water quality standards for private drinking water wells. In addition, the bill would expand the existing MassHousing Septic Repair Loan Program (SRLP) to provide low-income homeowners with access to financial assistance to remediate contaminated private wells. Many residents who rely on private wells are consuming water that may be unsafe. Naturally occurring contaminants in well water can include substances such as arsenic, E. coli, radon, and uranium, which can lead to both short-term and long-term health impacts. Man-made PFAS contaminants have also posed a growing concern. From 2020 to 2022, RCAP Solutions conducted 502 water quality tests across several Massachusetts towns which had a high concentration of private wells. We discovered that approximately 32% of wells had levels of contaminants exceeding state health standards and/or suggesting potential health risks. View the recording of the hearing here (segment begins at 1:45:53). |