Fayetteville, North Carolina: People drinking well water vulnerable to contaminants

February 28, 2008 - When a customer of a public water system turns on his tap, he knows he is getting water that has been tested for contaminants.

But people whose homes are supplied by wells often don’t know what’s in the water they are drinking. Private wells, in most cases, are not tested or monitored by state or local officials.

The cause for most of the state’s groundwater contamination is leaking underground storage tanks, hundreds of which are ignored in violation of federal regulatory standards.

State officials know of more than 30,600 underground storage tanks. About 1,200 new leaks are reported every year. But it takes about 15 inspectors between four and five years to visit every site in the state. Nine more inspectors would be needed to meet a federally recommended two-year inspection cycle to catch more leaks and hasten the cleanup .

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