There are a few very few problems with Lubbock County's drinking water, voluntary well water screening results have shown.
A well water screening was conducted in April for private water well owners through the Lubbock County office of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service. Samples taken to the TAEX were screened via mobile laboratory techniques for two common contaminants, fecal coliform bacteria and nitrates.
The presence of fecal coliform bacteria can cause sickness. In contrast, high amounts of nitrates, which is the most concern for young children and young livestock, hampers the ability of the blood to transport oxygen.
In all, 29 well water samples were analyzed, including four suspect wells from a screening program in the spring of 2000. Samples came from each of the Lubbock County zip code areas outside Loop 289.
The maximum allowable level of nitrates in drinking water, as determined by the Environmental Protection Agency, is 10 parts per million.
Of the 25 new samples, only one that's 4 percent tested positive for the presence of fecal coliform bacteria, and none were greater than eight ppm nitrates. When the four problem wells from last year were included, one of the 29 samples (3.45 percent) tested positive for fecal coliform, while two of the samples had nitrates higher than eight ppm.
Last year, a total of 82 Lubbock County wells were tested. In the 2000 screening program, 4 percent of the wells tested positive for fecal coliform bacteria and 4 percent of the wells tested above nitrate levels considered safe.
''The results of this water well screening program indicated that the vast majority of private water wells in Lubbock County provide a safe source of drinking water,'' said Mark Brown, Lubbock County agent.
''However, the presence of problems in a few wells also indicates the need for well owners to occasionally have their drinking water checked for potential health risks such as nitrate or bacterial contamination.''
Wayne Board can be contacted at 766-8729 or firstname.lastname@example.org.
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