March 22 is World Water Day, and this year’s theme—Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible—has me thinking of home… that is, Pennsylvania.
Here in Pennsylvania, we enjoy an abundance of water resources not available in many parts of the world. We most often think of water insecurity as a problem in other areas that don’t have enough water—that is, dry regions of the globe where water scarcity can be very serious. However, water insecurity can also be caused by the impacts of flooding or occur when available water is too dirty or contaminated to use safely for drinking, hygiene, or other basic needs. Poor water quality can be caused by the natural environment (such as geologic conditions) and many human activities such as industry, residential and commercial development, agriculture, mining, and oil and gas development. Regardless of the cause, the impacts of water insecurity can be significant, ranging in scale from individuals and households to regional, national, and even international.
Work by the Pacific Institute, which maintains an historical and global water and conflict database, suggests that the risk of water-related violence and conflict is growing. And while water insecurity can result in international tension or actual conflict, more immediately it manifests locally and regionally as it takes a toll on the physical and mental health of people. This worsened public health also can lead to reduced economic productivity, distrust in both water sources and governments responsible for protecting those waters, and overall diminished community health and well-being.
In this context, water-rich Pennsylvania also has a problem of water insecurity, stemming from degraded or uncertain quality of our “invisible” groundwater. Groundwater is critical to Pennsylvania, as a source for public and private water supply, as well as for the role it plays in supporting industry, mining, agriculture, and a healthy environment necessary for recreation and tourism. As a source of private water supply—accessed by individual private wells—groundwater meets the daily needs of more than 3 million Pennsylvanians who live in mostly rural areas. This is nearly 25% of our 12.8 million people. A series of studies over decades has revealed widespread water quality concerns with private water supplies across the commonwealth with more than 40% of private wells failing federal drinking water and health standards.
Moreover, Pennsylvania ranks at the bottom nationally based on statewide policies and programs that help protect the health of private well owners and their families, as well as the quality of groundwater for current and future generations. For example, Pennsylvania is one of the only states in the nation with no statewide standards on residential well drilling, yet proper design and construction of wells are basic requirements for protecting those who rely on groundwater to meet their daily water supply needs. Wells of any kind that are poorly constructed also can act as conduits for contamination to move from the land surface into underlying groundwater systems.
This points to a number of needs and opportunities.
For example, and perhaps most obvious, ongoing efforts must continue to reduce pollution from a spectrum of sources that threaten our water supplies, supported by both public and private investments. In addition to helping restore and maintain important groundwater drinking reserves, these investments will pay additional dividends by improving the quality of our surface water—including the 28,000 miles of degraded Pennsylvania rivers and streams—and increasing the benefits that healthy rivers provide to Pennsylvanians and our downstream neighbors.
Successful programs to support private well owners also should be enhanced, across education, technical assistance, and financial support such as needs-based assistance for testing the quality of private well water. Informed by in-state research as well as experience and models from across the nation, statewide standards for residential well design and construction should be developed and implemented to protect both the health of private well owners and the long-term quality of our important groundwater systems.
Further, monitoring and research are essential for guiding solutions to water insecurity. These activities improve our understanding of the locations and types of groundwater quality problems, allow us to better characterize the links between degraded water quality and physical and mental health impacts, and identify unique characteristics of and disparities across communities dealing with water insecurity.
Finally, it is critical that we develop and advance innovations in governance tools such as policies, programs, and supporting finance mechanisms.
These actions taken today will make our invisible groundwater more visible tomorrow and better protect the health and well-being of the millions of Pennsylvanians who rely on groundwater for their daily water needs.
Attend the Pennsylvania Groundwater Symposium on May 5, 2022.
