Start an Annual Well Water Checkup – Wellness Wire

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in tandem with the National Institutes of Health, issued this directive at the end of May, 2009, as a way of making well water safer for children. The new policy statement, “Drinking Water from Private Wells and Risks to Children,” offers recommendations for inspection, testing and remediation of wells providing drinking water for children, and will be published in the June issue of Pediatrics. Some water borne pathogens include nitrates most commonly from fertilizer run-off, which infants under three months old are unable to metabolize.  Giardia, the amoeba, is also water borne, as are many types of bacteria contamination, especially fecal coliform. Some parts of the U.S. may have arsenic, radon, salt intrusion or agricultural runoff that may get into the water supply.