NON-DRINKING WATER WELLS

If you have a well that is no longer being used, you should consider closing it to avoid any contamination of ground water. Well closing recommendations include:

• Remove pump, piping, and any other obstructions from the well.
• Close the entire length of unused wells with approved materials such as a slurry of neat cement or bentonite clay.

• The well should be chlorinated before it is sealed. The entire length of the well should then be sealed to prevent surface water from entering the ground water and to prevent contamination movement from one aquifer to another.

• Protect your wellhead! Fence your well out  of your pasture or holding area.

    PESTICIDES

When handling and storing pesticides on your farmstead or acreage, you should always have a strategy to prevent contamination of water resources. Accidental pesticide spills around wells can, and do, lead to contamination of groundwater, which can affect you and your neighbor’s wells. Contaminated surface runoff creates a threat to streams and lakes and pesticide contamination can make the sale or transfer of land difficult. Managing your pesticides to reduce risk of water contamination does not require a major investment of money or time. It does, however, require responsibility and the will to take action. Taking precautions with your pesticides is considered the best action to reduce risk of water contamination. Also see our Managing Pesticides page for more information.

Fuel spills and leaks pose a serious threat to human health and environmental quality. One gallon of gasoline can contaminate up to 1 million gallons of water. Clean up of fuel-contaminated soil and water can be extremely difficult and expensive. It is best to take precautions to ensure that spills or leaks do not occur.

MANAGING ANIMALS

Animal waste that is introduced directly into a stream or pond or runs off the land in stormwater or irrigation can pollute the water with nutrients, sediments, and disease causing organisms. In addition, animals can damage streams and other water ways directly by trampling stream banks or overgrazing the stream banks. This can lead to increased erosion, flooding problems, loss of pasture land, and increased pollution. Activities on your land can threaten the quality of your well water and waterbodies, but also may threaten downstream waters and neighboring wells.

For information on reducing pollution from animal manure and other impacts of domestic animals visit USU Extension Ag Waste Management.

Proper storage, handling, and application of fertilizers on farmsteads or acreages are essential to protect water sources from chemical contamination. Excessive application rates, spills in storage areas, and seemingly insignificant spills during mixing and loading can lead to fertilizer movement into surface or ground waters. If contamination reaches drinking water sources, nitrates in the fertilizer can pose serious health risks--especially for infants and young livestock. In addition to health concerns, laws governing nutrients in surface water are being more strictly enforced than in the past, in part because fertilizer runoff into surface water can cause excess algae growth and result in fish kills. Also see our Managing Fertilizer page for more information.

MANAGING SEPTIC SYSTEMS

Many homeowners in Utah treat household wastewater with a septic tank system.  Proper management of these systems can protect your family from possible health impacts, reduce the need for expensive repairs, and protect water resources.

Learn more here or download the Septic Systems: Out of sight and out of mind...until you smell them!