The Case for Universal Screening of Private Well Water Quality in the US and Testing Requirements to Achieve It: Evidence from Arsenic

BACKGROUND: The 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) regulates >170,000 public water systems to protect health, but not >13 million private wells. State and local government requirements for private well water testing are rare and inconsistent; the responsibility to ensure water safety remains with individual households. Over the last two decades, geogenic arsenic has emerged as a significant public health concern clue to high prevalence in many rural American communities.