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Threats to Water Quality
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Threats to drinking water can
be widely distributed above and below ground.
The closer the contamination is to the wellhead,
the more threatening the pollution is to the quality
of the wellhead's water. The most common threats
include disease causing bacteria (e.g.. Fecal
coliform and E. coli), high levels of metals (e.g..
mercury), and high levels of nutrients (e.g..
nitrogen and phosphorus). Non-point sources of
contamination are linked to discharges of untreated
sewage or locations of individual sewage disposal
systems (ISDS), especially
when the system is not maintained properly. Also,
runoff from farms, golf courses and fertilized
lawns is a non-point source of pollution to the
underlying groundwater.
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Click
map to enlarge. Also, some aspects of the larger
map are clickable for more detailed information
about that location.
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Turf
Farm near Epley Reserve
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The above map shows
the location of Exeter's community and non-community
wells. These are only a small percentage of the
actual private wells in Exeter because individual
wells are not mapped by RIGIS. However, it is still
important to observe the locations of some identified
point sources of water contamination; CRCLIS and
RPDES
sites, as well as Leaking Underground Storage Tanks.
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A CRCLIS site is one that has been
identified as a hazardous waste site through the legislation
commonly known as CERLCA, or Superfund. For more information
regarding this legislation, go here.
For more information about the RPDES program, go here.
There is a state program set up to
monitor the threats within the wells 'inner protective
radius' in order to advise the property owner of their
sources for well water contamination. To learn about
the program and its progress, visit the websites below.
Department
of Health's Source Water Assessment Program (SWAP) website
Department
of Environmental Management's report on SWAP progress
To learn about the potential threats
to a specific well in Exeter, go
here, and click on a specific well within
the enlarged image on this page.
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