LUMBERTON — Area residents who are concerned their private wells may have been contaminated by Hurricane Florence are being offered the chance to have their drinking water tested for free.

Any resident with a private well in a flood-affected county is eligible to participate in the testing program being conducted by The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Virginia Tech, in cooperation with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. The tests will be used to determine if the water contains metals or coliform bacteria as the result of the storm that struck Robeson County on Sept. 14 and lingered two more days. All test results will remain confidential.

The testing is not a response to reports of contamination, said Kelsey Pieper, a research scientist at Virginia Tech.

“We are just doing this because we just want to help out,” Pieper said.

The team members involved with the testing want to learn how they can be better prepared and better equipped for future events, such as a hurricane, she said. Part of that learning process is to ask testing participants to take part in a short, confidential survey. They will be asked about their water concerns and what they would like to see related to ensuring access to safe drinking water.

“We want to be better prepared for the future,” Pieper said.

Area residents who want to participate in the testing can pick up a kit at the Extension Service’s Robeson County Center, located at 455 Caton Road in Lumberton, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Detailed sampling instructions will be provided. Kits must be returned the next day.

Confidential water quality results will be emailed and mailed to residents’ homes. Study results will help develop a better understanding of the effect of floods on private well water quality and improve communication strategies during disasters.

Participants do not have to live in the counties where pickup/drop-off locations are available. There are a limited number of kits, so they will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information about participating, contact Andrew George, with UNC Chapel Hill, at [email protected] or 919-966-7839, or Kelsey Pieper with Virginia Tech at [email protected] or 518-928-0177.

The North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service is working with two universities to provide free testing of home wells to see if they were contaminated during Hurricane Florence. The storm dumped 2 feet of rain on Robeson County in September.
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/web1_florecen-home_ne20181017185933795.jpgThe North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service is working with two universities to provide free testing of home wells to see if they were contaminated during Hurricane Florence. The storm dumped 2 feet of rain on Robeson County in September.

Staff report