PUBLIC HEALTH
Dear Well Owner:
Results from recent water quality testing in the Uncompahgre River showed arsenic levels above drinking
water standards (known to cause cancer with long-term consumption) as well as other toxic heavy metals.
Wells, if properly constructed, should not be affected by bodies of surface water (creeks, streams, lakes,
and rivers). However, due to elevated metals in the water of the Uncompahgre, it would be prudent to
check the quality of water from your well to ensure that your water is safe to drink.
Initial results from private wells tested in the Loghill area also show high levels of arsenic. To understand
the quality of your well water, we recommend you complete a well test, if you have not tested it in recent
years. FREE well water testing is being offered through the West Central Public Health Partnership.
The offer of free testing is valued at up to $600 and is only available through 2019. In the second page of
this document, please find a related letter sent previously from the Delta County Health Department. In
the third page is a form, which you can fill out if you would like to participate. If you have questions,
please call Ken Nordstrom at the number at the bottom of his letter.
If you need help completing the form and collecting the water sample, volunteers from the Uncompahgre
Watershed Partnership (UWP) are available to help. If you have questions, please contact the UWP:
uwpcoordinator@gmail.com or call 970-325-3010.
Thank you for your time and consideration of this well testing, which we highly recommend.
In health,
Ouray County Public Health Agency staff
302 Second St. · P.O. Box 670 · Ouray, Colorado 81427 · 970·325·4670 · Fax 970·325·7314
January 2017
Dear: Well Owner
Recently, the West Central Public Health Partnership received a 5 year grant from the Centers of Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide private well owners with a FREE well water test. The purpose of
the well-water testing program is to promote and protect the health and safety of private well water
users in the West Central Region of Colorado. The Delta County Health Department is coordinating this
project in cooperation with the public health departments in Gunnison, Hinsdale, Montrose, San Miguel
and Ouray counties. All private well owners in the 6 county Region 10 are urged to partner with their
local health departments for a FREE well water test.
This is how the project will work. Homeowners whose primary source of drinking water is a private well
and who volunteer for the free water testing sample are welcome to apply for a FREE well or spring
water test. A sampling kit with instructions for sampling will be sent to you to collect the water sample.
You will then send the sample to the National Testing Laboratories, LTD for water analysis. The sample
will be tested for the following parameters: bacteria (Total Coliform and E. Coli), 22 heavy metals and
minerals (including lead, arsenic, and mercury), 7 inorganic chemicals (including nitrates and chloride), 5
physical factors (including pH, alkalinity, and hardness), 47 volatile organic chemicals (including MTBE,
PCE, PCE) and 20 pesticides, herbicides and PCBs (including Dieldrin, Atrazine, Heptachlor).
For this project to succeed, we need your cooperation for sampling your well water (the kit will be
provided and mailing is free). You will be sent a copy of the sample results from your well. If concerns
are noted, information will be available to eliminate or minimize hazards associated with your water.
We’ll also need your permission to receive a copy of your test results and to be able to use the sample
results for analysis and publication. Personal identifiers and the exact location of the well samples will
be removed from any public report of the water sample results. Contact the Delta County Health
Department for more information: Phone - 970-874-2165, fax - 970-874-2175 or email -
knordstrom@deltacounty.com
Please complete, sign and return the following page if you are interested in participating. Upon receipt
of this participation agreement, the Delta County Health Department will send you a test kit with
instructions.
Kenneth Nordstrom, Environmental Health Director
Delta County Health Department
255 W. 6
th
Street
Delta, CO 81416
Phone: 970-874-2165
Fax: 970-874-2175
Email: knordstrom@deltacounty.com
Please complete as much information as you can.
This page must be completed and signed to receive your well sampling kit. Sign this form and
return this page by fax, email or U.S. Postal Service to:
Delta County Health Department
255 W. 6
th
Street, Delta, CO 81416
Phone: 970-874-2165 Fax: 970-874-2175
Email: knordstrom@deltacounty.com
Well owner’s name: _________________________________________ Phone No.__________________
Email address _________________________________________________________________________
Mailing/delivery address: _________________________ City: ____________ State: _______ Zip: ______
Well location address: __________________________________________________________________
Street City Zip County
The county 12 digit parcel I.D. number: ____________________________________________________
Well permit receipt number: _____________________ Well permit number: ______________________
Year the well was constructed: __________ Total depth: ________________ Depth to water: ________
What is your well used for: _______________________________________________________________
Is the water treated for use? (circle) Yes No
If yes, what kind of water treatment?______________________________________________________
YES, I will participate in the West Central Public Health Partnership private well water sampling
program. I hereby grant my consent to allow the results of my well water sample results to be
analyzed by the Delta County Environmental Health program staff and the sample results and
general location of my well to be published publicly in reports generated through this program.
Well owner’s signature: ____________________________________________Date: ________________
How did you hear about this program? Flier Postcard Newspaper Radio Friend
Other
click to sign
signature
click to edit