INORGANIC ARSENIC AND OTHER PARAMETERS TESTED IN WELL WATER OF WEST GEORGIA

Bacteria and arsenic can occur in domestic drinking water supplies. A study in Georgia of 4,669 wells sampled from 2002 to 2008 found that 6% had detections for Escherichia coli. Arsenic was not discussed in the report. Arsenic is the 53^rd most abundant element in the earth’s crust at 1.8 ppm. Inorganic arsenic can occur naturally in groundwater at high levels. The Environmental Protection Agency standard is 10 ppb allowed in drinking water. Arsenic can cause non-cancerous problems with the digestive tract, the integumentary system, the circulatory system, and the nervous system. It has also been linked to cancers of the urinary system, and can lead to death. In fact millions of people worldwide are in danger of arsenic poisoning. An USGS study of 1,389 domestic wells in the United States found that 7% contained arsenic levels above 10 ppb. This research in west Georgia is being conducted after a study in New Hampshire has shown that 19% of the wells tested have arsenic concentrations above 10 ppb. Georgia’s Piedmont shares a similar sulfide rich bedrock zone with much of the Appalachian Range. A sulfide-rich mineral belt in Georgia is the Villa Rica - Dahlonega Gold Belt, it contains pyrite (FeS₂). Arsenopyrite (FeAsS) could be a source of arsenic in groundwater in west Georgia.

As part of undergraduate research in groundwater environmental geochemistry at University of West Georgia wells were sampled and tested for arsenic, Escherichia coli, and fecal coliform bacteria in Carroll County, Georgia. Out of the 64 private wells tested, and the 15 campus research wells none of them had detectable amounts of Escherichia coli. Three wells were found to have fecal coliform bacteria. The campus research wells are shallow wells in the floodplain of the Little Tallapoosa River. They had detectible arsenic. Over 50 domestic wells in Georgia were sampled and tested for arsenic levels using a non-compliant EPA method. Using a portable test strip they were screened for arsenic. The color test strip has 0 ppb, 10 ppb, 30 ppb, 50 ppb, 100 ppb, 300 ppb, and 500 ppb reading levels. All samples over 10 ppb will be resampled and retested and will be sent to an outside lab for testing by an EPA approved method. This research will be continued to determine the severity of arsenic leaching into domestic well water in Georgia, and the need to have this water monitored.