If living in a community that is serviced by Community Wells/Water Company, they are required by State Law to do peroidic testing. The testing done is usually more extensive than is done on a private well when you are purchasing a home. One of the newest Chemical Elements they are testing for is Uranium. The EPA maximum allowable Uranium in water is 30ug/L. If you own a home with a private well you most likely had the well tested when you first bought the home to make sure the water is potable. Most owners don’t ever give it a second thought after that. Even when you do get a water test done it usually does not include a test for Uranium since it was not known to be a concern in the past. This is somewhat the same story with Radon, and most of the buyers in the Northeast now have the test done for Radon because of public awareness but again don’t re-test in the future.
What amazes me is how these two chemical elements can cause hysteria to many buyers buying a home. As many might know both Radon and Uranium are naturally formed in the eco system and have been around forever. Only since science/medical fields determined that they can be a health hazard have they set limits and recommend testing. I’m sure your parents, grandparents and great grandparents have ingested these chemical elements and didn’t even know it. There are also ways of remediating these problems so you won’t have to worry about them.
Since Community Well Systems are closely monitored by the State any issue that is found must be told to the home owners using these wells. Once the Home Owner is made aware of a problem, and they are looking to sell their home in Connecticut, the seller is required by the Uniform Property Disclosure Act (Connecticut General Stautes Section 20-327b) to disclose the knowledge of these problems. One of the questions is “Do you have knowledge of Drinking Water Problems (Quality or Quantity)”. Of course if a unacceptable level of Uranium or Radon is found in the water it must be disclosed as well as any other impurities.
I have a listing for sale in the Brookfield Connecticut’s Greenridge Tax District. This Community Well system was found to have a Uranium Level of 40ug/L, 10ug/L above the limit. The Water Company who is running these wells for the Community are required to rectify the problem to meet State Standards. If they don’t they will be fined. The latest update is that they have an accepted course of action to correct the problem and it shall be completed by September 2010.
Some potential Buyers have shunned away from this house because of this. Do they really think that the Greenridge Tax District is the only one with this problem? I am sure there are local homes as well as many other homes throughout the Northeast that have exceeded the limits but the private wells are not being tested for Uranium. In my opinion this house would be on the top of my list. The Water System is periodically monitored to a higher standard. When a problem arises I will be notified and can take the proper precautions. The problem will need to be resolved based on State Requirements. And the cost, if any, will be shared by the community. These are tremendous advantages over a Private Well which rarely is re-tested and if a problem is found the cost could be exorbitant.
If you would like to learn more about Uranium in Water visit this website.
Connecticut Real Estate by Ray Poppe 