Superfund Research Program

UNC researchers and law students have helped inform potential homebuyers about well water testing. (Photo courtesy of UNC School of Law)

Residential property disclosure statements in North Carolina now include a question about testing for contaminants in private wells, thanks to work by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) SRP Center and collaborators. The decision by the North Carolina Real Estate Commission, effective July 1, requires sellers to indicate whether dwellings supplied by private well water have ever had the water supply tested for quality, quantity, and pressure and, if so, to provide the date of the test.

The recent change to the property disclosure statements resulted from efforts by the North Carolina Well Water Working Group, convened by the UNC SRP Center and the UNC School of Law. The group includes UNC SRP researchers and Community Engagement Core (CEC) specialists, lawyers, and law professors, including Savasta-Kennedy, representatives from state and local government, and community-based organizations working on private well water issues.

We expect families with children will benefit the most from private well tests prior to real estate transfers,” said Andrew George, Ph.D., the UNC SRP CEC coordinator. “Within the UNC SRP, and alongside the rest of our partners in the working group, we are focused on helping people protect themselves from anything in the water that can harm their own, or their family’s, health.”

To learn more, see the NIEHS Environmental Factor Newsletter