LUMBERTON — People who want to know the results of the testing of water in private wells in Robeson County are invited to a community meeting scheduled for Wednesday.
The meeting is to take place from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Robeson County Cooperative Extension Center located at 455 Caton Road in Lumberton. People who attend the meeting will be given the results of the testing conducted during a joint research project undertaken by The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, N.C. State University and Virginia Tech.
“This is definitely part of a research thing,” said Andrew George, UNC Institute for the Environment community engagement coordinator.
Virginia Tech and UNC have been doing research into water quality for a long time, he said. The focus has been naturally occurring metals and metals that leach into groundwater from industrial operations. The objective is determining if harmful levels exist and how to address any harmful levels.
“We just want to know what’s in people’s water and to learn what’s the next step,” George said.
The research in North Carolina targets Robeson and New Hanover counties, he said. The research team focused on those two counties in anticipation of major flooding caused by Hurricane Florence.
“The proposal already was written before the hurricane hit Wilmington,” George said.
People attending the meeting also can get kits with which to have their private wells tested, he said.
Residents and owners of businesses that use private wells also can pick up a testing kit from 3 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at the county office of the Cooperative Extension Service on Caton Road. The kits need to be returned on Thursday between 6 and 9 p.m. The kits and the testing are free.
The samples will be analyzed for metals and coliform bacteria, according to information from Virginia Tech. Confidential water quality results will be emailed and mailed to residents’ homes. Study results will help develop a better understanding of the impact of floods on private well water quality and improve communication strategies during disasters.
“This is the third round of tests,” George said.
The first round of tests were from Robeson and New Hanover counties and were conducted in October, he said. The second was in the Pembroke area. The team was set up on Nov. 16 in the Lumbee Tribe’s Veterans Affairs office.
“It’s an encore of the last round of well testing,” said Michael Burchell, associate professor in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at N.C. State.
The testing is not a result of contamination found in well water as a result of Hurricane Florence, he said.
“This was a pre-emptive thing,” Burchell said.
It also is an educational exercise, he said. One goal is to educate people about the need to have their well water tested on a regular basis in order to ensure a continuous supply of high-quality water.
Another goal is to move toward a regional, or state, well testing program, he said.
“Or whatever we think is needed,” Burchell said.
