Durango 970 247 5702 | Pagosa Springs 970 264 2409 Facebook Twitter About Us Programs & Services Contact Us 1 2 Water Quality The Surface and Drinking Water Program provides surveillance of ground water and surface water conditions in La Plata County and San Juan County. Private Well Testing River Monitoring SJBPH has free water quality testing opportunities: Animas Valley Project: SJBPH is underway performing free water quality testing for residents of the Animas Valley who use a private well as their primary source of drinking water. This limited-availability testing includes testing for metals, nitrates, bacteria, and other possible contamination. If you live in the Animas Valley and use a private well, contact us for more information. Data Report: Well Testing in the Animas Valley About Private Well Testing Water Quality Interpretation Tool – click here to easily check water quality testing results against state and national standards Because of our local geology, a small but significant percentage of wells throughout La Plata and Archuleta Counties have issues with contamination from metals and other minerals. Because the federal Safe Drinking Water Act does not apply to private wells, the responsibility of ensuring that water from a private well is safe is the responsibility of the well owner. San Juan Basin Public Health recommends, as does the State of Colorado, that every private well used for drinking water be tested once per year by a certified laboratory. Most of these tests involve the well user collecting a sample at a non-aerated, non-swiveling tap (like a bathtub) in lab-provided containers and mailing them to a laboratory for testing. SJBPH also recommends that wells with no history of testing, and wells that are very old, be inspected visually to ensure that its construction is sound and that the surface around the well is kept clear of possible contaminating substances. There is no “standard suite” of potential contaminants nor “standard annual test” for drinking water wells. Many laboratories offer a package that they recommend for annual testing, but these may differ from company to company. At a minimum, SJBPH recommends that your annual test order include nitrate, nitrite, and coliform bacteria testing. You should also test for anything that shows up as elevated in any tests performed historically. If you have never tested your well before, or if its history is unclear, SJBPH recommends testing for the above substances plus arsenic, lead, fluoride, hardness, iron, manganese, pH, and total dissolved solids. In certain areas of southwest Colorado, including the Pine River Valley and the mesa tops between Durango and Bayfield, it may be a good idea to test for fluoride in your well annually. An interactive list of certified laboratories can be found at https://www.colorado.gov/cdphe/dwlabs. Click “Analyte/Compound Name” to filter this list to include only the laboratories certified to test for the substance you are interested in. Groundwater Awareness FAQs CDPHE Reports, Data, & Maps Ongoing and archived data collections from the state health department on the Animas River spill. Animas River Infographics Educational infographics for water quality data, safety index, and specific use of the Animas River. USGS Streamgages Current streamflow and water-quality conditions at various sites in the Animas and San Juan River Basins. EPA Data from Gold King Mine Incident Year in Review: Gold King Mine Spill One Year After the Gold King Mine Incident La Plata County Code Red Colorado’s Long-Term Monitoring Plan SJBPH SERVING LA PLATA AND ARCHULETA COUNTIES IN SOUTHWEST COLORADO SINCE 1948. Hablamos español. HOURS Durango Office: Mon.-Fri. 8 am - 4:30 pm Pagosa Springs Office: Mon.-Thurs. 8 am -12 pm & 1 pm - 4:30 pm DURANGO | LA PLATA COUNTY 281 Sawyer Drive Durango, CO 81303 970 247 5702 Directions PAGOSA SPRINGS | ARCHULETA COUNTY 502 S. 8th Street Pagosa Springs, CO 81147 970 264 2409 Directions © 2021 San Juan Basin Public Health | All Rights Reserved Facebook Twitter