Virginia Household Water Quality Program

07/30/2020

We are back! We will be offering water testing and education in many Virginia counties starting next week with physical distancing measures and other precautions in place. Please check out our updated schedule here: https://www.wellwater.bse.vt.edu/events.php and let us know if you have any questions!

Clinics run from February - November each year, and are held in about 60 counties. Visit here for a description of clinics. Contact your local Extension office to express interest in a clinic. Please pre-register with the appropriate contact person.

10/23/2019

We can't! Can you?

No water to drink, or even to make coffee with. No water to shower, flush the toilet, or do laundry. Hospitals would close without water. Firefighters couldn't put out fires and farmers couldn't water their crops.

06/17/2019

We are happy to share our recently released video for new well and septic system owners, created in partnership with Virginia Department of Health!

In Virginia, about 1.6 million people rely on water supplied by a private water well. Unlike municipal water supplies, which are regularly tested and treated...

03/13/2019

It’s Groundwater Awareness Week! What’s in your water?

THINK about this - testing of the water from private wells is the responsibility of the well owner, and it should be done at least once a year. wells NGWA

01/26/2019

Thankful to have our youth efforts and collaborators featured in VT News this week!

Since 2015, nearly 300 high school students have participated in the Virginia Household Water Quality Program. The program has increased their awareness of water quality issues and stimulated interest in science, technology, engineering, and math educational programs.

10/10/2018

Can you imagine a day without water? What would you miss the most?

http://imagineadaywithoutwater.org/

09/04/2018

Happy Groundwater Protection Week! We are giving a shout out to water all week long, along with our friends at Maryland Cooperative Extension!

Today is Groundwater Protection Day, so, I’m taking you on a deep (and dorky) dive into one of my favorite topics: H 2 the izz-O! (Did I mention dorky?) But I can’t just celebrate groundwater, beca…

08/17/2018

We are so excited about our expanding youth program! Coming to Grayson and Washington counties this year!

The Virginia Household Water Quality Program provides affordable water testing and education for the one in five Virginians who use wells or springs for their drinking water.

07/02/2018

Have a well AND a baby? Check out this great new resource from Minnesota!

Even though most drinking water in Minnesota is safe, it is a good idea to make sure your drinking water is safe for your new baby. Below are key steps to consider before giving water to your baby or using it to make formula or juice.

03/22/2018

The first drinking water clinic sampling of 2018 is a wrap! Big thanks to Kelli H. Scott and Dawn Barnes and Jon Vest for all their help in Montgomery and Floyd counties (in the snow) and shout out to Kelly Peeler and Asa Spiller in the lab! Virginia Cooperative Extension

02/12/2018

VAHWQP is partnering with VCE's Produce Safety Specialists to offer bacteria testing to Virginia's produce growers! Check out their new website!

Foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States and abroad continue to make the news. Regardless of whether it is fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, animal products or fish, or packaged products, the on-going incidence of contaminated food has resulted in a demand for food safety assurance and increas...

02/12/2018

Exciting that VAHWQP, BSE Water Quality Lab, Flint Water Study crew and other colleagues are featured in Earth Magazine article, and that the larger story of corrosive water and lead is finally being explained!

In 2014, Flint, Mich., started drawing its drinking water from the highly corrosive Flint River, which leached lead from old pipes, exposing the population to lead poisoning. Such aging infrastructure exists in towns across the nation, leaving many to wonder if what happened in Flint could happen to...