Exploring Demographic Disparities in Private Well Water Testing in North Carolina

Abstract

The natural, built, and social environments shape drinking water quality supplied by private wells. However, the combined effects of these factors are not well understood. Using North Carolina as a case study, we (i) estimate the demographic characteristics of the private well population; (ii) evaluate representation in well testing records; and (iii) demonstrate how spatial scale influences knowledge of well-using household demographics and representation in testing. We leverage a statewide database of 117,960 well testing records collected over 20 years and a national model predicting well locations. An estimated 25% well-using households identify as Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color (BIPOC) and 15% have incomes below the poverty threshold. While there is robust well sampling (an average of 4,269 wells tested annually), we observed that most testing records were from predominately White block groups (BGs). Well-using households that did not participate in state testing were 2.4 times more likely to be from predominately BIPOC BGs compared predominately White BGs. Due to the spatial heterogeneity of the well population, demographic differences in well populations were more evident using higher resolution data. Multifaceted testing approaches that couple government-driven efforts with localized studies that engage underrepresented communities are needed to facilitate evidence-based management.