Private well stewardship within a rural, agricultural Latino community: a qualitative study

Abstract

Background: Nitrate contamination in groundwater disproportionately impacts agricultural Latino communities, creating a significant hazard for Latinos that rely on private wells. Private well users must conduct water testing and other well stewardship behaviors to ensure that their well water is safe to drink. This study sought to identify the key factors impacting private well water testing behavior in rural, agricultural Latino communities. Methods: We conducted 4 focus groups with private well users, 2 in Spanish and 2 in English. We recruited 37 participants from the Lower Yakima Valley, Washington State, a rural, agricultural community with a large Latino population and elevated nitrate concentrations in groundwater. A semi-structured interview guide was developed to capture factors impacting testing as guided by the Risk, Attitudes, Norms, Ability, and Self-Regulation (RANAS) model. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted by two coders to identify common themes. Results: Themes emerged around the factors impacting well stewardship, including well water testing, treatment, and maintenance, and were not specific to nitrate contamination. Private well users reported many of the same factors reported in other communities, with the exception of home repair experience and challenges around landlords and neighbors on shared wells, which have not been reported previously. In addition to landlords and neighbors, lack of actionable information, economic limitations, and lack of technical support emerged as factors that made well stewardship burdensome for individuals. The majority of participants reported using bottled water, including many who used point-of-use or point-of-entry water treatment systems. Conclusions: The burden of well stewardship in rural, agricultural Latino communities may suggest the need for interventions at the community, county, or state levels and not at the individual level alone. Additionally, the role of landlords, neighbors on shared wells, and home repair experience in well stewardship represent important areas of exploration for researchers and public health practitioners.

Water insecurity in the Global North: A review of experiences in U.S. colonias communities along the Mexico border

“…In U.S. colonias, for example, brigadas de limpia (clean-up brigades) are a form of social infrastructure that helps remedy stormwater damage (Vélez-Ib añez, 2004). Extension programs that may exist for other rural populations, like well-owners' associations, may be offered to colonias so that residents can benefit from well stewardship support (VanDerGeest et al, 2020). Like social capital (Roque et al, 2020), social infrastructure can amplify the impact of community efforts to build soft paths to water provision, treatment, and conservation (Wutich & Jepson, 2021).…”

Behavioral determinants of arsenic-safe water use among Great Plains Indian Nation private well users: results from the Community-Led Strong Heart Water Study Arsenic Mitigation Program

“…Arsenic is both tasteless and odorless, meaning that private well users will know their arsenic contamination levels only through water arsenic testing. Many studies have assessed factors influencing well water arsenic testing, identifying barriers such as a lack of awareness, lack of access to testing services, high prices for arsenic tests, and low perceived vulnerability [ 11 – 14 ]. Studies show that households are motivated to test for environmental contaminants in their water when there are perceived health risks or perceived changes in the taste, color, or smell of water, and when encouraged by the behaviors of others or to comply with social norms [ 11 , 12 , 15 ].…”