Wake County Environmental Services received a National Association of Counties (NACo) Achievement award for its outreach campaign to inform residents of the risk for radiological contamination in private wells. Positive results of the campaign include:
- 1,200 wells tested - triple the number of wells tested in a typical year;
- 650 attendees at community meetings;
- 500,000 campaign website page views; and
- 150 professional attendees at trainings.
The campaign was a collaborative effort among both public and private partners that resulted in tools and processes with long-term benefits to residents, including:
- A simple, accountable procedure for discounted testing for low-income residents;
- Easier access for county residents to commercial labs;
- Online tool to assist residents with understanding test results; and
- New training programs for staff and professionals who support private well users.
The Groundwater outreach campaign is a model that can be repeated in other locales with naturally occurring contaminants in wells across the nation.