In The U.S., Private Well Water More Likely To Have High Levels Of Heavy Metals

1970s Symbolic Human Male Hand Interrupting Touching Feeling Testing A Stream Of Fresh Clean Water From Kitchen Tap (Photo by H. Armstrong Roberts/Classicstock/Getty Images) H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock

A pilot study of close to 200 pet dogs in homes that use private wells as their main source of water found that at least two-thirds of those dogs were consuming water containing high levels of lead, arsenic, and copper.

“Our results confirm that a variety of heavy metals are detectable in well water via direct sampling of dogs’ drinking water. Local land use and household factors influence the levels of metals detected, and there is geographic variability in the types/levels of metals detected,” the researchers wrote in the study. “Drinking water toxicity from heavy metals and othe