Liesa Lehmann, private-water section chief for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, said her state has an estimated 700,000 to 800,000 private wells. The National Ground Water Association said the current flood poses a risk to more than 280,000 Wisconsin wells, the most in any state. Some public water supplies use rivers, streams, lakes or other bodies of water. But the federal government estimates that about 15 million U.S. households — most often in rural areas that don't have access to public drinking water systems — rely on private wells. Owners of private wells use a variety of methods to remove contaminants, including filtration systems, water softeners, distillation systems that boil out the impurities, and disinfectants such as chlorine.

Source: ABC News March 26, 2019 18:45 UTC