Speaker – Evan Kane, Onsite Water Protection Director for Wake County, NC. Hosted by Walt Robinson

Title – Geology for Public Health

Abstract – Wake County, North Carolina, has about 40,000 private drinking water wells serving nearly 100,000 residents. In response to public concern about manmade contaminants in domestic wells, the county created a program to encourage residents to voluntarily test their well water and to provide technical advice about groundwater contamination. After several years of data collection, an analysis showed that manmade contaminants exceeded federal drinking water standards in approximately 1% of well water samples, while naturally occurring radionuclides exceeded standards in 10% of well water samples. With nearly 4,000 households affected, the county undertook a rapid shift in policy and an ambitious community engagement campaign to address this problem. Developing the county’s response highlighted areas where established systems for addressing groundwater contamination are not sufficient to address the broader concern of public health threats to private well users. This presentation will highlight how Wake County addressed this challenge and the roles that geologists can play in protecting public health, and will raise questions about how to bridge the gaps between environmental protection, public health protection, and public awareness.

About the Speaker – Evan Kane is the director of the Onsite Water Protection Division of Wake County Public Health, where he oversees the county’s regulatory programs for septic systems and private drinking water wells and technical and financial assistance programs for people who rely on these systems. Prior to joining Wake County in 2015, he worked for the NC Department of Environmental Quality for 14 years, implementing and developing programs for groundwater protection and groundwater monitoring. He has also worked for a private environmental consulting firm and the North Carolina Geological Survey. He is a licensed geologist and has his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in geology from NC State University.