Black Hawk County Public Health

Well Water Testing

Grants to Counties Well Water grant offers:

• Private well water testing, as funds are available, at no cost to the homeowner.
• Contaminants commonly tested for are Coliform Bacteria, Nitrates, Arsenic, Manganese, and E. Coli.
• Limited homeowner reimbursement for well or cistern plugging and well reconstruction as funds are available.

Contact Black Hawk County Public Health for more information at 319-291-2413 or email us.

Well Water Program

The Black Hawk County Environmental Health team focuses on educating and informing contractors, businesses and homeowners on Black Hawk County well construction standards and regulations. Black Hawk County also participates in the Grants to Counties program, a State of Iowa program that provides free well water sampling and potential funding to assist homeowners with repairing damage to an existing well and properly closing an obsolete well or cistern.

Click here for more information including:

• Information regarding free, private well water testing as funding is available through the Grants to Counties Program
• Information regarding homeowner reimbursement for well plugging or rehabilitating as funding is available under the Grants to Counties Program
• Monitoring efforts for small public water supplies also called Transient Non-Community (TNC) Water Systems in several counties
• Information regarding the standards and enforcement for construction of individual wells that protect area drinking water aquifers from contamination

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Wastewater Improvement Funds for
Unsewered Communities‍

On December 8th, 2021, the State of Iowa announced a $100 million investment in Water Infrastructure made available through the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
Approximately $10 million of the funding will be dedicated to onsite wastewater systems in unsewered communities. This is a one-time program that will provide grants to property owners meeting certain eligibility requirements.
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This program will be jointly administered by the Iowa DNR, Black Hawk County Public Health, and the Iowa Finance Authority.

Please see below for additional information and to determine if you qualify for this grant.

Eligibility requirements for Wastewater Infrastructure Grant Funds:

• The home is within a designated unsewered community in the state of Iowa, identified as having 10 or more homes on 10 acres or less, where half of the occupied properties do not have adequate wastewater systems.
• Property was constructed prior to the implementation of the statewide onsite system rules (before July 1, 1983).
• The property was not updated during time of transfer requirements, (before 2009).

If you have further questions please contact our Environmental Health Staff at 319-291-2413.
You can also visit the Iowa Finance Authority website.

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