Flooding Uncovers Unsafe Wells in Eastern North Carolina

The biggest threat: people getting sick from contaminated water. Fortunately, no outbreaks were reported thanks to boiled and bottled water.

Still, about one in five private wells tested positive for fecal coliform. While many have been fixed, the problem is far from over, says Malcolm Blalock ofN.C. Division of Environmental Health.

"We've got a lot of wells, particularly in eastern North Carolina, that are substandard wells," he says.

With the help of grant money and donations, many people have hooked up to public water lines.

The state is still studying the impact of those flooded wells and how many are still unsafe. Those results should be in sometime this fall.