For Ad Sales please E-Mail Us or call 865-387-5667 PAGE 1 ISSUE 169 11/16/11

Good Sam Release FiguresPage 6

JOIN US ON

Care Camps for kids

At the KOA Convention in Las Vegas last week, Southeast Publications presented KOA Care Camps a check for just under $38,000.

Every year at the Southeast Publications Fall & Spring Company Meetings, they have an

auction very similar to the one at the KOA Convention and whatever is raised, or spent, by the sales associates is matched by the company.

Since the company started the auctions at company meetings they have

donated over $300,000 to the Care Camps.

The late Peter Warrick, the founder of Southeast Publications, was one of the first people to be put on the KOA Care Camps

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Wall of Fame. His son Wally has taken over the company and his passion for the Care Camps is just as big as his fathers.

At the KOA convention upon presentation of a check for just under $38000 Southeast was given a standing ovation for the outstanding achievement.

KOA Care Camps was formed by the KOA Campground Owners Association in 1981.

Camp Care has raised millions of dollars over the years to send children with cancer, and their siblings, to one of 44 specialized summer camps throughout North America.

Last year, more than $450,000 was distributed to the Care Camps.KOA Kampground Owners through the Care Camps Program are dedicated to raising funds for children’s cancer camps throughout the United States and Canada.

These camps are designed especially for children with cancer, and have on-site medical facilities, specially trained counselors, and professional medical staffs….. almost entirely volunteers.Care Camps Trust members, who administer the program, are also all volunteers.

Contact Information Administrator Bill RanieriKOA Care Camps3416 Primm LnBirmingham, AL 35216Phone: 1-800-678-9976 (Canada 1-888-461-2062) Email: info@koaowners.org

The late Peter Warrick 2009 Wall of Fame

PAGE 3

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Carefree Resorts in Florida offer two months of free rentTAMPA, Fla.-- Carefree RV Resorts in Florida are making an offer many snowbirds will find hard to refuse:

Free rent in November and December, provided they pay for January, February and March up front. "This offer only applies to snowbirds who haven't stayed with us before," said Stephanie Martin, a Carefree spokeswoman, adding that the special

offer does not cover taxes and electricity charges. Carefee is offering the promotion as part of an ongoing effort to step up its competition with other RV resorts in Florida that cater to snowbirds during the winter months. "We think this offer will help us entice snowbirds who haven't stayed with us before," Martin said. Carefree has more than 25 RV resorts in Florida,

including the Florida Keys. All properties have a wide variety of amenities including, clubhouse, swimming pool and planned activities programs.

Some properties also have rental units, which can accommodate people who don’t have their own RV.

Martin noted that snowbirds who stay at Carefree RV resorts this winter will also have a chance to show off their talents and compete for a grand prize of $5,000 in the company's first ever “Carefree’s Got Talent!” competition.

The competition is open to

singers, dancers, comedians, actors, impersonators, jugglers, musicians and ventriloquists.

Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Carefree RV Resorts offers a wide variety of RV campgrounds throughout Florida, Texas, New Jersey, California and Massachusetts for every type of RV vacation.

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ORMOND BEACH -- The Coral Sands Inn & Seaside Cottages, an oceanfront resort hotel, has been sold for $6.15 million.

The transaction, which took place last week, halted a bank foreclosure on the property. The Coral Sands is at 1009 Ocean Shore Blvd., a mile north of Granada Boulevard.

"We had an agreement with the lender, Fifth Third Bank, that if it sold before the auction at the end of this month, the foreclosure would be withdrawn," said Charles Lichtigman, a partner with John Fiore of

Mystic, Conn., in the group that sold the Coral Sands: Ocean Shore Investments LLC.

The buyer is a Daytona Beach company called Island Club Associates Ltd. Lichtigman is also chairman of Daytona Beach-based Charles Wayne Properties, which will continue to manage the Coral Sands.

The resort hotel, which sits on an eight-acre site, offers 104 rooms in the form of oceanfront cottages, one-story villas and a five-story hotel.

Some of the cottages date back to the 1940s. The hotel building was built in 1973 and renovated about three years ago, Lichtigman said. The Coral Sands employs approximately 20 workers.

The resort includes an adjoining campground with 35 rented spaces that have water, sewer and electric hookups for recreational vehicles, motor coaches, travel trailers and fifth wheelers.

Campground guests have full use of the resort amenities, according to the resort's webpage

Florida Resort and Campground Sold

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PRESS RELEASE

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LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. -- Good Sam Enterprises, formerly Affinity Group, posted a $1.9 million profit in its third quarter, which ended Sept. 30, the company reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission Nov. 10. Revenues of $128.6 million were reported for the third quarter, an increase of $4 million, or 3.2 percent, from the comparable period in 2010. Membership services revenues of $39.2 million for the third quarter of 2011 increased $1.1 million, or 3 percent, from the same period last year. This revenue increase was largely attributable to a $1.2 million increase in extended vehicle warranty program revenue due to a contract price increase, $0.9 million of license fees received from FreedomRoads Holding LLC (“FreedomRoads”) and a $0.2 million increase in emergency road service revenue. The revenue was partially offset by a $0.6 million decrease in membership services revenue primarily attributable to reduced

advertising revenue in the Good Sam Club publication, a $0.4 million decrease in other ancillary product revenue and a $0.2 million reduction in dealer program marketing revenue. Media revenues of $7.3 million for the third quarter of 2011 decreased $100,000, or 1.4 percent, from the comparable period in 2010. This decrease was primarily attributable to the sale of three non-core publications in the second quarter partially offset by increased revenue from consumer shows and from book sales. Retail revenues of $82.2 million for the third quarter of 2011 increased by $2.9 million, or 3.7 percent, from the comparable period in 2010.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Glamping a hit in South Carolina Campgrounds

Glamping (glamorous camping) is now available at CarrollWoods RV Park and Grateful Sisters Vineyards in Longs, S.C. Guests arrive to a tent with queen size bed complete with linens and pillows awaiting them, the fire lit and the option to have breakfast, lunch and dinner delivered via picnic basket.

Other options include chilled wine at the site, a cheese or chocolate tray or tasting, fresh flowers or even a smores kit. The tent is complete with battery-operated lanterns, chairs, throw rugs and some camping supplies, as well as access to a full-service heated bathhouse with oversized showers.

Good Sam Enterprises posts a $1.9 M Profit for Third Quarter

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WESTON — Hurricane force winds blew off rooftops, turned over camping trailers and caused havoc across portions of Las Animas County late Saturday.

Law enforcement officials were surveying the damage Sunday.

"There were winds over 100 miles an hour. The wind dug up trees — roots and all," said Las Animas County Sheriff Jim Casias.

He said most of the damage was in Weston, Primero and

other small towns west of Trinidad. "At least a half of a dozen vehicles were heavily damaged by fallen tree branches and trees," he said.There were no reported injuries.

Camping trailers at a few RV parks on U.S. 12 west of Trinidad flipped on their sides or roofs and the roofs that were being remodeled were torn from homes.

The Wall of Legends RV Park, owned by Robert Vigil, took the brunt of the damage.

Wind in Colorado causes damage to Campground

A 1975 Winnebago motorhome was destroyed in downtown Redlands after a motorist tried to start the engine by pouring gasoline into the carburetor, officials said Friday.

The resulting blaze at Stuart and Third streets was visible from nearby Interstate 10 on Thursday evening.

The fire ignited in the

engine compartment and then spread to the rest of the vehicle, including its propane tank, fire officials said.

It took two engine companies about 20 minutes to extinguish the blaze.

No one was injured. The loss was estimated at $4,000.

Motorhome goes up in flames in California

INDUSTRY NEWS

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There are only a handful of RV park owners who can commit major dollars to their marketing efforts. The fact of the matter, however, is that you don’t need to commit major dollars to market your RV Park. You do need to plan how you are going to market your park and stick to it. I’ve laid out 12 points that you need to recognize and keep in front of you as you go about putting together your marketing plan.

1. Low Cost Marketing – Not only is it possible to market your park without breaking the bank it is absolutely doable. You can grow your customer base without spending a lot of dollars but you do need to spend the time to do it. Time is a precious commodity so schedule a day each week when you can spend a large chunk of the day working on your marketing plan, your marketing program and your marketing campaigns. If you don’t know the difference in the three check out Campground e-News http://issuu.com/industryenews/docs/163newcampground-1, or go to my blog page www.FocusedWords.com/blog and go to the October archives.

2. Commitment—It is easy to get discouraged with your marketing efforts when you don’t see any affect. Your efforts will pay

off if you just see it through. Don’t give up before it has a chance to stick.

3. Branding—Your guests need to have a clear picture of who you are and what your park is all about. Is it a family park, an overnight park, a destination park, or a weekend getaway park? Saying all of the above is going to muddy your marketing efforts. Select the one that best applies to you and use that as your focus for the next year. Once you have that side of the market developed, you can begin to develop the other areas. Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed trying to be everything to everybody.

4. Consistency—Be consistent in your marketing message. Let your ads, brochures, pamphlets, marketing packets all reflect a consistent image. The actual wording can be different but make the look and feel of the graphics remain the same.

5. Target markets – Mass marketing isn’t going to work in today’s world. Focus on the market that you are branding your park for and find out everything you can about them. If you try to market to the entire RVing world, you are going to spread your marketing dollars so thin that you’re

not going to see great results.

6. Elicit Trust—If your current guest trusts you to deliver what you say in your marketing efforts, they are going to be confident in recommending your RV Park to their friends. If you deliver more than they expected, the likelihood that they will spread the word for you increases. If you deliver an outstanding experience, they are going to be sure to tell everyone what a great time they had. Their trust and confidence is key to building your community.

7. Repetition—Here is where the bad news comes in. Research suggests that people need to encounter your marketing efforts between seven and twelve times before they are ready to stop in. Put repetition together with consistency to build recognition. Once you have built recognition, people will begin to associate you with your message which is what marketing is all about.

8. Quality—If your park isn’t top quality, you’re not going to get repeat business. Your long term success is going to depend on your satisfied guests talking about you. Take a look around your park and imagine yourself as an RVer coming into the park. What could be improved on?

R.Relationships—Establish relationships with your guests. Make sure all of your employees / workampers are always smiling and asking the guests how their stay is going. If they have a complaint do everything you can to resolve it immediately. This also means giving those employees/workampers the authority to make a guests stay the best. Don’t get me wrong. You probably don’t want to give all of your employees the ability to hand out free stays or refund money, but you can give them the authority to move a picnic table, take a trash bag to the dumpster, etc.

10. Tracking Results—It is imperative that you know how well your marketing efforts are doing. Don’t put an ad in a local paper, a magazine or on the internet without some type of code so that you can know when a person is responding to the ad. Always, always, always track your results and adjust your efforts accordingly.

11. Flexibility—Be ready to change as your environment changes. Be willing to jump out there and try out the next marketing platform. However, you do need to do this judicially. At the rate new platforms are

Continued

Shoestring Marketing At Its BestINDUSTRY NEWS

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INDUSTRY NEWS

coming out, you would need to hire an entire staff just to stay on top of what is new.

12. Determine Costs—Here is where a lot of effort falls down. Calculate what your cost is for each of your marketing efforts and divide that by the number of people who responded to you. This is going to tell you how much money you are spending on one individual. Some items are givens, (i.e. brochures, business cards, websites) and won’t have individual costs; however, when you run an ad you can determine what the cost per person is. Now you have a way of determining whether

the ad gave you any return on your investment (ROI.)Those are my twelve points that I believe are vital to making your marketing efforts work for you. What would you add?

FocusedWords is a company dedicated to helping you promote and market your campground to RVer’s everywhere, using printed materials, press releases and social media. Be sure to follow Pamela on Twitter: @rvstops and @FocusedWords. Check out her blog at FocusedWords.com/blog. Pamela has now made her database of Group contacts available to you. For more information, email her at pwright@FocusedWords.com.

Continued

Important Dates:ARVC Outdoor Hospitality Conference & ExpoNovember 28 – December 2, 2011Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort Spa & Savannah International Trade & Convention Center, Savannah, GAContact: (303) 681-0401

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RICHMOND, B.C. -- In order to promote its new page on Facebook, Go RVing Canada launched its ‘Great Gas Give-A-Way’ contest today. All Go RVing Canada fans are encouraged to go on Facebook’s website, join in on the conversation with other RVers and ‘like’ the new Go RVing Canada page. They will also have a chance to enter a contest to win $100 worth of gas. One gas card will be given out every week until Dec. 20, so participants are invited to visit every Monday and enter for an opportunity to win a new gas card.

Entering is very easy. Simply visit Go RVing Canada’s Facebook Page, click on the ‘Contests’ tab, and fill out the information form. People can access the page by clicking here. "Go RVing Canada’s new Facebook fan page is being developed to better interact with its fans," said Sherry Denesha, executive director of Go RVing Canada. "This fan page will also help facilitate broadcasting information to fans, as well as help create a community of like-minded people, further establishing Go RVing Canada as the destination of all things related to RVing."

Free Gas promotion starts with Go RVing Canada: Encouraging Facebook "like" participation

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Since the GetawayUSA magazine increased their reader data base to 20000 current RV owners Campgrounds including State Associations are jumping on board to take advantage of the discounted rate on offer for the rest of 2011.

The upcoming issue of GetawayUSA will feature California, Texas, Florida and Tennessee.

True West Campground from Tennessee and The Vineyards Campground in Texas has secured the private campground page for their states and California is almost finalized.

The arrival of snowbirds has Florida campground owner’s full attention and at this moment Florida private campground page is still available. Best Parks in America have secured a full page ad to promote their Florida member parks and Texas Advertising has taken a full page ad to promote their Access Camping web portal. TACO is also featuring with a full page.

Now reaching the public, RV owners and existing campers, GetawayUSA is arguably the most far reaching magazine

available promoting the entire industry.

The original concept was to get more people off the sofa and experience the great outdoors appears to be working going on our excellent readership levels.

Campgrounds wishing to share the magazine by forwarding the magazine to their campers can only benefit the industry as a whole. Alternatively we would welcome any information they can provide.

The December issue will feature: SC, AZ, AL and LA. Please contact me on 770 616 8175 to secure feature pages in your state and take advantage of the special rate.

Kelleys Column

RV Shipments up through September

RVIA to host world conference in 2013

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Extreme Camping in Germany is on a "High" for some

INDUSTRY NEWS

Located in Pfronten, Bavaria in Germany, Waldseilgarten is an adventure mountain resort that offers guests a thrilling night in the wilderness. Nestled at the top of a mountain summit, daring guests can spend the night hanging off the tree tops, suspended over a cliff face, or within a hand built igloo.

During the warmer months, the resort hosts adventure nights out, where guests can sleep in their very own portaledge, hanging several meters above the ground. A portaledge is a deployable hanging tent system that is generally used by rock climbers on multiple day climbs. The hanging tent

features a fabric-covered platform supported by a metal frame, that is suspended from a secured single point. At Waldseilgarten, the tents are suspended from thick branches of large free-standing trees, where guests can only ascend or descend with rope assistance.

Guests looking for more air and an extreme camping experience can choose to sleep on an overhanging platform, positioned amongst huge cliff faces measuring between 1000 and 2000 meters (3280 - 6562 ft) high. However, if that's just a little too extreme for your liking, the

resort also offers easier sleeping options, including cliff platforms between 100 and 300 meters (328 - 984 ft) high, or tree platforms suspended between two or four trees, with easy descent to the ground at any time.

All guests partaking in an adventure night out will receive rope climbing training before spending a night in nature. Trained staff teach simple rope climbing techniques for ascending and descending the portaledges, and other useful skills for hiking and rock climbing. Toilet facilities are located a few minutes away from the the sleeping spots, but the local waterfall will have to suffice for a shower - a refreshing experience none the less!

In the winter months, campers can build their

own igloo and sleep close to the summit. Warm clothing is essential, as the igloos are guaranteed to maintain an inside temperature of 3-4°C (37-39°F), regardless of the outside temperature. Resort activities include hiking, tree rope courses, archery, rock climbing and snow walking or skiing in the winter months.

Waldseilgarten seems to offer a camping experience you will definitely remember, however that experience doesn't come cheap. A night sleeping in the trees in a portaledge will set you back EUR250 (US$336) per person, whilst the cliff face ledges go for EUR890 (US$1199). The cheapest option is the tree platforms, at EUR125 (US$168) per person per night.

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No, this is not some new product to pour down your sewer lines. Sewer lines get plugged by a variety of obstacles like rocks, toys, etc.

I have found one way to reduce the number of times I had to locate & dig up a plugged line. It's 4x3x4! 6 to 12 inches below the sewer cap cut out a foot of the 4 inch S&D (Sewer & Drain) PVC pipe.

Install a 4x3 inch reducer coupling on each end with a piece of 3 inch S&D pipe in the middle. Keep the first coupling close enough to the surface so you can reach it.

While it may not be pleasant, 98% of your plugs can be easily reached and removed without any digging or locating. If something will pass through the 3 inch line it more than

865 387 5667

likely will not become an obstruction further down the line.

While reaching into a plugged sewer line is not pleasant it sure beats digging.

Wearing a protective glove inside an inverted trash bag you can reach in and pull out the offending obstruction. Flip the bag over as you pull it out and it's ready for the dumpster. This is a low cost, labor saving solution to plugged sewer lines. I recently purchased a 4x3 coupling for $2.49 and the 3 inch pipe was .41 cents per foot.

The worst thing I ever had stuck was a softball. I had to screw an eye screw into the softball to pull it out. I was delighted that it was not able to find its way further down the line.

Tired of Plugged Sewer Lines?

By Jeff Simms

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Employment Growth in Travel Bucks the Trend and Improves in OctoberWashington, DC - David Huether, senior vice president of economics and research at the U.S. Travel Association, provides analysis on today’s Labor Department report on October 2011 employment numbers: “Following an upwardly revised addition of 158,999 jobs in September, overall employment growth slowed to just 80,000 in October while the unemployment rate remained essentially unchanged at 9 percent.

“After edging down by 3.9 thousand in September, the travel industry bucked the trend and added 11,000 jobs last month, which accounted for more than 1 in 8 of the total jobs created last month and was the biggest increase since June. Since the employment recovery began in March of last year, the travel industry has created 209,000 jobs and has increased 1.7 times faster than the rest of the economy. “Still, the pace of job

growth in both the travel industry as well as the economy overall has decelerated during the past 4 months compared to the first half of the year. With the housing sector still in the doldrums, it is important for policy makers to look to alternative measures to help the fragile economy.

One of the most efficient and least-costly efforts that would have the biggest bang for the buck would be to improve our nation’s burdensome visa process,

which would help boost international visitation, domestic spending, and job creation in the United States. Over the past decade the U.S. has lost a considerable amount of market share in international visitation to our global competitors, and simply recovering that lost share would increase employment in the United States by 467,000, which is roughly equal to the total number of jobs created in the U.S. since June.”

INDUSTRY NEWS

PAGE 15

Along with doubling the number of sites at Tohickon Family Resort, formerly known as Tohickon Family Campground, new ownership wants to add several features, including a splash pad where children can safely play in only an inch or two of water while getting sprayed, play areas using the natural features of the site, a nature trail, disc golf and a pet park.

“Most of the RVers today travel with pets,” Bud Surles, the designer of the project, told the East Rockhill Township Board of Supervisors Nov. 8.

Many are also traveling in fairly expensive vehicles and bringing along grandchildren, so they appreciate the additional security features, he said.

“It’s a gated community,” Surles said. “It’ll be closed at night.”

Recreation vehicles are too big to go through the covered bridge near the entrance to the site, but the bridge adds to the attraction of the area, Surles said.

The plans also include the Sheard’s/Clymer’s Gristmill, which is on the National Historic Registry. Built in

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Pennsylvania Campground plans expansion

the early 1800s, the mill remained in operation until the 1960s.

“The gristmill, over a period of years, will be restored,” Surles said.

Earlier this year, Travel Resorts of America began managing Tohickon Family Resort and has an option to buy the property and business on the Tohickon Creek at the East Rockhill/Haycock border.

The company sells memberships that can be used at any of its sites, the nearest one of which is at Gettysburg, Robert Bouse, director of resort operations, said.

There are now 162 campsites at the facility, he said. The plans are to expand that to 257 campsites and 50 cottages.

“We need somewhere around 300 sites for a park to be viable for us,” Bouse said.

Full Article: www.montgomerynews.com

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Company gives away carSoutheast Publications USA has just finished its 22nd Annual Fall Meeting and gave away a 2012 Ford Fusion to one of its lucky Sales Associates.

Those Sales Associates were Bob and Nancy Auger. Bob and Nancy have been with Southeast Publications since 2001. Congratulations.

The meeting was held at CB Smith Park in Pembroke Pines, Florida. The home office has just moved into a new 60,000 sq. ft. facility in Tamarac, Florida and the 115 sales associates had a chance to tour the new location while at the meeting. This gave the office staff and the sales associates some time to get together and finally meet or for some, to just catch up with each other.

We have two meetings every year for the Sales Associates to go over new products, talk about skills and techniques and socialize with on another. The Fall Meeting was a huge success and we will

be back to CB Smith Park next year.

We already have the Spring Meeting in our sight. It will be in early April at the Emerald Desert RV Resort in Palm Desert California.Southeast Publications USA was established in 1986 and is the leader in campground site maps and area guide publishing. Our sales team is made up of full time RVers that understand the needs of campgrounds and other RVers. Fifty percent of our Sales Associates have been with Southeast Publications for ten years or more. We also offer oversized banners, websites, a free listing on the campground search engine RVingUSA.com and can help you get started with Microsoft Tags.

If you’re establishment needs a campground site map, at no cost to your campground, call Southeast Publications at 1-800-832-3292 or visit www.SoutheastPublications.com

Happy CampingSoutheast Publications USA

PRESS RELEASE

Bob and Nancy Auger with their new Ford Fusion

Vision without Action is always a Daydream

We can help create your Vision.. With over 30 years in marketing and advertising creating advertising campaigns, inspirational and effective advertising concepts with all forms of media the staff at Industry E News not only bring you Campground & RV park E News and GetawayUSA but we can also get your message across in the most cost effective manner.

Put us to the test... Call 865 387 5667 or email dennis@industrye-news.com

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CONTACT US:

Publisher/Editor:Dennis Macreadyadmin@industryenews.com865-387-5667

Advertising:865-387-5667advert@industryenews.com

Published By:Industry ENews LLCPO Box 5068 SeviervilleTennessee 37862

Copyright 2008 All Rights ReservedRepublishing content from this E News is prohibited. Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in Campground & RV Park E News are not necessarily the opinion of the editor, publisher or staff. We do not accept responsibility for any damages resulting from inaccuracies in editorial or advertising. The Publisher, Industry ENews LLC is therefore indemnified against all actions, suits, claims for damages resulting from content in this publication. Content cannot be reproduced without the prior consent of the publisher.

The October, 2011, edition of Waterworld has provided a summary of the U.S. Geological Survey of wells. “About 20% of untreated water samples from public, private, and monitoring wells across the nation contain concentrations of at least one trace element.”

Public wells are the least contaminated because contaminants are removed before anyone drinks the water. Trace elements (such as manganese, arsenic and radon) occur naturally in groundwater. Mining, waste disposal and construction also add trace elements. Besides trace elements in groundwater there are also organic compounds, pesticides and nitrates.

Arsenic was above the EPA human health standard in 7%of wells, uranium in 4% of the wells, manganese in 12% of wells and radon in 65% of the wells tested. Drier areas of the U.S. had higher concentrations of trace elements than humid regions. Wells in agricultural areas more often contained trace elements than those in urban areas, but urban wells with trace elements

had higher amounts and more often exceeded human health standards.

The EPA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have formed a partnership to improve rural drinking water and wastewater systems. They will promote job training for the growing workforce shortage in the water industry and develop a new generation of water professionals. They will help rural utilities improve their operations and develop long-term water quality improvement plans, including financial help to upgrade treatment plants and water/sewer lines.

Do not wait for the government: get your wells tested on a regular basis. It would be wise to test your well after exceptionally heavy rains and always after a flood. If you live in a winter snow area, it would also be wise to test your well after the spring snow melt is over, given that surface contaminants picked up by the snow will have an easy time working down into the ground water if the snow melts slowly and gradually feeds contaminated moisture deeper and deeper into the ground.

By Larry

USGS Reports on Wells

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