# Wells and Enteric Disease Transmission: A randomized trial of children supplied drinking water from private wells (WET-Trial)

> **NIH NIH R01** · TEMPLE UNIV OF THE COMMONWEALTH · 2020 · $764,813

## Abstract

Approximately 48 million people in the US are served by private, and frequently untreated, wells. Our best
estimate is that 1.3 million cases of gastrointestinal illnesses (GI) per year are attributed to consuming
water from untreated private wells in the US, but in reality, there are no robust epidemiological data that can
be used to estimate cases of GI attributable to these sources. It is likely that well water-associated GI causes
significant healthcare costs and lost work/school days, as well as increased risk for long term health
complications. This impact is magnified when accounting for vulnerable populations such as children under the
age of 5, the elderly, and the immunocompromised.
We propose the first randomized controlled trial (RCT) to estimate the burden of GI associated with
private well water. We will test if household treatment of private well water by ultraviolet light (UV) vs.
sham (placebo inactive UV device) decreases the incidence of GI in children under 5. At present, there
are no prior RCTs or studies that have sought causal links between GI and the consumption of untreated water
from private wells despite the fact that pathogens have been recovered in groundwater, including deep
aquifers.
Under the guidance of an interdisciplinary advisory committee we will execute the following aims:
Aim 1- Quantify the incidence rate of endemic childhood GI associated with consuming untreated private well
water and compare that to the incidence rate of consuming well water treated by UV.
Aim 1a- Construct a Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) using water quality data we collect to
estimate the risk of childhood GI associated with consuming untreated private well water and compare the
incidence from the risk model to the incidence we calculate in Aim 1.
Aim 2- Identify, quantify and compare viral, bacterial and protozoan pathogens in stool of children consuming
UV treated or untreated (sham) private well water (including both asymptomatic and symptomatic cases).
Aim 3- Explore the presence of pathogens in untreated well water and stool samples of children consuming
untreated private well water (sham group only).
These data will fill a knowledge gap on sporadic GI associated with federally-unregulated private water
supplies in the US. Our results will test an affordable water treatment intervention and inform GI burden
estimates and policy decisions for managing well water in the US and globally. Policy changes will help better
protect rural families, especially children who are at highest risk for sporadic enteric infections.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10030794
- **Project number:** 1R01AI153376-01
- **Recipient organization:** TEMPLE UNIV OF THE COMMONWEALTH
- **Principal Investigator:** Heather M Murphy
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $764,813
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-01 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10030794

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10030794, Wells and Enteric Disease Transmission: A randomized trial of children supplied drinking water from private wells (WET-Trial) (1R01AI153376-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10030794. Licensed CC0.

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