DeSoto City private wells being tested for pesticide

SEBRING The Highlands County Health Department has been notified that approximately one year ago, the pesticide Aldicarb was misapplied to one section of a citrus grove off of County Road 17 South just south of U.S. 98 in the DeSoto City area.

The pesticide is not supposed to be used near private drinking water wells.

The Highlands County Health Department is sampling private wells in this area for any contamination from this product at no cost. Only homes in this specific area with private drinking water wells are being sampled.

Homes on municipal drinking water are not at any risk. The area is bordered by County Road 17 S., HCN Drive, and both sides of Tortoise Road.

Every homeowner should have already been contacted by now. Those who have not been contacted are not in this specific area and should not be concerned.

The Highlands County Health Department will provide bottled water at no cost to those specific homes.

The Florida Department of Health is recommending using bottled water for drinking, cooking and ice making until further notice as a precaution, and it is not anticipated to have an increased risk from using well water for showering, washing clothes, other sanitation purposes or watering gardens.

The water samples will be sent to a lab for testing, which is being expedited by the Department of Health and results should be back in 10 days.

An investigation is being conducted by the Department of Agriculture and they are providing technical expertise.

"We understand that there will be concerns, and not being able to use a private well until the lab tests come back is an inconvenience, it is out of precaution for your health that this needs to be done," said Robert Palussek, administrator of the Health Department.

"We are working together with other state agencies and doing everything we can to expedite the process to receive clarity of the situation."

For more information, call 382-7219 or the Department of Health Pesticide Hotline at 1-800-606-5810.