I observed my neighbor using herbicides and lawn fertilizer on their property on a regular basis. Will my well become contaminated because of my neighbor’s practices?
Generally, your neighbor’s practices pose little risk to your well becoming contaminated if they follow the application instructions on the label of the product. As a precaution, it is best to stay at least 10 feet away from the wellhead when applying lawn products. In some areas of BACOG, we have clay barriers protecting our aquifers. The wells located in the western side of the BACOG area and along the western edge of the Lake/McHenry County line are more vulnerable to local contamination, where the clay barriers can be minimal or non-existent. In such areas, you would want to increase the distance for chemical application to 25-50 feet from the well head or refrain from using any type of lawn fertilizers and chemicals on your property.