New Hampshire Pesticide Practice Test

Protecting drinking water is the key idea here. When storing and dispensing pesticides, keeping them a safe distance from a public water supply well reduces the risk that spills, leaks, or residue could reach the well and contaminate the drinking water. For a public well, the required setback is 400 feet. That large buffer accounts for how soil and groundwater move contaminants and provides time for any potential spill to be contained or attenuated before it could reach the well. The other smaller distances do not meet this regulatory minimum for public wells, which is why 400 feet is the correct standard.