Posted by Brian on March 6, 2015 · Leave a Comment
The Keystone Clean Water Team would like to this opportunity to thank our current sponsors and supporters who aided in creating our first set of PSAs. It has been a great year. The first set of public service announcements can be found on the Organizations YouTube Site. The Videos are as follows:
1. Getting Your Water Tested Can Cost as Little As $ 50.00 – Only Costs $ 50.00
2. Hidden Contamination in Your Water – Looks Clear – It is Ok?
3. Got Coliform Bacteria – Do NOT Panic !
4. Water Testing – It is Easy! (Annual Water Quality Testing – Baseline Testing – Natural Gas)
5. We Could Use Some Help – Help Us Help You and Our Community !
Please share on social media, like and share our sites on facebook, and we do Tweet. Get our Educational Booklet.
Featured Product – Well Safe – Something Every Well Owner Should Have on the Shelf !
[amazon_link asins=’B00L9FFQRW’ template=’ProductAd’ store=’webdespro-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’2bd9630f-bd11-11e7-baf7-c5f9355bd377′]
Thanks
Sponsors – We can use some help!
Thank You to Our Current Sponsors and Supporters
Carbon County Environmental Education Center
Greg Sorber Well Drilling –204 Niemchik Rd, Hunlock Creek, PA 18621 · (570) 477-5393
RGA Public Relations
White Knight Productions Inc.
B.F. Environmental Consultants
Practical Law and Life
Groundwater Foundation – Groundwater Guardian Program
Filed under Arsenic, Children's Health, Clean Water Act, Environmental Health, Groundwater, Homeowner, Lake Pond Testing, Methane Gas Migration, training, Unconventional Gas, Water, Water Testing, Well, Well water testing · Tagged with acid, baseline testing, brown water, fracking, Groundwater Guardian, hardness, iron, manganese, natural gas, odors, Penn State Master Well Owner, pH, private well owners pennsylvania, sulfur, water testing kits, well water quality, well water testing
Posted by Brian on July 8, 2013 · 1 Comment
We ARE What We Drink !
Learning More About Our Water In Northeast Pennsylvania
A private well owner workshop designed to educate and protect citizens from common and potential contaminants. Join us for a great day of education and an opportunity to test a sample of your own well water (pH and a few other parameters).
Saturday, July 27,2013
10:00AM –12:00PM
9:00AM –9:45AM
Check-in & Family Nature Walk •
The Educational Workshop is free!
• All children are welcome to attend as well!
• Please bring a sample of your tap water to the workshop for an initial pH test!
Workshop Sessions:
10:00 AM Your Water: The Contaminants You Can’t See! presented by Brian Oram, B.F. Environmental Consultants (PDF version of presentation)
11:00 AM Protecting Your Water: Taking the First Step presented by Brian Oram, B.F. Environmental Consultants (PDF version of presentation)
11:45PM Test your well water’s pH and a few other factors
Limit of 40 attendees—Pre-registration is required by July 19th. Brian Oram’s attendance is made possible by the Carbon County Groundwater Guardians.
The mission of the Luzerne Conservation District is to conserve land and water resources in Luzerne County by promoting public awareness, providing technical assistance, and encouraging regulatory compliance. (PDF Document for Event)- Other outreach in Luzerne County, PA
Volunteer
We seek new people at all skill levels for a variety of programs. One thing that everyone can do is attend meetings to share ideas on improving CCGG, enabling us to better understand and address the concerns of well owners.
Everything we do began with an idea.
We realize your time is precious and the world is hectic. CCGG’s volunteers do only what they’re comfortable with. It can be a little or a lot.
For more information, please go to CCGG’s About Page or contact us.
Carbon County Groundwater Guardians is a 501(c)(3) IRS approved nonprofit, volunteer organization and your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Help the Organization and Get Your Water Tested or Order the Private Well Owner Guide (proceeds benefit This Organiazation).
Filed under Children's Health, Groundwater, Homeowner, Water Testing, Well water testing · Tagged with back mountain, copper, corrosive water, dallas, groundwater education, Lead, metals, Pennsylvania, water pH, water quality, Water Testing, well water quality, zinc in drinking water
Posted by Brian on July 5, 2013 · 4 Comments
Not our work
“Home prices fell in some parts of the Marcellus Shale region of the country after drilling began, and rose in other parts, and the difference was whether the families’ drinking water came from wells or municipal water mains, a study by Resources for the Future (RFF) reported in late June. (Note RFF-“RFF research on energy focuses on key sectors, including electric power, transportation, and unconventional fuels, and evaluates options to promote new, efficient technologies and the sustainable development of energy resources.”)
For homes within about 1 mile of a shale gas well, sale prices rose 10% from 2004 to 2009 if families were served by piped-in water, most likely due to expectations of increased value from gas drilling leases, RFF concluded.
Prices of homes dependent upon well water fell 16% in that period, which the RFF researchers said may be linked to fears of potential groundwater contamination from shale drilling operations. (Note- Could be linked to economy, the owner did not own the mineral rights, the house was over leveraged, etc etc)
The survey covered homes in Washington County, Pennsylvania, south of Pittsburgh, where the number of gas wells jumped from five in 2005 to more than 490 wells by 2009.
The swing in home values was a significant 26%. “Even if shale gas operations do not contaminate groundwater in the short run, the stigma from the possibility of future groundwater contamination may negatively affect property values, resulting in important long-term consequences for homeowners,” the researchers said.
RFF released this study and others June 27 from its 18-month examination of risks and regulations surrounding shale gas development.
Note – I did not find the study on their website or a pres release about the study
A theme in several investigations is the lack of credible data on the impacts of drilling operations, members of the RFF research teams said.
“We have no data whatsoever on actual degradation of groundwater. We don’t know,” said RFF’s Lucija Muehlenbachs, commenting on the housing prices study. “This is just perceptions” by county residents, but perceptions matter in this case, she said.
NGWA has published an information brief on wells that are in proximity to natural gas/oil installations.Click here to read the information brief.” For specific guidance on Pennsylvania – get this booklet – proceeds benefit groundwater education in Pennsylvania.
Othere Resources from RFF
Survey of Regulations in 31 states -The maps are available through a user-friendly, online interface: www.rff.org/shalemaps.
My personal comments (From the Desk of Mr. Brian Oram)
1. Please note the words – stigma, possibility, and no data whatsoever on actual degradation of groundwater.
2. I think this article is more a statement about fear, unknown, and a climate or environment that promotes spin over facts.
3. The lease terms and conditions and the ownership of the subsurface rights impacts value. Therefore a bad lease or incomplete lease will impact value.
4. Baseline testing is needed and the real estate industry is just really getting to understand risk as it relates to the housing market, but there are a lot of risk issues – gasoline stations, airports, dams, floodways, mining, industrial development, agricultural manure management, roadways, landfills, pipelines , etc.
5. Until recently the real estate industry only requested water testing for bacteria and maybe nitrates even though the other problems were known.
6. The article I think is more about no really knowing the risk and a past history of understanding the risk. Also – this County has a long history of abandon oil and gas wells.
7. Oil and Gas Database PA How to Access
8. Expect More from the NGWA when they recommend articles.
9. Movies that promote SPIN on either side over FACTS – create unknown – creates fear and lack of trust.
10. Lets not forget the economy
11. We have always recommended getting a complete baseline test on the water quality of your well water, inspection of your home, and my business does conduct online database searchs of known harzardous as part of real estate transactions.
12. Make decisions based on facts not fear. I know we are humans so this is difficult.
13. I finally found the publication (pdf – March 2013)
Volunteer
We seek new people at all skill levels for a variety of programs. One thing that everyone can do is attend meetings to share ideas on improving CCGG, enabling us to better understand and address the concerns of well owners.
Everything we do began with an idea.
We realize your time is precious and the world is hectic. CCGG’s volunteers do only what they’re comfortable with. It can be a little or a lot.
For more information, please go to CCGG’s About Page or contact us.
Carbon County Groundwater Guardians is a 501(c)(3) IRS approved nonprofit, volunteer organization and your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Help the Organization and Get Your Water Tested or Order the Private Well Owner Guide (proceeds benefit This Organiazation).
Filed under consumer products, Environmental Fear, Farming, Groundwater, Oil Spill, Real Estate, Unconventional Gas, Water, Water Testing, Well water testing · Tagged with fear in Pennsylvania, groundwater quality, home sales, realestate transactions, rural Pennsylvania, Water Testing, well water quality
Posted by Brian on June 5, 2013 · 21 Comments
Common Water Well Owners Problems- The Need for Well Water Testing
This website was development to provide a quick summary and reference related to some of the most common well water problems that are encountered or reported.
Problem 1 – I tested my water and it is Total Coliform Positive and I was told the water is not potable. What do I do? What treatment system do I need? Is my family safe?
Action:
Have a professional or licensed well driller inspect the well and conduct a shock disinfection of the well and distribution system (add a high dose of chlorine to the water, recirculate, and then flush it out – but not into an on-site sewage treatment system. After the well and system have been flushed, the water should be immediately tested for total coliform bacteria.
More Information
Problem 2 – My water is black and sometimes red or orange. What toxic chemical causes this ? Should I be buying bottled water??
Get the water tested – it is most likely iron and manganese. If you have never had the water tested, we would recommend a relatively comprehensive screening water test. The color of the water will depend on the pH and form of the iron and manganese. If the water enters the house clear and becomes discolored with time, the metals are dissolved in the water in a reduced form. If the water enters the home slightly discolored and the color gets darker or deeper, it is probably a combination of reduced (dissolved) and oxidized (particle) form. The solution will depend on the water testing results, but if you have an odor to the water or slime coatings the problem may also be caused by a slime or iron bacteria. Learn More at Iron/Manganese or Slime Bacteria.
Problem 3: My well water gets dirty after it rains and I get intermittent bacterial positive tests.
This could be a problem with the well casing, well construction, pitless adapter, or well cap. The first action may be to inspect the well, change the well cap to a sanitary well cap, and conduct a shock disinfection. If this does not correct the problem, you may need to inspect the well. This would be a camera survey of the wellbore and you would want to check for problems related to the pitless adapter, welds on the casing, integrity of the steel casing, and the presence of cascading or intermittent water bearing zones just below the casing or driveshoe.
Most Significant Problem
Improperly sited and constructed wells create a significant risk. These wells short-circuit the natural flow of freshwater and in many cases can facilitate groundwater contamination. The state of Pennsylvania and others need to create a program to fix private wells that make our Waters vulnerable to contamiantion. For PA – this was not caused by the wellowner, but caused by the lack of vision and proper regulations related to the siting and construction of private wells and permitting private wells to be installed in areas where available data suggested or indicated elevated levels of arsenic, iron, manganese, barium, and even saline water. We need to act as a community to fix this problem and use funding to Fix Poorly Constructed Private Wells – Remember We ALL Live Downstream – Be Part of the Solution – Help Fix and Protect OUR Waters. (Oram, 2013)
Content of this webpage is copyrighted by B.F. Environmental Consultants Inc – Permission was granted to use this information to create this webpage. The source of the information is the Private Well Owner Guide – Well Water Testing.
Website Provided for Educational Purpose.
Carbon County Groundwater Guardians is a 501(c)(3) IRS approved nonprofit, volunteer organization and your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. We are trying to keep Well Water in Pennsylvania the Keystone State Clean, Healthy, and Safe.
Filed under Children's Health, Groundwater, Homeowner, marcellus shale, Water, Water Testing, Well, Well water testing · Tagged with arsenic, barium, dirty well water, discolored well water, groundwater quality, hazardous drinking water, keystone clean well water, Pennsylvania well owner network, private well class, private well owner, saline water, Water Testing, well water quality, well water testing, wellowner education
