Well Water Testing Common Well Water Problems – Based on over 20 Years Experience First Step Water Testing
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.
This post is in fact a pleasant one it helps new net people, who are
wishing in favor of blogging.
I’d like to find out more? I’d want to find out some additional information.
Especially during the 1970s, the most important New Jersey banks of the Hudson River was your cesspool.
This segment looks at Title IX and some random consequences.
I do believe all the ideas you’ve presented for your post. They are really convincing and can certainly work. Still, the posts are very quick for novices. May just you please extend them a bit from subsequent time? Thanks for the post.
Please let me know if you’re looking for a writer for your weblog. You have some really good articles and I feel I would be a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d absolutely love to write some
articles for your blog in exchange for a link back to mine.
Please shoot me an e-mail if interested. Kudos!
Diatomaceous earth contains silica, sodium, magnesium, and thus iron exclusively.
There can be an exception for this rule with some policies.
Hi, I do think this is an excellent blog. I stumbledupon it 😉 I may come back once
again since i have saved as a favorite it.
Disinfection is also recommended for well systems that experience problems with iron bacteria or sulphate-reducing bacteria. Iron bacteria create deposits of stringy, rusty coloured jelly-like slime on the inside of the well, pumping system, and in the water filled pore spaces in the ground. Sulphate-reducing bacteria feed off sulphate to produce hydrogen sulphide gas (characterized by a “rotten egg” odour) and scale deposits. Both problems can severely reduce well yield and the efficiency of the water supply system.
This website was… how do you say it? Relevant!! Finally I have found something that helped me.
Thanks a lot!
I am not sure where you are getting your info, but good topic.
I must spend some time learning more or figuring out
more. Thank you for fantastic info I used to be on the lookout for this
info for my mission.
Woah! I’m really loving the template/theme of this blog. It’s simple, yet effective.
A lot of times it’s difficult to get that “perfect balance” between usability and visual appearance. I must say that you’ve done a fantastic job with this.
Additionally, the blog loads super fast for me on Firefox.
Superb Blog!
Those people chemicals work sustain your water good and
safe you to enjoy. These companies probably know even
the pit is placed.
I enjoy what you guys are usually up too. Such clever work and reporting!
Keep up the awesome works guys I’ve incorporated you guys to my personal blogroll.
Pretty section of content. I just stumbled upon your blog and in accession capital to
assert that I acquire in fact enjoyed account your blog posts.
Anyway I will be subscribing to your feeds and even I achievement you access consistently quickly.
Pretty! This was a really wonderful post. Many thanks for supplying these
details.
Hey there! I simply would like to give you a big thumbs up for
the great info you have here on this post.
I’ll be returning to your site for more soon.
Awesome article.
Terrific post however , I was wanting to know if you could write a litte more on this topic?
I’d be very thankful if you could elaborate a little bit more. Bless you!
Hello there, just became alert to your blog through Google,
and found that it is truly informative. I am gonna watch out for brussels.
I will be grateful if you continue this in future. Numerous people will be
benefited from your writing. Cheers!
Have you ever thought about adding a little bit more than just your articles?
I mean, what you say is important and all. But imagine if you added some
great photos or video clips to give your posts more, “pop”!
Your content is excellent but with images and videos, this website could definitely be one of the greatest in
its field. Great blog!
Fabulous, what a blog it is! This webpage presents valuable data to us, keep
it up.