dirty water from well
Lyle Tuttle
SCHR...@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU (Sandy) wrote:
>I'm having problems with my well water. When it rains our water gets muddy
>looking. My husband put a filter on the incoming water line to help problem.
>(This has not helped much) Have contacted local well/drilling co. in area
>that did the well. He said other than spending $3,000 or more for a drilled
>well we would just have to put up with problem. (I think our well is
>"bored"(sp?)) I'm going today to get a filter that goes on the faucet
>because I'm afraid to drink the water. Does anyone have any input or
>suggestions to what else we might try?
>
>Thanks in advance
I would be concerned more about the possibility of bacteria entering
the well than the 'dirty water.' The fact that it only happens after
a rain is a danger signal -- either surface water is entering your
well from the top, or, surface water has found a 'channel' into your
water supply. PLEASE, go to you local health dept and ask for a
sample bottle and instructions. Collect a sample and have it testes
for bacteria and nitrates. visit with the health dept folks -- they
may even have some literature for you on this subject.
Take a physical inventory of the area around your well. Is it in a
'low' spot? Does water drain towards it? Are there holes or cracks
in the ground around the well?
Sometimes, you can solve the problem by 'mounding' dirt up to serve as
a diverter or barricade to prevent the water from even coming close to
your welhead......and you should do so.
Remember: When your water supply comes from a well, only YOU are
responsible for the safety of that water.
lyle
--
ltu...@primenet.com (Lyle Tuttle)
"Do what's right. Do it right. Do it right now."
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh
You may have one or more problems.
The _least_ likely is that the underground stream from which you draw
your water is being contaminated somewhere 'upstream' of you. In that
case, all you can do is sink another well (usually deeper) to find a new
stream.
A very possible reason your water gets muddy when it rains can result
from two (or more) problems together:
1) In any case -- your casing is not seated in solid rock, or there IS
NO rock, and you're drawing from a gravel field.
2a) You don't have a collar around your well, and rainwater is
actually running down around the well casing, to be picked up by the
pump. This is a very dangerous health hazard. You should have a wide,
well-bedded concrete collar around your well-head.
2b) leachate from surrounding soil is getting down to the level of
your casing (which is not seated), and is leaking in sideways. This, too
is dangerous, and should be resolved.
In this case, also, the only solution is to go deeper, BELOW a rock
shelf, if you can.
LLoyd
Sandy
Gary Slusser
I need more information about the well to help with the cause of the
problem.
The inline water filter (probably a disposal cartridge type) and the faucet
tip types are not going to work, they do not have enough capacity (too
small). You need a point of entry automatic turbidity filter (sized by
cubic feet) that traps the dirt and then backwashes to drain. You need
someone in the water conditioning industry, that knows what they're doing,
to work with you by installing this filter with the idea that if it doesn't
do the job you don't pay. Don't pay at least for the filter or pay part now
and the balance after 3-4 heavy rains when its proven it works.
You probably have a Coliform bacteria problem (health) and you need to test
for Total Coliform bacteria a number of times to know for sure. You
shouldn't drink/cook with this water. Test for nitrate nitrogen also, if
=>5 mg/l test for nitrite.
I believe it is better to treat the water you have as long as the well
provides enough water for your needs as opposed to a new water source that
you will probably have to buy treatment equipment for anyway. I am biased,
I sell equipment, but $3000 without a guarantee of water quality seems like
a big gamble to me.
Gary qwas...@postoffice.ptd.net
Robert Holland
Spend some money and take a water sample to a testing lab or College
extention office. Find out what is making your water "dirty" in terms of
what is in your water. If this only happens when it rains you are
probably getting surface water contamination. If this is the case, "dirty"
looking is the least of your problems! The greatest concern is are you
picking up ecoli from animal/human fecal material?
A good book on wells is "Wells and Septic Systems" by Max and Charlotte
Alth, published by Tab Books.
Good luck!
James Aldridge
>probably getting surface water contamination. If this is the case, "dirty"
>looking is the least of your problems! The greatest concern is are you
>picking up ecoli from animal/human fecal material?
That would be E. coli, short for Escherichia coli, a common bacillus bacterium.
James Aldridge - Fort Worth, Texas, USA
ja...@onramp.net or aldr...@tenet.edu
http://rampages.onramp.net/~jaldr