Guide To Private Well Water Testing And Filtration

WATER Take Back the Tap Guide to Private Well Water Testing and Filtration Fact Sheet • April 2009

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re you among the 15 percent of Americans who get their drinking water from a private well, cistern or spring? If you are, it is up to you to ensure that your water is safe. Unlike public drinking water systems, wells are not tested regularly by water utilities to ensure that the water is safe. We have prepared this guide to teach you how to keep your well safe. We will guide you through safety issues, the testing process and filtration and treatment options. With this information, you can take charge of your drinking water, so that you can continue to enjoy safe, affordable water right from the tap.

Know Your Well Your well log, or installation report, is an extremely helpful document. You can get a copy of this document from the local health department, or directly from the well driller. A well log tells you information such as when your well was made, where it is located on the property, what type of well it is, its dimensions and what type of pump it has.

Well Water Action Checklist o For maximum safety, environmental officials recommend that you have your well tested: • Once a year for bacteria, microbes and parasites. • Once every three years for all other contaminants. • Once every five years for VOCs (volatile organic compounds, such as gasoline compounds and industrial solvents.) o Keep records on your well, including the well installation report, sampling and testing results, and records on any treatment steps taken. o Check your well regularly for damage, such as cracking or corrosion of seals or a broken or missing well cap. Test your water immediately after making repairs or replacing parts.

There are three different types of wells: • Hand dug or cistern well: A shallow well made by digging a pit in the ground and lining it with tile, stone or metal. This pit may hit groundwater, or just fill up with rainwater and runoff. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), dug wells have the highest risk of becoming contaminated. • Drive point well: This well is fairly shallow, but deeper than a dug well. It is made by driving a pointed metal pipe into the ground, which has a screened section open to water, and a solid section that continues up to the surface. Driven wells have a moderate risk of becoming contaminated. • Drilled well: This is the modern method of well construction and makes the deepest well. Drilled wells have a sanitary seal to protect against contamination.

Well Water Health and Safety Issues Residential wells tap into an aquifer, which is a layer of groundwater contained in soil or porous rock. Groundwater is surface water from rain or snowfall that has entered the earth. Surface water may enter creeks, streams and rivers before seeping into the ground. As groundwater travels, it may encounter natural substances like salt brine, dissolved metals and microbes, or manmade substances like sewage and auto oil. According to the EPA, these can affect the quality of groundwater, depending on the amount of the substance present. The quality of the water in a well is fairly stable, but heavy rains, construction and development, mining and proximity to possible contamination sites may cause it to change quickly. The following are possible sources of groundwater contamination. If you know or suspect that your well is close to any of these potential problems, have your water tested for contaminants more often. • Septic systems and septic leach fields: The EPA recommends that you locate your well at least 50 feet from your septic system, as well as uphill from it, so that water cannot easily flow from the septic system into your well. • Unused or improperly constructed wells: These are holes through which runoff water can flow from the surface into the aquifer. Make sure that your well has a solid seal around the casing and make sure there are no unused wells on your property that have not been properly sealed off. Contact your local health department for old well records.

• Lead pipes: Older homes may have lead pipes or lead solder on copper pipes. Lead can definitely cause health problems if it leaches into your drinking water. An older model water well pump may also be a source of contamination. • Pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides, degreasers and fuels: Do not mix or use these or other pollutants near your well. Dispose of all chemicals properly — do not pour them down the drain or outside. These chemicals can easily make their way into your water supply. • Soaps and detergents: These can get into your well water. Try to wash your hands, laundry and car with earth-friendly soaps. Wash your car as far as possible from your well. Your well should also be at least 50 feet from the nearest road. • Contamination sites: Waste-treatment facilities, landfills, mining operations, paper mills, power plants, large automobile parking and maintenance areas, underground fuel and chemical storage tanks, and the runoff from agricultural areas or livestock yards can all harm your well water. • Chemical spills: The EPA’s Web site can help you find out if a spill or other disaster likely to affect your water has happened near you. To find out about water quality issues in your local area, you can contact your local health department. You can also go to the EPA’s Web site and view the Surf Your Watershed database.

Signs of Trouble Indications of well water problems are often quite obvious. Have your water tested right away if any of the following situations occur. Test again after you have acted to correct the problem to make sure the water is safe. • Frequent illnesses in the household: Test right away if a person or persons become ill repeatedly with symptoms similar to the stomach flu. This is a sign that there may be harmful parasites, microbes or bacteria in your water. • Odor: Water that has an odor similar to rotten eggs may contain hydrogen sulfide from bacteria or decaying organic material. Water that smells like sewage indicates a problem with a nearby septic system or animal feed lot, which can result in harmful coliform bacteria getting into your water. If it smells like petroleum or solvent, you may have a problem with a leaking underground fuel storage tank or a chemical spill, which can cause a serious health risk.

• Colored water: Water that is yellow, orange, red or brown, or leaves stains on your plumbing fixtures or laundry may contain dissolved iron from rusty pipes. This can cause a metallic taste and may be a sign that your plumbing needs to be repaired, but is not a health threat. Water that is brown or black may contain manganese, which can be confirmed though testing. • White residue: Water that leaves white residue on dishes or plumbing may contain large amounts of calcium and magnesium, and is known as hard water. Hard water has no ill effects on health, but can prevent soap from lathering, cause deposits on plumbing and increase the amount of time it takes water to heat up. • Taste: Water that tastes salty may contain chloride from ocean water intrusion, natural salt deposits or road salt, and should be tested. If your water tastes metallic, it may contain iron or copper, or more rarely zinc or manganese. If you have cloudy water, there is usually no need to worry. Water that is cloudy may contain a lot of suspended air particles and should clear up within a minute or two. These air particles have no ill effects on health. If your water does not clear up within five minutes, environmental officials recommend that you contact your local health department. According to the EPA, you cannot always tell by sight, odor or taste if your water is contaminated, so it is important to test your water even if some of the most common indicators are not present.

Having Your Well Tested Know What to Test For The first step to testing your water is deciding what contaminants you believe may be present. The cost of your analysis will go up with the number of compounds tested for, so first take these steps to narrowing your search down. The EPA contends that groundwater contamination is usually due to local activities. Consider whether your property is near one of the contamination sites listed above. For example, if you are near a farm or other source of agricultural chemicals, you may wish to test for nitrates or pesticides. Be alert to what types of hobbies your neighbors have that might affect your water supply, such as fixing up cars or boats. These activities might necessitate more frequent water testing. Check with your local health department, environmental department or a local geologist. They can tell you about local water quality and what contaminants may be in your area. Check to see what your closest municipal drinking water facility tests for. Public water suppliers currently test for around 90 chemical and microbial contaminants under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. The EPA’s Web site and the Safe Drinking Water Hotline can both tell you what public water systems test for. If you wish to be as thorough in your private well testing as the municipal systems, you can contact the lab nearest you and request the same analysis.

Test Your Water You will need to send a sample of your water to an accredited laboratory. The EPA’s website has a state-bystate listing of labs certified to perform drinking water analysis. The lab you test at, your local health department or your state’s drinking water program can help you understand your test results. Once you know what is in your water, you can take appropriate steps to deal with it. If your water is fine, you can be confident that you and your family are drinking safe water.

Treating Your Well Water If your test results show that your water contains impurities, the next step is choosing the best method to get rid of them. Contaminant removal can involve filtration, treatment and chemical disinfection. There are two main approaches to contaminant removal: • Point-of-use systems can be attached to a faucet, usually in the kitchen. These are used when only water for drinking or cooking needs to be treated and are effective on contaminants such as lead, arsenic, fluoride, uranium or nitrate. • Whole-house systems treat all water used in the household and are effective in getting rid of odor, hard water, manganese, iron or radon gas. Water filtration physically removes contaminants and improves the taste of your water. According to the EPA, there is not one type of filter that is effective for all contaminants, so choosing the right one is easiest when you have tested the water and know what you wish to have removed. Water filtration usually involves point-of-use systems, but whole-house filters can be installed for major problems.

These can be expensive, but if you have a major water quality problem and can’t afford continual testing, a filter will pay for itself both in test and health savings. For extensive information on finding the right filter for your needs, visit Food and Water Watch’s Web site and view the Take Back The Tap Guide To Home Tap Water Filtration. If you have hard water, water treatment systems such as reverse osmosis or water softeners can take care of the problem. These are typically whole-house systems. However, water softeners add sodium to water, and reverse osmosis devices can waste up to two thirds of the water they take in, increasing household water use. Drinking water disinfection is another whole-house system. Disinfection is used to kill bacteria or other microbes (it will not remove other contaminants) and involves treating your drinking water supply directly with chemicals, gas or radiation. Typically, disinfection only needs to be done once. If problems with bacteria are recurring, a disinfection system may need to be installed and maintained professionally. Recurring problems with bacteria are usually indications that your well is damaged or not properly sealed. Have your well checked and repaired before installing a disinfection system.

Conclusion: Take Care of Your Well Understanding the story of your well water is part of rural living. When you live in close relationship to your land and the surrounding ecosystems, you have the pleasure of fresh, delicious water direct from the source. Take care of your well, test it regularly and you will reap the benefits of safe water each time you turn on the tap.

Additional Resources The following resources were essential for this guide and contain even more information for safe and healthy well water testing and maintenance. • “Drinking Water from Household Wells,” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, January 2002. • “Drinking Water Contaminants,” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2003. • “Suggested Water Quality Testing for Private Wells,” New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services. • “Color, Taste, and Odor: What you should know,” Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.

For more information: web: www.foodandwaterwatch.org email: [email protected] phone: (202) 683-2500 (DC) • (415) 293-9900 (CA) A common point-of-use filtration device.

Copyright © April 2009 Food & Water Watch