NFR Well water

[Canuck from Kansas]

How many of you folks are on well water? Any of you have experience with positive coliform tests - how often do you test, do you use home tests or a certified tester? If positive, do you just shock your well? Is it a recurring problem?

Reason I ask is we have put an offer on a property in New York state, a previous inspection had positive coliform test. Wondering how big an issue this is - apparently pretty common in NY state, but if it is a recurring issue, sounds like a new well or a chlorine injection system should be installed.

Thanks for your insights in advance.

 

[Tallguy]

Proceed with caution. I am not on well water now, but lived in houses with private wells in the past, and also work on water quality.

A positive coliform test generally means you have a shallow well that's being contaminated by a nearby septic system. Shocking, bleaching it etc are all short term patches, but the basic hydrology problem tends to remain: there is a flow path from a septic system to your well.

If you get repeat tests like this, you need to dig a deeper well and screen out the shallow water. Or chlorine treat the water, but recognize the facts about exactly why coliforms are there.

 

[Canuck from Kansas]

Proceed with caution. I am not on well water now, but lived in houses with private wells in the past, and also work on water quality.

A positive coliform test generally means you have a shallow well that's being contaminated by a nearby septic system. Shocking, bleaching it etc are all short term patches, but the basic hydrology problem tends to remain: there is a flow path from a septic system to your well.

If you get repeat tests like this, you need to dig a deeper well and screen out the shallow water. Or chlorine treat the water, but recognize the facts about exactly why coliforms are there.

Thanks for the input. The well and septic are on separate ends of the property (several acres), too hopefully that's not it - the well cap was noted in the inspection as being faulty/cracked, so hopefully it's something as simple as that.

 

[Tallguy]

Thanks for the input. The well and septic are on separate ends of the property (several acres), too hopefully that's not it - the well cap was noted in the inspection as being faulty/cracked, so hopefully it's something as simple as that.

Neighbors house nearby? Any farm animals around? In shallow sandy aquifers, water can sometimes move quite fast/far. Look on a line roughly uphill of the well and see if anything is in sight.

 

[Canuck from Kansas]

Neighbors house nearby? Any farm animals around? In shallow sandy aquifers, water can sometimes move quite fast/far. Look on a line roughly uphill of the well and see if anything is in sight.

Not sure it's a neighbor issue or farm animals, though they are about, but some ways off. There is a pond, maybe 50 yards down a slight hill, afraid that could be the culprit.

This is the one thing that is giving us real pause.

 

[Cabezon]

Coliform bacteria from the digestive tracts of ducks and geese would also produce a positive coliform bacteria result. If the pond has significant waterfowl populations, that could be the ultimate cause of the positive coliform test.
Steve

 

[nwbobber]

We went to a church that had a recurring problem with that. We shocked and shocked, till eventually we put in a UV treatment system that took care of it. Because it was a church it had different requirements for testing, so maybe not relevant. I don't think the treatment system was that expensive in the big picture. Much better than chlorine IMO, although I have no idea of the comparative costs today.

 

[KirkD]

We went to a church that had a recurring problem with that. We shocked and shocked, till eventually we put in a UV treatment system that took care of it. Because it was a church it had different requirements for testing, so maybe not relevant. I don't think the treatment system was that expensive in the big picture. Much better than chlorine IMO, although I have no idea of the comparative costs today.

+1 on UV treatment.

 

[krusty]

Coliforms are just a useful indicator microorganism, because they are relatively hardy and laboratory culturing techniques are simple and very well established. Their presence, as noted above, indicates enteric contamination and as such could mean other pathogens like viruses are also making their way to the well. Distinct plumes of contaminated water can travel surprising distances through a soil matrix to an actively pumped well, in a manner that defies surface geography and gradient.

Some sort of disinfection is in order; UV has the advantage of not creating any chlorination byproducts, but the disadvantage of not providing any residual disinfection once past the UV treatment system and regrowth can occur in the post-disinfection system (which is why large systems don't use UV). UV is generally used close to point of use.

You might also consider a nitrate test. A ubiquitous farmland groundwater pollutant that's harmless to adults but can result in life-threatening methemoglobinemia in infants.

You've also got to remember that if the source of those coliforms is a neighbor's septic system it means you could also be ingesting household chemicals/pharmaceutical metabolite pass through discharged to that system which are certainly not benign (since their source is domestic the discharge is completely unregulated). UV, chlorination, or ozonation would provide little to no treatment for those contaminants.

 

[Kilchis]

I financed lots of homes with domestic wells. The failed test could definitely indicate contamination of the well, especially if it is a shallow one. Then again… Something to look at is where the sample was drawn for the test and by whom? Did the collector wash his/her hands before opening the sample bottle? Was the water taken from the well head, pressure tank, sillcock, garden hose, or household faucet?

Did the person drawing the sample sanitize the drawpoint before collecting the sample? Why I inquire: Have you ever had a housecat or a dog? Have you ever seen said animals lick their asses or eat feces? ( Faeces if an English Setter.) Have you ever seen a cat or dog lap at a faucet or sillcock, especially in hot weather? Lick butt, lick faucet….

 

[krusty]

I financed lots of homes with domestic wells. The failed test could definitely indicate contamination of the well, especially if it is a shallow one. Then again… Something to look at is where the sample was drawn for the test and by whom? Did the collector wash his/her hands before opening the sample bottle? Was the water taken from the well head, pressure tank, sillcock, garden hose, or household faucet?

Did the person drawing the sample sanitize the drawpoint before collecting the sample? Why I inquire: Have you ever had a housecat or a dog? Have you ever seen said animals lick their asses or eat feces? ( Faeces if an English Setter.) Have you ever seen a cat or dog lap at a faucet or sillcock, especially in hot weather? Lick butt, lick faucet….

All good points. Another question would be whether the laboratory ran a test (MPN or plate count) that could provide some info on degree of contamination? Or was it just a presence/absence qualitative test?

 

[Billy]

In Soap Lake our water is pure...

 

[Canuck from Kansas]

All good points. Another question would be whether the laboratory ran a test (MPN or plate count) that could provide some info on degree of contamination? Or was it just a presence/absence qualitative test?

The test was MPN - Total Coliform 4.2 MPN/100 mL (e. Coli was negative - so that's good news, suggests contamination not from another septic)

Thanks everyone!!!

 

[krusty]

In Soap Lake our water is pure...

As are the Soap Lake girls.

 

[kmudgn]

Not sure if it is an issue in the PNW, but here in New England, Arsenic & Radon can be an issue, but easily remedied via filtration. Bacteria not an issue with me as well is over 300 ft down. State of NH, where I live, recommends periodic well water testing.

 

[Canuck from Kansas]

Not sure if it is an issue in the PNW, but here in New England, Arsenic & Radon can be an issue, but easily remedied via filtration. Bacteria not an issue with me as well is over 300 ft down. State of NH, where I live, recommends periodic well water testing.

Spoke with a well guy this morning, apparently in rural NY state, approximately 50% of wells test positive for coliform - we're gong to have another test done, shock test, and if we buy the property, ultimately put in a UV system.

Again, thanks everyone for your valued input, much appreciated.

cheers

 

[Guy Gregory]

Pull the well log if there is one. Also, as buyer, have it inspected by a licensed well driller or other professional for depth, construction, lithology, and yield. You need to do this anyway. Glad you got a well guy and you're gonna sanitize it. Find out about the other elements of the well, too.

Coliform are contaminants, as noted above. They also show up in tests done by folks who don't sample correctly: they don't wash their hands or wear fresh gloves, the sample container is somehow contaminated, etc.

Yes, it costs money. Being on a well means you're running your own water system. It's not necessarily cheapter than being on municipal system. Get used to it.

 

[Roper]

We’re lucky, 240 feet deep and great tasting, albeit hard water. Love ranch water….

 

[Smokey Bear]

Hope everything works out for you. I have no idea how deep our well is, but it’s always cold and the best water I’ve ever had. Friends usually stop by on their way out camping to Mt Hood or the Clackamas drainage and fill up the containers.

 

[Eastside]

Pull the well log if there is one. Also, as buyer, have it inspected by a licensed well driller or other professional for depth, construction, lithology, and yield. You need to do this anyway. Glad you got a well guy and you're gonna sanitize it. Find out about the other elements of the well, too.

Coliform are contaminants, as noted above. They also show up in tests done by folks who don't sample correctly: they don't wash their hands or wear fresh gloves, the sample container is somehow contaminated, etc.

Yes, it costs money. Being on a well means you're running your own water system. It's not necessarily cheapter than being on municipal system. Get used to it.

This is good advice. Knowing how the well is constructed and its depth would be good information. Having a licensed professional would tell you whether you need to have the well deepened and what the underlying geology and water production would be. My master’s degree is in Hydrogeology but I never worked on water supply wells. A licensed well driller would be able to provide good information.