Urchina
Full time employment: Posting here.
Today I purchased two more cases of bottled water at Sam's. I really hate lugging those sorry cases around. But I'm still in a fix about water.
I'm on a well now after drinking tap water in the city almost all my life. First the water pH was too low from the well and was destroying my copper pipes. I installed a neutralizing filter, so now the pH is perfect, but I get a very small amount of tiny solids from the calcite media. Then I tested for bacteria: 70-80 ppm. Uh oh. So I shock treated the well with 4-5 gallons of Clorox. It then tested at about 20 ppm one week after treatment. Did I do an inadequate job shocking the well, or is bacteria getting in continuously? Should I shock it again to see if I can get it all? It's not expensive, but it's a pain in the *ss to do. The water lab people say only 0.00 ppm is acceptable for drinking. Here's the funny part.
Neighbors on each adjacent property, and the previous owners of my property, have drunk the well water for decades with no known ill effects, bacteria and all. Are they immuned, or is the bacteria harmless? I could, and probably will, install a bacteria filter and be done with it because 1) I hate to lug around the bottled water, and 2) shocking the well is a real pain. But I just hate to pay for something that is unnecessary and requires ongoing maintenance. Oh, the taste of the water is fine.![]()
Several questions:
Is your well sealed (that is, is there a concrete cap on the borehole?) If not, sealing it may help surface contaminants from getting down into your well. Here in CA a 50-foot deep seal is required for all new wells that will serve residential connections.
How deep is your well, and is it hand-dug or drilled?
How far away from the following is your well: septic leach field, septic tank, livestock pasture, barn, farm, bird roost?
Is the well inside a wellhouse or pumphouse (can limit critter activity near it)?
What is the bacteria? Do you have coliforms/fecal coliforms or other types of bacteria in your well?