Those With Shallow Wells

 
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Smokeyja
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Post by Smokeyja » Sat. Dec. 26, 2015 11:43 am

So those of you with shallow wells, do you have any coloration issues in the water during heavy rains? I have a well which is 30' deep . The water has been tested and it is really pure. 4x the water quality from the county water.

Anyways during a lot of rain the water turns yellowish and starts to smell a little like dirt. The first time this happened to us was last year and we had the water tested to find we had surface water intrusion. Since then and a lot of money we have fixed the problem and I also re-plumbed the entire house . I just checked the well recently and that water was clear and I could see to the bottom of the well . After all this rain the ground has become saturated . The water taste fine and I have a whole house filter plus a carbon filter on the fridge for drinking water. I know it's fine to drink and so on but I was wondering how many of you have dealt with the same problem? It seems that no matter how fine the microns are on the house filter that the water still comes out yellowish after a few days worth of rain. I am assuming that the color is just the tannins getting through the dirt .


 
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Post by SWPaDon » Sat. Dec. 26, 2015 2:19 pm

That sounds like ground water infiltration.

With that said, it doesn't necessarily mean it's coming from your well. People around you could be tapped into the same underground stream/auquifer. That will cause your water to suffer at some point.

Hope this helps.

 
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Post by Lightning » Sat. Dec. 26, 2015 2:34 pm

I have water at 16 feet deep. Recently had it tested for foster parenting. The results said it was negative for the dangerous bacteria but positive for the safe bacteria, which indicates that there is possibility for the dangerous bacteria to get into the water supply. I've used it for 20 years without any problems lol yet they are making me bleach the well and retest it.

If still positive for the safe bacteria I'll be required to install some kind of sanitizing appliance to sterilize my water. Kind of frustrating.

 
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Post by Rob R. » Sat. Dec. 26, 2015 2:37 pm

Lee, a UV light would probably be far easier than arguing with the state.

Surface water can enter from many areas, and the source may not even be on your property.

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Sat. Dec. 26, 2015 2:56 pm

Rob R. wrote:Lee, a UV light would probably be far easier than arguing with the state.

Surface water can enter from many areas, and the source may not even be on your property.
Thank you for replying Rob. Any idea what it would take to install one, and cost?

 
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Post by lsayre » Sat. Dec. 26, 2015 2:56 pm

We just had two new well pumps installed, and in the process we learned that our well is only 70 feet in total depth, our electric well pump resides 60 feet down, our hand pump sits 6 feet above our electric pump, and our water table is hit at a depth of 38 feet. That makes ours a shallow well. UV would be a good idea for us also.

 
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Post by Rob R. » Sat. Dec. 26, 2015 3:26 pm

Lightning wrote:
Rob R. wrote:Lee, a UV light would probably be far easier than arguing with the state.

Surface water can enter from many areas, and the source may not even be on your property.
Thank you for replying Rob. Any idea what it would take to install one, and cost?
Well, the first thing you need to know is if your water is or ever gets cloudy. If it does, a UV light won't work properly without filtering the water first. Assuming the water is clear and just contains some bacteria that gets the health dept. excited, a UV light should take care of it. They are about $550-600 and get installed the same same way as a sediment filter (except they need power, of course). I would suggest piping a bypass around any filter or UV light, that way you can service it and still have water pressure throughout the home. Bulbs should get changed once per year.

Here is an example of a popular model for residential use. https://www.h2odistributors.com/650692-uv-max-mod ... -uv-system


 
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Post by Lightning » Sat. Dec. 26, 2015 3:41 pm

Nice. Yes, my water has never been cloudy. Thank you for the great advice. I'll likely be looking at getting one of them soon.

 
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Post by davidmcbeth3 » Sat. Dec. 26, 2015 3:43 pm

Lightning wrote:I have water at 16 feet deep. Recently had it tested for foster parenting. The results said it was negative for the dangerous bacteria but positive for the safe bacteria, which indicates that there is possibility for the dangerous bacteria to get into the water supply. I've used it for 20 years without any problems lol yet they are making me bleach the well and retest it.

If still positive for the safe bacteria I'll be required to install some kind of sanitizing appliance to sterilize my water. Kind of frustrating.
Good idea..bleach the well, test, passes. Still does not mean bugs won't be back. If it comes back positive you don't have to do anything, right? Just lose your ability to foster care I assume.

 
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Post by warminmn » Sat. Dec. 26, 2015 4:13 pm

UV light, reverse osmosis, and a simple counter top filter will all help, although I doubt the state will let you use something as simple and inexpensive as the counter top filter (Doulton or similar). Its sad because the counter top models do the best job. Ive used one for years. There are some systems as simple as screwing a filter onto your sinks spout. I wish I'd saved a link of one I almost bought but I didnt.

In reality, whether it passes or not it would be a good idea to install or use something with shallow wells. Even one of the sawyer .1 filters will kill all bacteria but don't do anything with chemicals.

 
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Post by windyhill4.2 » Sat. Dec. 26, 2015 5:30 pm

When we bought our place ,the well was 110' deep,the above ground pump pulled water at the 90' depth. We kept running out of water,so we had it drilled to 325'. They went strait down thru the existing well casing,so they only had to drill from 110' - 325'. One day the BIG liquid manure trucks arrived in the field directly bordering us on the west.They covered lots of acres with LOTS of manure.That afternoon,evening & overnite,it rained 7/10". Our water got cloudy,cloudier & then it turned brown with manure flakes floating in it. We have a chlorination system with a big sediment filter & a big carbon filter. We now can safely use our water again after nearly dying from the e coli back when we got the manure in the water. I also have to remind the farmer now & then as to what the weather forecast is & not to spread the manure so close to the wet spots in his fields.

 
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Post by mozz » Sat. Dec. 26, 2015 6:23 pm

How much electricity do the UV filters use? Do they switch on and off or on continuously? We have shallow well here split between 2 houses. Never had any problems but if I put water in a bottle and it sits in the car for a week or so, you can smell the algae growing. Previous home owner lived to be 91 years old, so I take it the water is or was good, but on the other hand maybe he would have lived to 110 and the water is what killed him. Never had it tested.

 
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Post by Rob R. » Sat. Dec. 26, 2015 6:39 pm

I think most of them use 50-60 watts, and they are on all the time. There is no free lunch, although the UV lights don't use chemicals you have to clean the quartz sleeve every few months, and replace the bulb once per year.

 
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Post by scoobydoo » Sat. Dec. 26, 2015 8:55 pm

Here is a water filter that requires no electricity and has >99.99% efficiency. http://doultonusa.com/doulton_water_filters/Whole ... filter.php I have one in my kitchen hooked to a fountain for drinking water.I had it hooked to the whole house,but without a pre filter,I had to clean it often.You can find the filters cheaper than on Doulton.Here's one for example https://www.freshwatersystems.com/c-489-doulton-r ... ystem.aspx

 
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Post by Smokeyja » Sat. Dec. 26, 2015 10:08 pm

I have a whole house filter and I have a carbon filter on the drinking water from the fridge. However my water is good to drink straight from the well. The house filter captures sediment and so on and the carbon filter keeps the taste of the dirt out of it on those extra rainy days. It is good water I just think it is getting those tannins in it . It's not cloudy , just yellowish during heavy repeated rains. It has rained almost non stop for 2 weeks now .

as far as filters go , none of them will stop bacteria . They are mainly for sediment and taste .

There are no wells very close to me that are in use anymore at least . The neighborhood around me is new .

has anyone seen the last back to the future set in the west when he picks up that glass of water ? haha


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