OT---Well Water Test

[Jiles]

I have a submerged pump in a drilled well that, in the past, has had excellent water. I had my well water tested and the results were that I had bactria count that was of concern.
Short of buying a purification system or hooking to county water, what can I do to get this problem under control?
I was told that chlorine should be added to the well periodically and that it will somewhat treat the well water.
How is the best way to add clonine?

 

[gene bender]

Check with your driller as he would have a good idea of what goes on in your area. Mite also call county health dept.

 

[landlord7012]

1/2 to 1 gallon of bleach. Chlorine tabs (pool type) work too but probly don't disperse as well. Either way I wouldn't drink it until you get a good test back. Do you know what contaminated it?

Good water,
Bill

 

[Anonymous-0]

I found this on the web. It is basically whost I do every year of two, but I use about double what the chart below shows. I also leave it in for 24 hours.

Areo

Overview: Use ordinary liquid laundry bleach to shock chlorinate the water system. Determine how much bleach to use, then pour the bleach down the well and circulate it through the whole water distribution system. Wait 6 - 12 hours for the chlorine to work, then flush the chlorinated water from your well and pipes. Retest the water after 2-3 days.

Step-by-Step Instructions for Shock Chlorination

Create an opening at the top of the well to pour in the chlorine solution. Well caps vary-this step may be easier for some wells than others.
If a flat or domed cap on top of a well with no pipes sticking up out of it, you can unbolt the cap and remove it.
If pipes stick up from the well cap, do not remove the bolts! The bolts hold the bottom plate of the seal and if you remove the bolts, the bottom plate will drop down your well. In addition, the weight of the pump may be resting on the cap, and if you remove the cap, you may loose your pump down the well. The best option is the vent pipe hole. If you can remove this short piece of pipe that sticks up out of the cap, you can use that hole to pour down the chlorine solution. If you have difficulties with this step, call a well or pump professional for assistance


Determine the amount of bleach you will need. An initial chlorine concentration of 50 to 100 parts per million (ppm) is recommended. To estimate how much bleach to use for this concentration, use the table below based on the well diameter and depth of water in the well. Note: Do not use the total depth of the well. The depth of water is the distance from the water level to the bottom of the well. This information is on your well log. Your local Watermaster can help you get a copy of your well log. Your well driller may also have this information. Amount of Ordinary Chlorine Laundry Bleach Needed to Shock a Well (very roughly 100 ppm)

Well diameter (inches)
Depth of Water in Well

Less than 50 feet
50 - 100 feet
100 - 150 feet
150 or greater

2
1 cup
1 cup
1 cup
1 cup

4
1 cup
2 cups
3 cups
1 quart = 4 cups

6
2 cups
1 quart = 4 cups
1½ quarts = 6 cups
½ gallon = 8 cups

8
1 quart = 4 cups
½ gallon = 8 cups
½ gallon = 8 cups
¾ gallon = 3 quarts

10
½ gallon = 8 cups
¾ gallon = 3 quarts
¾ gallon = 3 quarts
1 gallon

12
½ gallon = 2 quarts
¾ gallon = 3 quarts
1 gallon
1 gallon



Make sure you have the right type of chlorine bleach. Use plain liquid laundry bleach (Chlorox, Purex, or a generic brand). Do not use bleach with additives or special scents. The label should say sodium hypochlorite and the concentration should be about 5-6%.

Dilute the bleach. Use 2 cups or less per 2 gallon bucket of water. Straight chlorine can corrode metal well parts.

Pour the diluted chlorine bleach solution down the well. Be careful not to splash on clothes or skin.

Mix the chlorine and well water. Attach a hose to a faucet near the well and run the water. After you smell chlorine, direct the water from the hose back down into the top of the well. (If you don't smell chlorine in a few minutes, add some more before circulating the water.)

Make sure the system is chlorinated by opening each fixture (sink, shower, outdoor faucet) one at a time and let water run until you smell chlorine. Be sure to run hot water to draw chlorine into the water heater. If you don't smell chlorine, add more diluted bleach solution and circulate with the hose again.

Hold the chlorine in the pipes 6 - 12 hours. Don't use the water! (A few toilet flushes are O.K.)

Remove chlorinated water from well and pipes. Run a hose outdoors until you no longer smell chlorine. Don't use this water on plants. Next, run chlorine water out of plumbing. Less water down drain is better for septic tank.

About 3 days later, test for coliform bacteria. Do not consume the water until you receive "clean" test results.
Prepared by: Gail Andrews, OSU Extension Service, February 2002

 

[Anonymous-0]

Putting chlorine or chlorine tablets down the well casing is called shock chlorination. Well driller told me to put the chlorine down. Wait for a while to let the chlorine somewhat move about down in the groundwater, then open all of the faucets to chlorinate the plumbing. Shut the faucets off to let the chlorine set. After a period of time flush all of the plumbing to remove the chlorine. He said not to wash colors in the washing machine for a while. Is your well in a pit? If so make sure all surface water is moving away from the pit rather than into the pit and possibily down the well head or along side of the casing. Many older style wells are contaminated from the top down. I also know that people have different tolerances to specific bacteria. Your "gut" is probably use to the bacteria. Guests to your home might not tolerate it. Sort of like going to Mexico. Does anyone drinking the water have intestinal problems???? Either way it is probably good to fix the problem.

 

[GeneMO]

Rather than treat the symptoms, find the problem. What kind of bacteria, then where is it coming from.

Gene

 

[Anonymous-0]

If your well has coliform contamination, it is really important to figure out how that contamination is happening, and then do whatever is needed to keep it from happening again.

If your contamination is continuous, or it recurs soon after you chlorinate the well, you might need to put in a system to add a small amount of chlorine as the water is used.

My well has some kind of bacteria that feed on the iron in the water and make the water smell of sulfur and have a slight black tinge. It isn't dangerous, but it makes the well water lots less pleasing to use. So I have a system in place to easily add bleach several times a year. My system is a flexible plastic pipe that goes through the well cap and down the well about 10 feet. The other end of the flexible pipe extends into my pump house. It is usually capped, but I can thread a funnel into the end and then pour bleach into the funnel.

I try to treat my well during a time when I won't be using much water for a couple of days, hopefully to give the bleach time to penetrate all areas of the well and my water system. Then I run the water on the lawn, which has never seemed to hurt the grass.

I have used as much as 4 gallons of bleach at a time in treating my well. But usually I only use 1 or 2 gallons. After the bleach has got a chance to work for a couple of days, the water gets lots more black coloration, at least for the first few minutes of flushing the system.

I also treat my well about once a year with citric acid, which causes the rust to dissolve and go into suspension. I use the same system, but do not add bleach and citric acid at the same time.

After treating the well, the water is much clearer for a while. But unfortunately, it does not seem to be possible to destroy all the bacteria, and after a few months, I start smelling the sulfur odor again.

During this part of the year, I pump a lot of water for irrigation, and the problems with my well water don't seem too bad. But in about a month, it will be time to treat the water system again in preparation for the low usage time during the winter.

Good luck with your well. Chlorination isn't that bad.

 

[MarkB_MI]

I follow the same instructions as Areo posted. Since I don't know how deep my well is, I usually use a 1-1/2 gallon jug of bleach. The main thing is that you should smell chlorine at each faucet.

If you have a water softener you should put it in bypass while you shock your system. The high chlorine concentration isn't good for the resin bed. There'll be enough residual chlorine in the well afterwards to disinfect the softener.

I try to shock mine when my wife is out of town, BTW.

 

[Anonymous-0]

If you have a septic system you might not want to put all that chlorine into it. When you flush out the water through a faucet run a hose into the ditch or somewhere the chlorinated water won't hurt.

 

[johndeereman]

put in a under the counter reverse osmosis system for drinkin i did cost about $150 best investment i made we still shock the well ever few months to help the appliances but our drinkin water is the best you can get i cant drink the store boughten stuff anymore after having this system

 

[kyplowboy]

Did they say what type of bacteria you have? If you had something get in around the cap and now growing shocking will work, just need to flush lines and suck a good bit out of the well before you drink much. If you have it comeing in from the ground water you are going to need to find a way to stop it (best) or a way to keep it killed. In Ky public drinking water has to stay below 4ppm free Cl, to get a new tank or section of pipe on line it has to hold over 50ppm for 24 hours, that will take care of anything in there. There are systems out there that pump very small (gallon/month) amounts of bleach into your system.

Dave

 

[greenbeanman in Kansas]

Contact your local extension council. They should be able to give you directions for treating your well with bleach. Make sure you get the bleach smell coming through all household outlets which is to say piping before letting it set in them as per directions.

And of course stop the bacterial entry as needed.

 

[Dave Sherburne NY]

You might want to test it again. Could have been a
contaminated bottle. Ask the guy at the lab how to do it, to be sure of an accurate test.