Virtually any expert on private well water recommends at least annual water testing. A study done by three Midwestern universities reveals that a significant portion of owners do not understand the importance of annual testing. And even more are confused by what testing is sufficient. Hopefully this discussion will assist you in understanding the importance of annual testing. Additionally I hope to give you some guidance in choosing testing at the right level for you and your family. |
| Quality Well Head |
In previous postings I have discussed the wide variety of issues that can inform you regarding the circumstances that effect the quality of the water in a water well. I encourage you to check those out if you have not already done so.
Most important is this. Each private well owner/user is responsible for ensuring the quality of the water they and their family consume. While the government continues to find ways to involve itself in your private affairs, ultimately the owner or user of the well is responsible for the safety and comfort of their family.
The only way that you can do that is to be responsible for the following:
- Be informed as to the local issues that effect water quality. Those include:
- Naturally occurring minerals.
- Toxic substance spills.
- Potential local industrial sources of pollution - both current and past.
- Annually testing the water quality.
- Annually disinfect the well - I will cover this in a later posting.
There are several approaches you can take to make this decision. One is to rely on the EPA's recommendation. That recommendation is this. Test for Confirm and e.Coli bacteria, lead, nitrate and nitrite, plus what ever contaminants are known to be a local concern.
The challenge with this criteria is that it is very difficult to know what is a concern to your well. While contamination of a neighbors well can indicate a problem, in most cases no one knows with certainty that your well and theirs are on the same aquifer. Water underground is very much like water on the surface. Sometimes it is in bodies that are very similar to ponds or larger like lakes or oceans. Often the water is in an aquifer that is like a stream or river. Unfortunately knowing if you and your neighbor are on the same aquifer is a difficult task.
In my next post we will talk about where to start your annual testing regimin.
If there is anything we can do to assist you with making the decision as to the correct testing for your situation, please contact us at (800) 344-9977 or by email: info@etrlabs.com.
Greg Aldrich
ETR Laboratories, Inc.
galdrich@etrlabs.com
If your drinking water is from a private well, you need to consider testing your well water regularly. Because sometimes, even if your well water looks very clean and tastes very good, there is still possibility of being contaminated by some microorganisms that you can't see, especially when there are old people, Well Water testing
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