Testing and Purifying Private Water Systems or Well Water is Imperative
The majority of people get their water from a treated community water source, and some of them build their own privately-owned water supplies such as wells, lakes, rivers and many more. The owner of the privately-owned water supply is the one who is responsible for maintaining the purification and ongoing testing of their water supply and there are quite a few guidelines existing to manage the quality of private well water supplies. Generally, well water is prone to having living microorganisms and microbiological contamination because it is open. Some health departments offer a microbiological testing at the time the property changes its ownership. Throughout the day-to-day routine it is up to the well owner, if they will, to observe and check their well water supply.
It is very important to check private wells and especially for well owners to examine their wells for a possible contamination when they first purchase their property. It is also better to check it annually. You may check the water of your private well water supply if:
- A new manufacturing unit or industry has moved into your place.
- You have noticed an unpleasant smell, or change in colour in the water.
- If you have performed any installation in your house. (Example: a new water pump)
The process of testing that you need to do will depend on the contaminants in your area, source of possible pollution, and other factors. Most of the country health departments propose testing your well water supply or it is your choice if you are going to hire a certified private testing laboratory. In private testing laboratories, a sample test for bacteria will cost about $20 to $30, and testing other contaminants depends on the procedure. It can even be more expensive. For example, a test for pest or organic chemicals may cost around several hundred to thousand dollars, though the private laboratories will provide you with sterile sample bottles and give basic instructions. Most of the laboratories will mail back the results within a couple of days or several weeks. And if the result is positive with contaminants, they will include the solution or concentration of the contaminant.
The well water supply treatment will depend on the result of your water quality standard test. Several water problems are better handled through applications, such as odour and colour problems or hardness. Some of the contaminants can also be handled by other systems like reverse osmosis. Keep in mind that several treatment technologies may need that you pre-treat the water in order for the product to be efficient. And it is important to perform a follow-up testing of the treated water to make sure that it totally resolves your contamination problems. Follow-up testing should be performed quite few times, all through the first year process of the treatment system and if there is an adjustment made to the system, the adjustment required must be followed.