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Message
Bacteria in my water Any water/ water well experts
Posted on 11/4/20 at 7:34 pm
Posted on 11/4/20 at 7:34 pm
I had a bacteria test done and have grown total coliform from my flow well water. They wanted to put chlorine in it but since it’s a flow well and it has such a large flow they are afraid it won’t take it and said there is a possibility of it sanding in if they stop the flow, second option is a uv light system which is going to cast me 850 dollars installed plus 175 a year bulb replacement.
School me on what total coliform is and what I should do? Should I get a second opinion? This was done by a reputable northshore company
School me on what total coliform is and what I should do? Should I get a second opinion? This was done by a reputable northshore company
This post was edited on 11/5/20 at 8:31 am
Posted on 11/4/20 at 8:34 pm to WPsportsman
Its full name is Fecal Coliform which means at least e-coli and other assorted nasties. Somehow your well became contaminated with either ag run off or sewer. Either way it's not good. THe best way is probably the light but if the count gets high enough it could cause some serious illness from drinking the water. I am far from an expert but that is my take.
This post was edited on 11/4/20 at 9:12 pm
Posted on 11/4/20 at 9:05 pm to WPsportsman
Chloroform or Coliform? Not sure you’d be getting chloroform in your water if you aren’t already putting something in it or living next to a terribly run chemical plant.
Posted on 11/4/20 at 10:01 pm to WPsportsman
What was the number? They are probably just trying to scare you. I am sure they would have told you if a dangerous form of E.coli had shown up.
This post was edited on 11/4/20 at 10:05 pm
Posted on 11/4/20 at 10:38 pm to WPsportsman
Is it close to your septic tank?
Posted on 11/5/20 at 3:14 am to WPsportsman
The lab can do further testing to determine the levels of each bacteria. North shore area was notorious for elevated fecal Coliform levels around the turn of the century. Mostly from dairy operations if I recall correctly. But as someone else mentioned, a leaking septic tank could be your source as well.
Regardless, go with the UV light system. The chlorine treatment makes the water taste like Clorox.
Regardless, go with the UV light system. The chlorine treatment makes the water taste like Clorox.
Posted on 11/5/20 at 7:18 am to WPsportsman
This is from my buddy canyon who used to be a prolific poster here. But he got put in time out but is still an avid follower. You know 2020 has been a bad year.
As others have said, coloform, especially ecoli, in your well is not good. There could be several issues at hand here. For one, how close is the well source to your septic or neighbors septic? The distance to any contributing source can affect your drinking water as well as direction of your well location. Is it downgradient to one or more of the potential contributors? Another issue as some have said could be contributing sources from livestock, although samples may show a different biological signature.
Adding chlorine to water sources, or "shocking the system" is one way to rid the local water source of bacteria, but is usually not sustainable. UV systems work, but can get expensive. Charcoal filtering and polishing systems can work, but may not reduce to healthy standards.
"Talk to a parish health department rep and see if they can assist. Most will be helpful and will actually conduct the analytical testing for you. You can grab a sample from your source. You say it's a "flow" well. Do you mean it's artesian? If so, what is the depth of the aquifer? All these will play a role in determining the final resolution. Good luck".
Signed
"maybe canyon"
As others have said, coloform, especially ecoli, in your well is not good. There could be several issues at hand here. For one, how close is the well source to your septic or neighbors septic? The distance to any contributing source can affect your drinking water as well as direction of your well location. Is it downgradient to one or more of the potential contributors? Another issue as some have said could be contributing sources from livestock, although samples may show a different biological signature.
Adding chlorine to water sources, or "shocking the system" is one way to rid the local water source of bacteria, but is usually not sustainable. UV systems work, but can get expensive. Charcoal filtering and polishing systems can work, but may not reduce to healthy standards.
"Talk to a parish health department rep and see if they can assist. Most will be helpful and will actually conduct the analytical testing for you. You can grab a sample from your source. You say it's a "flow" well. Do you mean it's artesian? If so, what is the depth of the aquifer? All these will play a role in determining the final resolution. Good luck".
Signed
"maybe canyon"
This post was edited on 11/5/20 at 7:30 am
Posted on 11/5/20 at 7:32 am to LSU2001
quote:
Its full name is Fecal Coliform
This really isn't 100% true. Fecal coliforms are a subdivision of Total Coliforms, but not all total coliforms are fecals.
Many coliform bacteria are harmless soil bacteria. However, some are not and can cause serious illness.
You can also get an in home chlorinator for significantly less than what they are going to charge you for a UV system, but you have to worry about having enough contact time to kill the nasties and the taste.
As others have mentioned, i would contact your local health department (most of them have some over site of septic systems) and also see if you can find someone that can run a Fecal Coliform and E. coli tests.
FWIW, you can find the EPA's drinking water standard for many of the contaminants Here
Posted on 11/5/20 at 8:08 am to Lonnie Utah
It is not E. coli that test was negative.. and yes the well is on a farm cows have been on the property for 100 years. So this is my likely source.. thinking I’ll go with the UV light just to be safe. Guy quoted me 850 to install and said maintenance of changing the bulb once a year is about 175 dollars
This post was edited on 11/5/20 at 3:55 pm
Posted on 11/5/20 at 8:33 am to WPsportsman
quote:
thinking I’ll go with the UV light just to be safe
Peroxide could be an alternative to chlorine, as peroxide can be fed at higher doses and breaks down into water and oxygen so nothing harmful.
Posted on 11/5/20 at 6:41 pm to WPsportsman
quote:
It is not E. coli that test was negative.. and yes the well is on a farm cows have been on the property for 100 years. So this is my likely source.. thinking I’ll go with the UV light just to be safe. Guy quoted me 850 to install and said maintenance of changing the bulb once a year is about 175 dollars
That's good.
Do you have hard or soft water where you live? The main thing to worry about with the UV lights is calcium or other mineral deposits on them reducing their effectiveness. That's more of a problem in hard water areas than soft water areas. You might be able to get away with a longer than 1 year life span on the bulb.
Posted on 11/5/20 at 6:56 pm to Lonnie Utah
My mineral test is..
Iron 0.70 mg/l
Manganese 0.033 mg/l
Ph 7.34
I also has sulfur smell from time to time
They quoted me 1600 to change out my bladder tank to some other kind tank to let the sulfur out? And to put a filter on that takes out the minerals that are staining my plumbing fixtures..
Iron 0.70 mg/l
Manganese 0.033 mg/l
Ph 7.34
I also has sulfur smell from time to time
They quoted me 1600 to change out my bladder tank to some other kind tank to let the sulfur out? And to put a filter on that takes out the minerals that are staining my plumbing fixtures..
This post was edited on 11/5/20 at 7:00 pm
Posted on 11/5/20 at 7:34 pm to WPsportsman
If it’s a flow well/ artesian well, then treating it is useless. Treating with bleach only works if the well is a dug well with a submersible pump and tank. We have tested many artesian wells and majority come back positive for Coliform. Some do test positive for E. coli.
Posted on 11/5/20 at 7:42 pm to WPsportsman
What condition is the well casing and is there a slab at the well ?
Posted on 11/5/20 at 9:01 pm to KB375
Messing with the casing is not an option
Posted on 11/5/20 at 9:02 pm to benjamin96
Yeah it’s an old school cl ow well with no screen and one hell of a flow,, not a trickle
Posted on 11/5/20 at 9:20 pm to WPsportsman
Water softener with a chlorinator unit on the intake side of the softener. Not that expensive.
Posted on 11/6/20 at 5:45 am to WPsportsman
To properly treat a well, the bleach, some well drillers use pellets, must sit in well for approximately 8 hours or overnight. With a flowing well, the treatment doesn’t have the necessary time to work. A new well or connection to community water is the best option for good water.
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