Well Test Results

The quality and safety of private or domestic wells are not regulated under Federal or, in most cases, state law. In Virginia and most states only construction of wells is regulated, and the absence of bacteria at well completion is the only water quality test required. Homeowners are responsible for maintaining their domestic well systems and for any routine water-quality monitoring that may take place. However, private well owners often lack a basic understanding of groundwater and wells and the mechanical components in private water systems and are often unaware of common issues with wells, and lack access to objective information and a framework for understanding their water quality.  Help is often available through State Extension offices or the Department of Health. In Virginia both can offer assistance.

Water quality is driven by geology, well construction and condition, nearby sources of contamination, and, within the home, water treatment devices and composition of plumbing materials. Though there are always anomalies in natural system, water often tells story. The other day someone emailed me to discuss their water test results. They had previously emailed to get help will their well water problems and I convinced them that having their water tested would help identify the solution.

“Several months ago, our toilets, shower floor, and white dishes all started to become discolored with a pale reddish hue.  Water seems to taste ok and has no noticeable water discoloration when you hold a full glass up to the light.  I can let the glass sit for a long time and still nothing out of the ordinary.   I noticed on your blog that some people notice a bad odor or when the water meets the air it changes color.  We don’t experience that, at least not to the naked eye. No one is complaining and we feel fine. I think we will have our water tested and I would greatly appreciate it if you could confirm which tests we should get.  Also, another fact is that when I lift up the toilet tank lids, I can see there is a lot of sediment but I don’t think it’s slime.   Not sure what the problem is but it seems right to start with the tests. I’ve been cleaning the toilets a lot more often only to find the discoloration returns fairly quickly.  But I only recently looked into the tanks and as I said there is a lot of sediment so I will clean out the tanks and see what happens from there.”

They purchased a WaterCheck Deluxe package from National Testing Laboratories along with an Iron Bacteria and Glyphosate tests. They also have gotten a lead test through offered by their state.  The National Testing packages informational test packages targeted to be an affordable option for consumers. The WaterCheck Deluxe covers 15 heavy metals, 5 inorganic chemicals, 5 physical factors, 4 trihalo methanes, 43 volatile organic chemicals (solvents), and PCB’s. The Minimum Detection Levels, which are the lowest levels at which the laboratory detects that contaminant are below the levels established by the Safe Drinking Water Act, so this relatively affordable test will serve as a broad screen of drinking water. I had recommended the iron bacteria test because of their description of their problems. The glyphosate test was solely their choice. 

The WaterCheck test results showed detectable levels of calcium, copper, iron, lead, magnesium, manganese, potassium, silica, sodium, strontium, uranium zinc, alkalinity as CaCO3, chloride sulfate, turbidity, total dissolved solids, and hardness . All other substance tested for were non-detect (at the sensitivity of the test). Glyphosate was not detected in the sample, but the iron related bacteria was found to be Present with an estimated population of 9,000 cfu/mL.

In order to determine if there is a problem, water test results should be compared to a standard. The usual standard is the U.S.EPA Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) limits. Though private wells do not fall under the regulatory authority of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or the Safe Drinking Water Act, the SDWA has primary and secondary drinking water standards that can be used for comparison. Primary standards are ones that can impact health. Secondary standards impact taste or the perceived quality of the water.

The EPA primary contaminants found to be present were lead, copper, uranium, and turbidity. All these substances were below the EPA SDWA standard called the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) or Action Level in the case of lead and copper.  The presence of copper at 0.098 mg/L less than a tenth of the MCL with a neutral water pH spoke of at least some copper piping. Over time, even neutral water will wear away the pipes or water fixtures. The pH of the water was neutral at 7.5. Though the copper and lead levels were below action levels, I am one of those who believe there is not safe level of lead. Lead is either coming from the plumbing or fixtures.

Until 2014 when the 2011 Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act went into effect, almost all drinking water fixtures were made from brass that contained up to 8% lead, even if they carried a plated veneer of chrome, nickel or brushed aluminum and were sold as "lead free." So even home built with PVC piping in the 2000's may have some lead in most of the faucets. In addition, equipment in wells may be the source of lead. Galvanized iron is still commonly used for well casings and fittings and drop pipes in well deeper than 600 feet. Before 2014 Prime Western grade “lead free” galvanized steel zinc coating was required to contain between 0.5%-1.4% lead. After 2014, “lead free” galvanized steel have less than 0.25% lead in the surface coatings. Nonetheless, under corrosive conditions, any lead used in coatings can be easily released to the water and pumped to the household tap or accumulate in scale layers on the pipe surface or well bottom where scale can accumulate and be released or picked up and pumped with the water.

A proper lead test using a “first draw” and “flush” sample will tell whether the problem can be controlled by simply running the water, replacing a plumbing fixture or using a lead removing filter on the faucets. Lead is not a naturally occurring contaminant in groundwater. Meanwhile, there are excellent and point of use filters that remove lead including many refrigerator filters. Remember to change them as indicated.

The elevated level of salt can be attributed to a water softener that was turned off, but not bypassed. Though, the water was only a little hard without the water softener operating. The level of iron was about half of the EPA secondary standard, but the level of manganese was more than twice the EPA secondary standard. A water softener can control manganese and iron along with hardness, but can impact taste, elevate sodium level and complicate a reducing (or iron related) bacteria problem.The iron related bacteria test found Iron Related Bacteria present in this sample, with an estimated population of 9,000 cfu/mL. In the past the homeowner had an iron bacteria problem. 

 A well company came out and “ looked at our toilet tank slime (red slime) and recommended we have our well surged.  That was in July of 2017.  They brought a big truck and spent a day or so surging our well.  The slime didn’t return.  By the way, I think what we have now is sediment and not slime.” It may be that what they have is iron bacteria and hard water creating a hard orange crust. It happens.

Iron bacteria can be a huge nuisance. These harmless bacteria can foul a well, damage pumps, stain plumbing fixtures, clog pipes, faucets, shower heads, and produce unpleasant tastes and odors in drinking water. If the wall is fouled then physical removal is done as a first step in these heavily infected wells where the functioning of the pump and well production have already been impacted by the bacterial slime buildup. This is usually a job for a well contractor or pump installer as the home owner had done previously.

Physical removal is usually followed by chemical treatment with chlorine (or less commonly acids). Chlorine is inexpensive and easy to use, but may have limited effectiveness and may require repeated treatments to knock back the iron bacteria. Effective treatment requires sufficient chlorine strength and time in contact with the bacteria, and is often improved with agitation. Though typically a chlorine concentration of 100-200 parts per million for decontamination of a well, a higher concentration is recommended by the literature for iron bacteria. Recommended concentrations are between 500-1,000 parts per million. Be warned that too high a concentration can make the well alkaline and reduce effectiveness. In addition high concentrations of chlorine may affect water conditioning equipment, appliances such as dishwashers, and septic systems. You may want to check with the manufacturer of the appliances before chlorinating or have the work performed by a licensed well professional.

Though it is relatively easy to bypass equipment, iron bacteria may remain in the untreated units and reintroduce the iron bacteria into the plumbing system. The recommended strategy is to treat the well with a 500-1,000 parts per million of chlorine and then dilute the remaining water in the well. This can be accomplished by allowing a significant amount of the water to runoff to a safe disposal location using hoses until the water runs clear, and allow the natural recharge dilute the concentration then introduce the water into the house water system to disinfect the household treatment units, appliances and piping with lower concentrations circulated through the water system. I use chlorine test strips to get an idea of the level of chlorine in the well.

At best this will only knock back the iron bacteria for a period of time. My own well has an iron bacteria problem.  I treat my well every other year.  I warned the homeowner that this treatment will oxidize all the manganese and the little grains of black manganese will have to be manually taken out of all the faucet aerators and the filter on the washing machine and dishwasher several times. This should solve at least for a time the initial problem identified by the well owner, and allow her to consider if she wants to turn on or bypass the water softener.

For a checklist on Chlorine shocking a well see https://greenrisks.blogspot.com/2017/06/chlorine-shocking-well.html

For more information on lead in well water see the articles below:

Elevated Lead in Water of Private Wells Poses Health Risks: Case Study in Macon County, North Carolina

Kelsey J. Pieper, Victoria E. Nystrom, Jeffrey Parks, Kyle Jennings, Harold Faircloth, Jane B. Morgan, Jim Bruckner, and Marc A. Edwards Environmental Science & Technology 2018 52 (7), 4350-4357 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.7b05812