Reasons for Chlorinating a Well

Spring is here and it is an odd number year, so, I will be planning on chlorinating my well if. Though normally thought of as a method to sanitize a well contaminated with coliform bacteria, there are so many benefits of chlorination that you might want to consider it a regular part of home maintenance. I do it to knock back the iron bacteria and keep my water tasting good.

Iron bacteria, while not a health hazard, are an incredibly common nuisance in water wells, and once you have it you will always have it. I have never come across a well that did not have it. Iron bacteria are a type of reducing bacteria that uses dissolved iron in the water as an energy source and leave slimy deposits of red iron hydrate as a by-product. Reducing bacteria can also thrive on sulfur and/or manganese. Elevated levels of iron, manganese and sulfate in groundwater are ideal for iron bacteria to grow. Iron bacteria are present in soil and surface water in this area of Virginia and in many other parts of the country and can be introduced into a well during drilling or repair. There are tests that can look for these micro-biologicals. After testing my well for reducing bacteria about 15 years ago, I just began regularly chlorinating the well to keep the bacteria in check.

I test my well water each year either during the annual water clinic the Prince William Extension Office hosts or every few years from a private company for all primary and secondary pollutants under the safe drinking water act. Iron bacteria is not part of those tests. The standard bacteria tests do not test for iron bacteria. I tested my well water for iron/reducing bacteria after noticing the typical symptoms (slime in the orange toilet tank and foam in my ATU tank). The test found a significant levels of reducing bacteria present. National Testing Laboratories sells mail in test for $85 including shipping if you want to test your well. That is what I used. The test cost $150 when I bought it back in the day.

Now, I just monitor the iron bacteria by checking my toilet tanks. The slime from iron bacteria builds up in toilet tanks and can be felt on the flapper. Also, the iron bacteria makes it look orange in the tank. I’ve noticed that the slime builds up at different rates in different bathrooms, I’ve not figured out why that is, maybe use. Anyone who has thoughts on the topic or a theory share it in the comments.

Iron bacteria once introduced into the well cannot be easily wiped out. Instead, it continues to get worse, ultimately binding up your pump and fouling the well. Iron bacteria can grow on pump intakes and screens openings, reducing the yield and efficiency of the well. In addition, the bacteria will make the water smell and taste vaguely unpleasant. Iron bacteria also cause foam to form in the ATU tank of some kinds of alternative septic systems. A much earlier symptom is the slime on the toilet tank flipper. 

It is common practice to regularly treat public supply wells to prevent biofilm buildup from reducing bacteria and mineral encrustation. Preventive maintenance is to chemically treat and flush the production well.  However, this has not been  practiced in private water wells in the past. Now, several state health departments and Canadian Provinces are recommending the regular chlorination of private wells to push back the iron bacteria.

From Penn State Extension: “As a water well ages, the rate at which water may be pumped tends to decrease.” Penn State attributes this decrease in performance of a well to incrustations and biofouling (with reducing bacteria) of well screens and rock fractures or borehole, saying: “In severe cases, the obstruction to flowing water can render the well useless. Major forms of incrustations can occur from build-up of calcium and magnesium salts, iron and manganese compounds, or plugging caused by slime producing iron bacteria or other similar organisms (biofouling).”

Private well owners typically try to treat the symptoms rather than the cause of the problem. Eliminating iron bacteria once a well is heavily infested can be difficult. However, treating the well is your best chance for a fix that will last a couple of years.  Iron bacteria cannot be eliminated by most common water filtration methods or water softeners. Iron bacteria will foul that equipment.  However, though it is difficult to eliminate, it is actually very easy to control – just oxidize the heck out of the well. This is accomplished by chlorine shocking of the well with adequate chlorine concentration and several hours of mixing accomplished by recirculation.  

Personally, I chlorinate my own well every few years or so to prevent the buildup of a biofilm in my well and plumbing system and maintain the aesthetic quality of my water. I drain and flush the hot water heater annually to protect it from biofilm and mineral buildup and keep the temperature above 145 degrees to prevent the growth of reducing bacteria.  If you have treatment equipment like a water softener, you might want to consider chlorinating your well annually and treating your media to prevent a bio mat from forming in the media tanks.

There are so many things that regular chlorination will solve or prevent that you might want to consider a regular part of home maintenance. The first couple of times I chlorinated my well, so much reddish-brown mucus like gunk came out that after recirculating the well for three hours I ran the water off for three hours. Then upped the chlorine concentration and recirculated it again before I pulled the water into the house and sealed the well. 

These days when I chlorinate, I tend to reddish brown tinged water after a few hours of recirculating the chlorine water mixture.  At that point, I seal up the well and don't use any water. Once the well has sat for 12-14 hours with the chlorine mixture, I run the hoses to a non-sensitive area for at least an additional 14 hours till it runs clear, and the chlorine level drops towards non-detect. Though it can take an additional week to clear a well of every trace of chlorine under normal use. 

When I replaced my pump and pressure tank in 2020, I used a heck of a lot of chlorine in the powder form (a couple of cups or more of high-test calcium hypochlorite) to sanitize the well. I probably should have replaced the black pipe which as you can see below was coated (likely inside and out) with iron bacteria slime. Unfortunately, I did not think of it in time.

Jason pulling the pump. Note the orange look of the black pipe

The entire pipe should be black as is the top section

When you replace the pump, you are to let it sit for 24 hours and I was not able to mix the chlorine adequately.  Mixing the chlorine is accomplished by recirculating the water for a couple of hours which uses the pump. The result was that after running the hoses for about 12 hours the water appeared near clear but still had a measurable but low level of chlorine. So, I need to keep diluting the chlorine solution by running the hoses to rid my well.

I ended up running the hoses for around days. During this time, I was able to use water in the house (just don’t do laundry or cook with it). Pockets of discolored water kept appearing for days. Though I cannot run my well dry-it recharges faster than I can pump, I only ran the hoses only about 6-12 hours a day whenever a pop of rust colored water reappeared.  It would still be almost 5 days before all traces of the chlorine and rust colored water was flushed from the system, and the water remained consistently clear, but we were good with filtered water for coffee until then.

During well chlorination, free chlorine is introduced into the well water; there is no one standard for how much chlorine and methods to accomplish this disinfection so your experience will vary from mine, but adequate amounts of chlorine will flush the mineral build up, iron in solution in the water and reducing bacteria out of the well.  The more iron you have, the more iron bacteria the higher concentration of chlorine you will need.  Based on a survey of emergency disinfection protocols performed by Dr. Kelsey J. Pieper et. al and published earlier this year “Improving state-level emergency well disinfection strategies in the United States”, the scientists found that there were many differences in the protocols for chlorine disinfection. 

Most of the protocols for chlorination recommend that high chlorine doses be introduced into the well, circulated throughout the system, and stagnated for several hours up to 24 hours. The scientists point out that it is important that residual chlorine be measured at the faucet before you stagnate the system. This is because if too much of the chlorine solution reacts with iron or organic substances present in the well the concentration of chlorine and thus its effectiveness is reduced. This is key because when iron or iron bacteria or other reducing bacteria react with chlorine (are oxidized) and are flushed out of the well into the water. If there is enough chlorine, the well will shed brown water and be disinfected. 

Five days was the longest it has ever taken to flush all the gunk out of the well which I attribute to not mixing the chlorine adequately and using a heck of a lot of chlorine. My husband was briefly worried that I had somehow ruined the well or water supply because it seemed to go on and on. No worries, by the next week the water was clear and tasty. It takes patience to clear a well. Your well will clear, also.  However, the next time I change my pump, I will also replace the pipe to remove that excess iron bacteria source.

Green Infrastructure

Stormwater runoff, and the pollution and sediment it brings, wreak havoc on our local rivers, streams and creeks. There are effective natural solutions to help manage stormwater runoff. Those solutions ­ including tree plantings, bioswales, permeable pavement, rain gardens, riparian tree and shrub plantings and other native vegetative plantings near and along roadways, parking lots and sidewalks ­ are collectively known as green infrastructure or natural stormwater solutions. Generally, these have been applied as an addition to traditional stormwater infrastructure.

 
Natural solutions use the living landscape to capture, store, absorb, filter and slow the flow of stormwater runoff at the surface – before it enters sewer or stormwater systems and eventually local waterways. However, these solutions require maintenance plans and strategies. Proper maintenance is essential to ensure that projects perform as expected. Just a couple of examples: Maintenance activities for a rain garden include replacing mulch annually, pruning trees and shrubs as needed, and removing invasive species and weeds by hand monthly or at the minimum three times a year. Maintenance for a green roof includes removing weeds by hand, replacing dead plants, removing invasive species, clearing inlet pipes, removing trash and debris, and pruning.

 
Establishing written plans, budgets and procedures are needed to ensure proper long-term maintenance and are critical components to the success of any green infrastructure project. A dedicated source of funding that will allow for a budget capable of covering the costs of maintenance, staff, equipment, and the repair and replacement of green infrastructure on an ongoing basis. Otherwise, the systems will fail. Even with proper maintenance, green infrastructure cannot replace a woodland that was removed to build townhouses or data centers in terms of environmental services and stormwater filtering.
Modern urban drainage and suburban stormwater systems began by whisking the water away at the risk of extreme flooding downstream during larger storms. Methods to control stormwater flow like detention basins were then added to hold the water in place until it could be released safely during larger storm events. Engineered stormwater solutions using nature to replace hard surfaces and help control the flow can improve overall performance of the stormwater system.

 
However, as towns and communities grew, each new development project installed more concrete and other impervious surfaces in place of the softer, natural areas that slow and absorb water. This not only diverted more and more water to the stormwater system, but also removed the natural filtration of soil and plants to treat the mix of contaminants stormwater often carries before it heads downstream.
Fertilizers wash off lawns and end up in the drain. Brakes shed different types of metal. Even atmospheric deposition made up of exhaust from cars, buildings, businesses are sources of contaminants. Plants used in green infrastructure, like switchgrass, are chosen for their tolerance to a wide range of moisture conditions, and their deep roots retain water and nutrients. The soils used in green infrastructure are usually sandy with a bit of organic matter and specifically engineered to help retain contaminants like copper and zinc, both heavy metals commonly found in urban stormwater runoff.

 
Research at Penn State and Virginia Tech has found that the increasing inland salinization from the salt, used to melt snow and ice in the winter on the increasing number of paved roads, parking lots, sidewalks- the built infrastructure, can severely affect the vegetation’s survival and soil’s health, including how well they retain contaminants. According to their research salt replacesthe metals attached to the soil particles and releases them to the water environment. Salt impacts its ability to treat the stormwater and filter the contaminants.

 
Green infrastructure/ natural solutions are not the easy solution to overbuilding. Though they have become the buzz word for the Planning Department. Green infrastructure practices are often designed as infiltration, runoff reducing, and/or vegetation-based practices. Although the use of green infrastructure continues to increase across the country, there is still limited information about the long term functioning of the practices and the operations and maintenance necessary and their associated costs compared to more traditional approaches. This creates a challenge for local governments that are considering incorporating green infrastructure into the suite of practices they use to manage polluted runoff and protect clean water. This is critical when this water is the source water of our drinking water supply.

Spring Cleaning the Water Distribution System

As part of the annual maintenance program on March 24th, 2025 Fairfax Water and the Washington Aqueduct, Loudoun Water and the City of Manassas will switch from chloramine to chlorine to disinfect their water. During this time, Arlington Department of Environmental Services, DC Water, the Prince William Service Authority, Loudoun Water and Fairfax Water will begin flushing their water distribution systems over the next 3 months or so. Each spring these water distribution companies flush their water mains by changing to chlorine, opening fire hydrants and allowing them to flow freely for a short period of time. This forcefully draws water through the water pipes to dislodge sediments and minerals that may have collected during the previous year.

The final steps in the water treatment process is the second disinfection. For most of the year Fairfax Water, Loudoun Water and the Washington Aqueduct use chloramine as the final disinfection step in water treatment. However, during the spring of every year they use chlorine to disinfect and flush the delivery network. Free chlorine is better suited to remove residue that may have collected in the pipes and a coordinated opening of fire hydrants serves to flush the system.

Fairfax Water will disinfect with chlorine from March 24th to May 5th and the flushing of the water mains in Fairfax and Prince William will occur during that time. Crews from the Service Authority and Fairfax Water will open hydrants throughout their service area in brief intervals in order to draw water more forcefully through the distribution system. This helps to dislodge sediment that may have collected in water mains over the past year. DC Water purchases treated drinking water from the Washington Aqueduct. Loudoun Water announced they were starting their program on March 17th. During this time, the Washington Aqueduct will continue to add a corrosion control inhibitor during this temporary switch to prevent lead release into the water system.

For most of the year, chloramines, also known as combined chlorine, is added to the water as the primary disinfectant. During the spring the water treatment plants for Fairfax Water, and the Washington Aqueduct and Loudoun Water switch back to chlorine in an uncombined state, commonly referred to as free chlorine. This free chlorine reacts with sediments suspended during flushing and kills bacteria that may be in the bio-film that forms on the pipe walls. Many water chemistry experts believe this short exposure to a different type of disinfectant maintains a low microbial growth in the bio-film and improves the quality and safety of the water.

from PW Water

This change in disinfection is an annual program to clean the water distribution pipes and maintain high water quality throughout the year. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Washington Aqueduct provides water to the District of Columbia, Arlington County, and other areas in Virginia. Fairfax Water provides water to Fairfax County and parts of both Loudoun and Prince William County. WSSC does not switch their disinfectant and they do not flush the distribution system.

You may notice a slight chlorine taste and smell in your drinking water during this time, this is not harmful and the water remains safe to drink. You may want to use filtered water to drink or leave an open container of water in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to allow the smell to dissipate. Filters common for in the door water for refrigerators remove chlorine so you do not have to worry about ice. Water customers who normally take special precautions to remove chloramine from tap water, such as dialysis centers, medical facilities and aquarium owners, should continue to take the same precautions during the temporary switch to chlorine. Most methods for removing chloramine from tap water are effective in removing chlorine. The annual chlorination is important step to remove residue from the water distribution system.

Flushing the water system entails sending a rapid flow of chlorinated water through the water mains. As part of the flushing program, fire hydrants are checked and operated in a coordinated pattern to help ensure their operation and adequate flushing of the system. The flushing removes sediments made up of minerals which have accumulated over time in the pipes as well as bacteria on the bio-film. An annual flushing program helps to keep fresh and clear water throughout the distribution system. Removing the residue ensures that when the water arrives in your home, it is the same high quality as when it left the water treatment plant.

Fix a Leak to Save Water

Spring really is just around the corner and so the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has named this week Fix a Leak Week. According to the EPA, the water leaks in the  average household can account for nearly 10,000 gallons of water wasted every year and ten percent of homes have leaks that waste over three times that 90 gallons or more per day.

Common types of leaks found in the home are worn toilet flappers, dripping faucets, and other leaking valves. These types of leaks are often easy to fix, requiring only a few tools,  hardware and an online video tutorial that can walk you through the steps. Fixing easily corrected household water leaks can save homeowners about 10 percent on their water bills. Reducing wasted water is essential in areas experiencing extended droughts and water restrictions and to save money for the rest of us.

Look for dripping faucets, showerheads and fixture connections. Twist and tighten pipe connections, it may be all that is necessary to stop a leak. Though I find (as a well owner)  that I get mineral build up in my faucets and they need to be disassembled and soaked in hot vinegar and water to dissolve the build up every year or two to prevent drips. Likewise my showerheads need to have the connection between the showerhead and the pipe stem cleaned and tightened regularly. Sometimes fixtures just need to be replaced. When you do, look for WaterSense-labeled models that also comply with , which are independently certified to use 20% less water and perform as well as standard models. Also verify that your fixtures are lead-free and comply with the Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act (RLDWA) and the Community Fire Safety Act. The rule went into full effect in 2023.

Check toilets for leaks, the flappers in toilet tanks can become worn after several years and leak. Test your toilets by putting a few drops of food coloring in the tank at the back of the toilet and waiting 10 minutes without flushing to see if color shows up in the bowl. If there is color, the toilet flapper likely needs to be replaced, which is an easy repair to make.

Though it is still a bit early around here you should check your irrigation system. Though you might want to reconsider your garden and outdoor water use or install rain barrels for watering your garden. The very cold winter we had could have cracked or damaged  a pipe. According to the EPA “An irrigation system that has a leak 1/32nd of an inch in diameter (about the thickness of a dime) can waste about 6,300 gallons of water per month.”

Lawns in general are watered more than other landscaping, they are reportedly the largest irrigated crop in Virginia. The most commonly used varieties of turf grass require more water than many landscape plants, such as ground covers, shrubs, and trees. In addition, homeowners tend to overwater their lawns. As a result, homes with large expanses of lovely green lawns generally use more water (fertilizer and herbicides) than those with a mixture of other plants or the mowed field that surrounds my house.

Turn the water back on to your outdoor spigots, and check them, too. After particularly cold winters cracks or splits in the spigot's pipe, might cause outdoor faucet leaks or worse leaks into the interior wall if you forgot to turn off the water line to the spigot in the fall. There are several small problems with outdoor spigots that can appear over time. The rubber washer or O-ring inside the faucet handle can become worn. The spigot may have a loose packing nut. Or the joints between the water supply line and the spigot or the spigot and the wall can become loose over time and leak. It’s spring check our your spigots.
 
According to the  US Geological Survey the majority of people in the United States used water provided by public suppliers. Domestic deliveries by public water suppliers totaled 23,300 million gal/d in 2015 and represented water provided to 283 million people at single-family and multifamily dwellings. The average citizen uses 83 gallons a day which includes, bathing and bathrooms, laundry, cooking, drinking and outdoor use. Outdoor watering in the drier climates causes domestic per capita water use to be the highest in the driest and hottest climates- the areas of the country facing the biggest water supply challenges also still tend to have the largest per capita water use.  Many water supply companies are facing the reality that the source of their water has limitations and it is expensive to provide and distribute finished drinking water, that realization has not fully reached most people, even some of our elected officials and urban planners. Water is a finite resource- don’t waste it. Fix your leaks.

Testing Your Well

I test my well water every year, though there is no requirement that I do that. I am one of the 1.6 million Virginians who get their drinking water from a well, cistern or spring.  While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates public water systems, the responsibility for ensuring the safety and consistent supply of water from a private well belongs to the well owner-in this case me. Every year I test my well water to make sure it is safe to drink. I do not test for everything and only periodically perform broad tests looking for changes in the groundwater quality. 

Private wells draw groundwater to a large extent from the area surrounding the well. Depending on the depth of the well and the local geology groundwater drawn into a private domestic drinking water well is often young-it could be weeks, months or several years old. Even though the ground is an excellent mechanism for filtering out particulate matter, such as leaves, soil, and bugs, dissolved chemicals and gases can still occur in large enough concentrations in groundwater to cause problems. Groundwater can get contaminated from industrial, domestic, and agricultural chemicals from the surface; including  pesticides and herbicides that many homeowners apply to their lawns, improperly disposed of chemicals; animal wastes; failing septic systems; wastes disposed underground; and naturally-occurring substances can all contaminate drinking water and make it unsuitable for drinking or make the water unpleasant to drink. Groundwater is dynamic and can change over time. Regular monitoring of your water quality is important and entirely up to you.

In Virginia installation of private wells is regulated by the Department of Health, responsible for approving the location of a well, inspecting the well after construction to verify proper grouting and adequate water yield, maintaining records of the well driller’s log, verifying the most basic potability of water by requiring a bacterial testing after completion. Then you are on your own to do what you deem best. When a house is purchased, lenders require that a well be tested for coliform bacteria contamination, nothing more. For many homeowners this was the only time their well was ever tested.

When we bought our home, I tested the well for all the primary and secondary contaminants in the Safe Drinking Water Act as well as a suite of metals and pesticides using a certified laboratory. I wanted a comprehensive baseline, and I used the safe drinking water act as my screening mechanism. I have performed that testing a handful of times over the past two decades using a testing package, the WaterCheck Deluxe plus pesticides test kit from National Testing Laboratories which is an EPA certified laboratory, to save money. Buying a package reduces the cost though the drawback is these packages are performed at a lower sensitivity level, and this was the most economical test I found. (I paid around 5 or 6 times what the WaterCheck with pesticides costs today to have my well tested 20 years ago.)

Still, I did not test for everything, nobody could afford to (I think there are 80,000 or more known chemicals). At the time I did not test for PFAS it was not part of the Safe Drinking Water Act and  the testing methods were not as sensitive as they are today. Truthfully,  it just was not on my radar, though I had been an R&D engineer at DuPont back in the day.

Currently, there are three U.S. EPA testing methodologies for testing drinking water for PFAS- USEPA Methods 537, 537.1, or 533. These methods test for multiple PFAS compounds, including the PFAS compounds that are part of the current EPA Drinking Water Standards.  The real problem is that Point of Use (POU) and Point of Entry (POE) treatment devices are not specifically designed to meet the Federal drinking water standards for PFAS. Current certification standards for PFAS filters NSF/ANSI 53 or NSF/ANSI 58 standards) do not yet indicate that a filter will remove PFAS down to the levels EPA has now set for a drinking water standard. EPA is working with standard-setting bodies to update their filter certifications to match EPA’s new requirements. Stay tuned.

Since I do not live in an area with a high probability of PFAS contamination, I am going to wait until the Occoquan Watershed Laboratory has finished their PFAS investigation of the   Occoquan watershed to determine where the PFAS in the reservoir is coming from. Sampling has so far confirmed Industrial wastewater discharges to UOSA from the Micron Semiconductor plant and from Freestate Farms. Also confirmed as a source of PFAS by sampling is the Federal/Military in the Vint Hill area and Vint Hill Farms. There are also several potential sources that need to be further investigated: the non-Micron reclaimed water from UOSA, accidental releases from Manassas airport, Dulles Airport, the legacy CERCLA sites – IBM in Manassas and Atlantic Research in Gainesville currently being redeveloped into data centers. PFAS in biosolids that may have been land applied under a permit in the watershed. PFAS have been widely used in consumer products, it is possible that some septic systems and landfills may also be a source of PFAS in groundwater. I will leave further discussion of this point to a later date.

If your home has a drinking water well that is contaminated, it could impact your health and the health of your family, and the value of the property. Still, according to the Virginia Household Water Quality Program, the most common contaminants in a private well are coliform bacteria and sodium.  Total coliform bacteria while always present in manure and sewage, is also present in soil and vegetation and surface water. The presence of coliform bacteria can mean that surface water is getting into the well either directly through a failing casing or grouting or improper construction or well cap or by other means possibly from the aquifer. Absence of coliform bacteria only means that water is not contaminated by septic and surface runoff, but the water might contain contaminants from other sources. Excessive sodium in Virginia generally comes from the overuse of water softeners and not from salt water infiltration.

There is a whole lot beyond being clear and tasting good that makes water safe and satisfactory. The issue of whether water is safe to drink is separate from whether the water is free of unpleasant contaminants like iron, manganese, chloride, and low levels of hydrogen sulfide or the groundwater has been contaminated. Throughout Virginia the Extension Office holds water clinics as part of the Virginia Household Water Quality Program.  For a reasonable price they analyzed water samples for 14 chemical and bacteriological contaminants at the laboratory at Virginia Tech.  Samples are analyzed for: iron, manganese, nitrate, lead, arsenic, fluoride, sulfate, pH, total dissolved solids, hardness, sodium, copper, total coliform bacteria and E. Coli bacteria. These are the most common problems. I use the program to take a quick look at my water to see if anything has changed.

Due to its protected location underground, most groundwater is naturally clean and free from pollution. Typically, the deeper the well the less likely is it to be contaminated; however, there are a number of threats to drinking water: improperly disposed of chemicals (pesticides and oil poured down the drain of a home with a septic system); animal wastes; pesticides; human wastes (that nearby septic system); wastes buried underground or leaking fuel tank; and naturally-occurring substances can all contaminate drinking water and make it unsuitable for drinking or make the water unpleasant to drink. Homes built on former disposal sites- farm dumps, landfills or former military operations are particularly susceptible to contamination. Former agricultural properties should be tested for pesticides, fuels and solvents because farmers often have fuel tanks and repaired farm equipment with solvents that were improperly disposed of over the years. Hopefully, all those tests were done before you bought the home (I know I did).

 The nightmare scenario is what happened in Sterling, Virginia. The short story is that for twenty- or thirty-years homeowners in that community in Loudoun County were drinking water contaminated with TCE and its degradation products. The homes had been built on and old landfill and back in 1988 the Loudoun County Department of Health and the EPA had found traces of TCE, its degradation products and pesticides in three residential wells, but because the contamination was below the regulated maximum contaminant level (MCL) no further investigation was performed. Apparently, the oddity of finding a solvent in groundwater in a residential community did not immediately prompt further investigation. The water was within safe limits and thus was fine.

However, the water in the neighborhood was not fine. In 2005, 68 more wells (in the community) were tested by the Health Department. “Forty-five wells tested positive for TCE; 17 of these wells contained concentration of TCE above the maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 5 micrograms per liter (mcg/L) while 28 wells contained TCE, but below the MCL.”  The site was declared a CERCLA (Superfund) site in 2008. Between 1988 and 2005 no testing was done on the individual homeowner wells. The water was consumed by the young and old and the homes were bought and sold. If your home had been declared within a Superfund site, it is very likely that the value of the home would be impacted.

Everything that is known about the groundwater in Prince William County is because a study of the groundwater was performed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in 1991 to study the extent of TCE contamination from the Superfund site in Manassas. They did not test every inch of the county nor look for other contaminants but felt that they were able to find the extent of the TCE contamination plume. To be prudent and smart you need to test a well for likely and some unlikely sources of contamination. Often the biggest challenge in finding contamination is knowing what to look for and where to test. Testing is expensive, so it is virtually impossible to fully test soil and groundwater for everything and it is very easy to miss the contamination if the study is not planned properly and you do not understand the geology.

When buying a single-family home, you do not have any of this information or resources available to you. There is very little information available for residential properties. The department of health often has some useful information about water quality in the county and septic systems but rarely has any water analysis data available. Though, it was a Department of Health employee who originally found the Prince William County TCE contamination.  

Your best option is to do a broad scan of the well water quality before you buy the house and certainly at least once a decade when you own it. There are screening packages available from U.S. EPA certified laboratories like  National Testing Laboratories that screen water wells for all the primary and secondary contaminants in the Safe Drinking Water Act. This testing can be done for a few hundred dollars.  You might want to add nuisance problems like reducing bacteria.  

Year to year, outside sources of groundwater contamination are not likely to change except with changes in land use. Thus, it is not necessary to test for industrial contaminants every year. To ensure my drinking water remains safe it is important to maintain my well, test it regularly and understand your system and geology. I do not have any water treatment in my house, I drink the water just as it is from the ground. If you have water treatment equipment in your home, you might want to get test the water before and after the treatment equipment each year to make sure you have the right equipment for your water and that it continues working properly.

Wells of Virginia -2024 Annual Report

The Virginia Household Water Quality Program has issued their 2024 Annual Report on the Wells of Virginia. The below article highlights some of their insights. 2024vahwqpannua

 Private drinking water wells serve about 19% Virginia’s population or 1.6 million residents.   Virginia created the Virginia Household Water Quality Program (VAHWQP) to provide affordable water testing and education about private water wells to those residents of the Commonwealth. Extension Offices hold drinking water clinics and provide information to assist private well owners in understanding and maintaining their wells. 

The quality and safety of private wells are not regulated under Federal nor, in most cases, state law. In Virginia regulations control only construction and the absence of bacteria at the time of a well’s completion. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Safe Drinking Water Act does not regulate individual households. As a result, individual homeowners are responsible for maintaining their own water supply and ensuring the quality of the water for their family.

The Virginia Household Water Quality Program was, originally created in 1989, was relaunched in 2007 with a USDA grant. In 2011 the program was expanded under another USDA grant to subsidize testing, quantify bacteria, add metals, and begin research out of Virginia Tech. Now the program is self-sustaining with clinics held in 90 of the 96 counties in 2024. The analysis is done by the Virginia Tech laboratory and research utilizing the data is being pursued by graduate students and staff.

In all the Virginia Household Water Quality Program clinics the water samples are analyzed for: iron, manganese, nitrate, lead, arsenic, fluoride, sulfate, pH, total dissolved solids, hardness, sodium, copper, total coliform bacteria and E. Coli bacteria, and last year cost $65 in Prince William County. These are mostly naturally occurring contaminants and common sources of contamination: a poorly sealed well or a nearby leaking septic system, or indications of plumbing system corrosion. Though not an exhaustive list of potential contaminants, these are the most common contaminants that affect drinking water wells.

 

from VHWQP 

Though about 600,000 of Virginia households with 1,600,000 residents or 19% of the Virginia population have private wells, only 3,760 households chose to participate in the Virginia Household Water Quality Program clinic in 2024 and may not be representative of all private drinking water wells in the Commonwealth. Nonetheless, the data collected over the past 18 years is the one of the largest databases on private drinking water wells available. Well 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.  

Overall, the statewide sampling last year found that just under 39% of the wells have coliform bacteria present, and almost 5% have E. coli bacteria. Though almost 24% of wells were found to have acidic water (low pH) about 6% of homes have first flush lead levels above the EPA safe drinking water standard maximum contaminant level for lead and 8% for copper. Lead and copper leach into water primarily because of corrosion of plumbing and well components but can also result from flaking of scale from brass fittings and well components unrelated to corrosion. Copper and lead predominately come from the pipes and lead containing components in wells. Over time older pipes and fixtures corrode or simply wear away and the lead and other corrosion material (like rust) is carried to the drinking water. Time and water do cause corrosion, but this can be aggravated by the pH of the water or other changes in water chemistry. The amount of lead corroded from metal plumbing including faucets with brass interiors generally increases with increasing water corrosiveness.

About 37% of households have elevated sodium exceeding the EPA Safe Drinking Water Act limit. This could be a result saltwater infiltration from natural or man-made sources (like road salt) or could indicate that water softeners are adding too much sodium to the water. Of the 3,760 participants in 2023, 37% report that they NEVER tested their water before and 31% had tested only once (presumably at purchase). About 49% of participants have participated in the VAHWQP clinic before.  Virginia Tech recommends annual testing of well water to make sure it is safe to drink, and you have the appropriate treatment system(s).

 

Hantavirus

I read in the paper the mysterious deaths of actor Gene Hackman was due to heart failure about a week after his wife classical pianist and businesswoman Betsy Arakawa, died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Hantaviruses is found in the droppings, urine, and saliva of infected deer mice (Peromyscus spp) in many parts of the country including Virginia and West Virginia. 

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), the illness caused by the virus, can take 3 to 60 days to develop after exposure. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, vomiting and diarrhea. The syndrome is fatal in about 40% of all cases. There is no vaccine, treatment, or cure for HPS. Hantavirus is typically transmitted by breathing in particles in the air from the droppings, urine and saliva of infected rodents. However, there have been a small number of reported cases of HPS believed to have been contracted through rodent bites.

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) became a nationally notifiable disease in the 1990’s and is now reported through the Nationally Notifiable Disease Surveillance System (NNDSS) . As of the end of 2022, 864 cases of hantavirus disease were reported in the United States since surveillance began in 1993. These were all laboratory-confirmed cases and included HPS and non-pulmonary hantavirus infection.

In New Mexico there have been reported a total of 122 confirmed cases since the disease was first tracked. Of those cases, 52 died and 70 survived. That is a death rate of 42.6%. New Mexico has the most cases of any state in the Union. Virginia has two known cases since 1993. Both individuals died.

One person in Virginia died of hantavirus in 2024. The man was a Virginia Tech student and had recently been conducting field studies of small mammals in West Virginia. Health officials believe that he was exposed to the virus through contact with the urine, feces or saliva of these animals. Hantavirus disease is not transmitted from person to person.

Rodents, themselves, neither get sick nor can they pass along the infection to other animals; however, the Center for Disease Control, CDC, has identified the ability of Hantavirus to adapt to new rodent species. Although currently rare, HPS is potentially deadly and may be an emerging disease. Rodent control in and around the home (and Curry Village) remains the primary strategy for preventing Hantavirus infection.

 Knowing about Hantavirus, I was distressed to discover mouse droppings in the pantry and utility room when we first purchased this house. My husband took care of the capture and removal, and I took care of the safe cleanup and mouse proofing the house, while the cat provided monitoring, patrolling the house at night. The only comments I have on mouse capture is that peanut butter and walnuts are excellent bait for either the capture and release traps or the spring traps. Mice love nuts. It took a while, but eventually the husband was able to rid the house of mice without killing any. Though at one point it seemed he would dump the mouse in the woods, and it would sneak right back in. Eventually, I managed to seal up all likely entries and we have been mouse free for years. Also, we have added to our cat collection. Nonetheless, annual maintenance is necessary to keep mice out of the house.

A mouse can fit through the narrowest gap, flattening themselves to crawl into the house. According to the Center for Disease Control, a gap of a quarter of an inch or a hole the size of a pencil eraser is large enough for a mouse to enter. A systematic approach is best for sealing all entry points. First, there is no way to prevent mice from getting into the garage because garage doors just do not seal that tight in their tracks. Instead, it is necessary to keep all nesting material and clutter out of the garage and seal all entries to the house. If you keep your trash cans in the garage, make sure that the can(s) has a tight lid and no holes in the can. The garage turned out to be an area of entry into our house. Because of a sloping lot that gives me a daylight basement, the top of the foundation is about twelve inches above the garage floor. A compressed layer of insulation had allowed the mice entry into the basement.

Steel wool and lath screening was pushed into every crack, the area caulked and thanks to late Larry Reed, carpenter extraordinaire, the garage was finished, trimmed, and sealed. New weather stripping was placed on every exterior door. Lath screen was cut to fit around all the kitchen pipes, the dryer vent pipe, the gas pipe to the fireplace the pilot light and valve to the fireplace.  The space between the foundation and siding was carefully caulked and sealed. Attic vents were screened. Windows were caulked and weather stripping on the windows checked. All exterior holes for electrical, plumbing, and gas lines were carefully sealed with Duxseal.

If you see any, do not sweep or vacuum up mouse urine, droppings, or nests. This will cause virus particles to go into the air, where they can be breathed in. To clean up the mouse dropping I first geared up. According to OSHA and the CDC if  there is not a heavy accumulation of droppings you need only  wear disposable protective clothing and gloves (neoprene, nitrile or latex-free), rubber boots and a disposable N95 respirator  safely clean up rodent droppings. I have a large supply of N95 respirators leftover from Covid. I wore my rain boots and some old work clothes that I threw out afterwards. The first thing I did was throw out all impacted materials and floors and shelves with disinfectants. Make sure you get the urine and droppings very wet. Let it soak for 5 minutes and then use paper towel to wipe up the urine and droppings and throw the paper towels into a plastic bag and seal carefully. Clean the area a second time using disinfectant.

After the cleanup is complete and all paper towels and swifter pads sealed in plastic bags, wash you gloved hands and boots with spray a disinfectant or a bleach solution before taking the gloves and boots off. Then throw the gloves out along with the clothes. Wash hands with soap and warm water after taking off your gloves and take a nice hot shower. 

The Basics of a Well

Wells are a combination of natural and mechanical systems that serve to move water from fractures or cracks in the bedrock or pore space between grains of sediment or sand in the earth into the well and from there into the house. Generally speaking, a modern well should be drilled through the loose “overburden” of top soil, sand and sediment into the bedrock below. In geology that has groundwater, water will flow from any fractures that intersect the open borehole. In wells drilled in areas where the sediment and sand are more than a hundred or two hundred feet deep, water will flow from the pores or spaces into the well. A well should have a casing that extends at least through the overburden and possibly to the bedrock or in some instances the water table depth. In bedrock a well borehole can simply be open, but in sandy soils the borehole will require a well screen liner or slotted casing to prevent the borehole from collapsing or filling with sand and silt. Well casings used to be made of steel, but these days plastic piping is becoming more common.

For the plumbing system to function properly, the recharge rate in the well would either have to equal the pumping rate or there has to be adequate storage in the system- either a storage tank or the well itself. The recharge rate or the well recovery rate is the rate that water actually flows into the well through the rock fissures. If the well cannot recharge at the same rate at which water is being removed and does not have adequate water reserves then the well, the system would suffer intermittent episodes of severe water pressure loss. The pressure tank in the basement solves this problem by serving as storage and pressure boost, so when you turn on a faucet, the water flows. The information on your wells performance can be obtained from the water well completion report on file with the department of health. The “stabilized yield” is the recharge rate.

A well can last 50 years (I know of one well that did). However, a drop or complete loss of water production from a well can sometimes occur even in relatively young wells due to a lowered water level from persistent drought, nearby development, or over-pumping of the well which can dewater the water-bearing zones. More often, the fall in well yield over time can be caused by changes in the water well itself. According to Penn State Extension these changes can include:

• Encrustation by mineral deposits 
• Bio-fouling by the growth of microorganisms 
• Physical plugging of groundwater aquifer by sediment 
• Well screen or casing corrosion 
• Pump damage 

Monitoring of a well’s performance brings everything into view, good or bad, and allows for preventive maintenance. While many wells will last decades, not all will last that long.  My well is 21 years old.  When I had the pump and pressure tank replaced a few years back, I got a reading on the static water level. It was about 16 feet lower than recorded on the well completion report. That is a bad sign for the groundwater. Nonetheless, the problems I am most likely to experience are mechanical.

How long a well lasts depends on many factors; the geology and hydrology of the region, the amount of ground cover nearby, how the well was constructed, what equipment has been installed “down hole,” and what maintenance activities have been performed to date. Over time every component of a water system will fail. My water “burped and sputtered” one morning and I decided that was my warning and replaced the pump and pressure tank and pressure switch the next spring. The well had passed what I had determined was the median life of a pump- 15 years and I preferred to schedule my pump replacement.)

As a water well ages, the rate at which water may be pumped referred to above as the well yield tends to decrease. The mechanical components and the well structure, screens and casing all age and deteriorate. Well maintenance and monitoring of the water and well’s performance is important in keeping the water flowing. A well owner must think about their well in terms of stewardship over the long term, long before your well fails.

Well casings are subject to corrosion, pitting and perforation. Iron bacteria and scale will build up in fittings and clog the pitless adaptors and pipes. A water pressure loss can result from a pump that is too small for demand, inadequate or a failing pressure tank, or a buildup of scale in the pipes. There are a number of reasons why a well might stop producing water, but basically they break down into equipment failure, depletion of the aquifer or other groundwater problems and failing well design and construction.

The essential mechanical components of a modern drilled well system are: a submersible pump, a check valve (and additional valve every 100 feet), a pitless adaptor (a fitting that makes a 90 degree turn to make the connection between the water line in the well and the horizontal pipe that runs below the frost line to the house), a well cap (sanitary sealed), electrical wiring including a control box, pressure switch, and interior water delivery system. There are additional fittings and cut-off switches for system protection, but the above are the basics. To keep the home supplied with water the system and well must remain operational.

Drilled Water Wells and the Pitless Adaptor

If you have a water well at your home, you need to understand how it works. Even if you are going to hire help managing your well and water system you need to understand it and make sure whoever you hire knows what they are doing. I am an old lady with arthritis and ripped rotator cuff. I am pretty sure I will never pull a pump again. Pulling a pump is more than a one man job. Equipment problems are the most common well problems, but it is not always the most expensive piece of equipment that is causing a problem. 

So, lets back up. There was a time when a water well was literally a hole hand dug into the ground where you just kept digging until you reached the water table, where all the spaces between the rock and dirt particles are filled with water, and water filled the bottom of the hole. In olden times a bucket was used to take the water from the well. These types of shallow wells (under a hundred feet deep) are easily contaminated from the surface and tend to dry out during droughts. In the 21st century in the United States digging a well by hand has been largely replace by automated drilling methods. Modern wells are more often drilled by a truck-mounted drill rig that was invented at the end of the 19th century and continually improved in the 20th century.

Howard Hughs, the one we all think of, who was the founder of Hughs Aircraft and the reclusive billionaire was actually Howard R. Hughs Jr. His father, Howard R. Hughes Sr. (who died when Howard Jr. was 19) along with a man named Sharp were the inventors of the two-cone rotary drill bit used for drilling for oil. This drill bit design also impacted water supply by enabling deeper drilling through rock. The Sharp-Hughes bit allowed access to more reliable and consistent water sources in areas where shallow aquifers were not available or sufficient. The first major advancement in water wells in the 20th century was the ability to drill them deeper for a more pristine and reliable water supply.

from privatewellclass.org

Most modern drilled wells are built with a submersible pump and sanitary sealed well cap so that the ground water is not exposed to potential contaminants before it reaches your home. This is accomplished by using a pitless adapter within the well. This adapter is designed to provide a sanitary seal at the point where the water line leaves the well to enter your home. The pitless adaptor attaches directly to the well  casing below the frost line and provides a watertight subsurface connection, protecting the well from frost and contamination. In older pump installations, above ground jet pumps were often used in a pit, which potentially allowed the introduction of contaminants at the surface concrete pit cover.

The essential components of a modern drilled well system are: a submersible pump, a check valve (and additional valve every 100 feet), a pitless adaptor, a well cap, electrical wiring including a control box, pressure switch, and interior water delivery system. There are additional fittings and cut-off switches for system protection, but the above are the basics. The components within the basement provide consistent water pressure at the fixtures.

both parts of the pitless adaptor put together from PITLESS ADAPTER | HHPAC

The right portion slides into the top of the left portion which is connected to the well casing

here you see the blank end of the portion that will connect to the pipe (right)

The invention of the pneumatic reciprocating piston Reverse Circulation drills, submersible pump and pitless adaptor changed everything. Wells could easily be drilled deeper and faster. Unlike older systems that required a well pit to house the connection, pitless adaptors eliminated the need for such pits, hence the name "pitless." This innovation ensures that the water remains free from surface contamination, and in 1969 (when I was a teenager) a new and improved pitless adaptor was patented and has spread widely.

The improved pitless adapter was designed to make the pump and system easier to access for maintenance and repairs. The two parts of the adaptor (stationary portion that is connected to the well casing and the movable portion that is connected to the flexible well pipe are connected by a  T-coupling and slip joint casting. This means that the parts can be easily pulled up free of its wedge engagement by using a “T” on a piec of metal pipe with threading to tie into the lug end dead head.

 

The water is spewing out of the pitless adaptor that holds the black flexible water pipe. The metal  "T" was threaded into the top of the pitless adaptor and used to pull the pump. 

Once you thread in the metal  "T", you jiggle it to break up any encrustation (it was in that well for 16 years) and then just pull the black flexible pipe up. (If its been in the well a long time, the pipe may look like its covered in rust or orange slime. That is iron bacteria that seems to eventually appear in all wells over time.)  The "T" is basically a handle that prevents the pipe and pump assembly from falling into the well. The red contraption on top of the well grips the pipe and locks it in place. It's called a quick clamp and don't try to pull a pump without one. You could end up trying to fish a pump lint out of the well. Here it is being used to hold the pipe and pitless adaptor away from the well to test the pump. 

close up of the quick clamp

The improved pitless adapter is for easy installing and eliminate most interior ledges or the like, which might collect water, foreign matter or set up rust within the casing. The improved design for the pitless adapter eliminated the need for a complicated slip joint with mating male and female element  and eliminated the need for an elbow joint. This design met all the emerging sanitary and code requirements cheaply. Always after you open a well you need to chloring shock the well. Pouring a cup of bleach into the well is not enough. 

closeup of the pitless adaptor