Safe water is essential for everyday life and consumption. If your drinking water comes from a well, we suggest you take the necessary steps to ensure your well-water quality is safe to drink. The standard time frame for how often you should test your well-water quality is once per year. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that wells be tested based on their depth. If you begin to have abnormal gastrointestinal discomfort or notice that the quality of taste, look or smell has changed, you will want to test your water more often.
It may become urgent to test your well-water quality more frequently if you know that local wells are developing issues and if there has been a positive test result for contamination in your well or neighboring wells. Testing your drinking water at both the tap and the source will reveal if your treatment system is performing correctly. It will also inform you if the quality of your source of water has changed.
Importance of Testing your Well-Water Quality
Millions of people rely on a private water supply. Ponds and wells are two of the major water sources they use. Having a superior quality and source of water is crucial to the economic, health, and social well-being of everyone. Testing the quality of water from private wells on a regular basis is an important part of maintaining a safe and reliable source.
Issues with well-water quality are usually noticed after people become ill or simply by just looking at the water and seeing visible contaminants. Of course, not all contaminants and bacteria are visible with the naked eye, so testing your well-water often will help you to identify any issues present and take the necessary steps to fix them.
It is even more important to test your water quality if you have young children and sick people in your home. Contaminated water is not safe for consumption and will aggravate an already weakened immune system. Even if private good owners don’t use their water for domestic purposes, it is still important to stick to the testing methods and testing schedules to protect plants and livestock from harm.
Common Contaminants Found in Well-Water
A large number of harmful chemicals and bacteria can now be detected in your water due to the advanced modernization of chemistry. Now, testing can be done at even extremely small concentrations. Though at-home drinking water test kits are available, it is wise to seek the advice of water treatment experts to properly test your groundwater and drinking water quality. Your health department will have guidelines for testing your water sample and your water expert can provide further guidance.
Below are some of the common contaminants found in well-water:
- Microbiological Contaminants: These occur naturally in our environment. They are inhuman and animal waste material and are also present in the soil. These can fall into the well or enter through other ways. They are harmful when consumed and can cause cholera, typhoid fever, polio, dysentery, and more.
- Radionuclides: Radionuclides or radiological are naturally occurring and are found everywhere on earth they are even found in our DNA. Radionuclides exposure can come from many places including metal, oil and gas mining, fertilizer production, and nuclear waste. A common form of exposure is from medical facilities. When radionuclides come in contact with groundwater, it causes the water to become contaminated and continued exposure to radionuclides is said to cause cancer.
- Heavy Metals: Metals are probably the first things that come to mind when you think of water contamination. Access to safe drinking water is necessary for good health and livelihood. When heavy metals such as copper, arsenic, and lead are present, they make water unsafe to drink. Simple things such as metal pipes and plumbing issues can cause metal contamination. High levels of metal exposure in the body can lead to kidney, liver, and intestinal problems. It can also cause cancer. Speak to your water services provider if you suspect metal exposure in your well-water.
- Fluorides and Nitrates: Though we know of fluoride as the mineral that reduces tooth decay, high levels can lead to skeletal fluorosis, a condition caused by a build-up of fluoride. Issues with bones and teeth are common with high exposure to fluorides.
Nitrates enter groundwater from runoff sewage and septic systems, industrial activity, and other waste. Consuming water with high nitrate levels can cause methemoglobinemia. This is otherwise known as blue baby disease and is a potentially fatal condition in which the blood’s oxygen-carrying capacity is reduced. Water with high nitrate levels is also dangerous for pregnant women, babies, and people with compromised immune systems.
Testing Your Well Water
Testing your well-water allows you to understand the quality of your water and helps you to take the necessary steps in giving your family access to safe water. It will also aid in ensuring that your water is protected from all potential causes of contamination and that the right approach is taken with the treatment process.
Lone Star Water Services is equipped with the knowledge, skills, and team to ensure you have safe well-water for your family. Contact us to find out how to get started with your water testing and treatment services.
