well test results

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evans

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I posted a couple weeks ago about an unregistered well of unknown depth which was closer to sesspools than is currently considered acceptable. Thanks for the warnings and advice, and I had some tests done by lab. The results show things are safe. Nondetectable coliform and Iron, manganese at .018 mg/L, nitrate at 3.19mg/L. BUT I SUSPECT THAT DOESN'T MEAN I SHOULD FORGET ABOUT IT. I consider myself very lucky with these results considering the situation. How often do some of you more experienced folk recommend retesting? Twice a year, every year, every 3 years? It was only $64.00 for the tests on those 5 items (ph good too).
Thanks
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Cass

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One of the well guys should drop in and make a recommendation.
Personally I would do it at least once every 6 months for a while because as the well begins to draw it could pull water from a source that is / has not been reaching it now.

This is just a guess on my part. Lets see what the experts have to say.
 

Speedbump

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If your not in an area where you are worried about contaminants getting into the water, I wouldn't be too concerned. The PH is important in a lot of areas. If it is low (below 7.2) you may have surface water or intrusion of surface water. This could lead to Nitrate/Nitrite, E-Coli and all that sort of thing.

bob...
 

Gary Slusser

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I say if you are going to test, test twice a year but... at $64 each, you're better off buying treatment equipment for those things you consider most likely to be found at some point; like bacteria. Testing can miss contaminations that occur at other times during the year. Coliform bacteria and nitrates and/or nitrites can come and go and inccrease.
 

evans

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test price

It was $64 for all 5 tests TOTAL. I've seen UV treatments for 500$ or more if I remember. Theoretically if I test twice a year it will cast more in 5-7 years (vs. a UV machine and no more testing) assuming the equiptment lasts, and I do the install. I already have a nuetralizer, but saving on ph tests is not a factor beacuse they are cheap. A 100 pack of pool ph testers is like 15$ or something. My educated guess is to do the following...test yearly, compare levels to the the previous years, and if I see an increase in levels I'll retest more frequently. Maybe city water will come by then. If not I'll consider more treatment machines when I cross that bridge. Case closed???
Thanks for responses!
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Gary Slusser

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You seem to have missed the point. How do you know that 2 weeks, months or days prior to or after your annual test that the water wasn't contaminated?

I've been testing well water for Coliform and other (health related) contaminates for 18 years and you should be concerned about them with your well, and I'm not talking acidic (low pH) type problems.

If you aren't going to buy and install equipment yourself as all good DIYers should...:) then you need a water treatment dealer experienced in problem well water to advise you. This is not something you should be looking at solely based on how to spend the least money on. You do have a wife/GF/BF and maybe kids no?

UV may not be the right selection (they are less than $500 if you buy right and install it yourself), it depends on what else and how much of it is in your water (and that includes hardness) because all UV comes with maximum parameters you must follow or they don't work.
 

evans

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responses

Gary, you sound serious, so I will be too. I thank you everyone for their comments and advice as well. Maybe I should put in a UV or chlorine device. I don't know. I have recieved differing responses here. I don't want to spend 500$ but I don't want to risk getting ill either. I will test again in April. If levels are not as good I will seriously consider a sanitizing system. If they are the same or about the same, I will not immediately be concerned. The level numbers I posted were ND, non-detectable for coliform and far below the allowable limit for nitrates. I know that could change so I will retest in the spring.
In the meantime, maybe you could point me in the direction of UV systems/ websites. My water is nice and clear, shows no cloudiness, and is low in hardness even after the neutralizer.
PS I did find another former resident of the property who thinks the well is "third or fourth water" .... what does that mean?
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Markts30

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I don't know what 3rd or 4th water mean for sure, but I would suspect that it means the 3rd or 4th independant layer of water bearing sediment...
I would also suspect that each layer would be separated by a layer of impermeable (or slightly permeable) rock or clay....
This would be a question for the well experts...
 

Randyj

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As a minimum buy a tap water filter and pH test kit. I'm not familiar with all of this but I do know that the pet shop business sells water sanitizing stuff for salt water aquariums and there are several things available. The only thing I'd really be concerned about is the drinking water....but I'd test it all. I worked maintenance on a prison farm where there was a well with a chlorine pump, simple set up, easy to calibrate, the state health department did the tests. We had the same set up here before we got on city water. I'd check with the big DIY stores to see what they offer...
 
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Speedbump

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I don't think I would rush out to the big box stores for something like water treatment. Especially in bacterial water treatment.

bob...
 

Alleycat

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Evans, not sure what you have in NJ, but I found the well water division of my state department of environmental services to be a wealth of helpful information when I had questions about well water and water treatment here in NH.
 
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