New home on well, flow concerns...

Gary Slusser said:

And I think you need to take a sample of water into a water treatment dealer or lab, or buy a home test kit. You need iron, hardness, TDS, pH, Coliform bacteria, nitrates and if possible, manganese, sulfates and chlorides. I think you may find your problem may be iron.

Click to expand...

Wow, it took a while, but we finally got the analysis results back from the testing lab. Bacterial results came back in 24 hours, while the rest of the results took over a month.

We had a sulfur smell coming from both the hot and cold water lines, with the smell being stronger on the hot line at the time the water sample was taken. Total coliform came back positive, Ecoli came back negative, so we re-shocked the well as a stopgap solution. We have not had a sulfur smell for over a month now (crossed fingers).

The rest of the test results were as follows (sample taken at laundry room sink):

Calcium 25 mg/l
Copper 0.005 mg/l
Iron 0.12 mg/l
Lead 0.004 mg/l
Magnesium 15 mg/l
Manganese 0.13 mg/l
Nickel 0.05 mg/l
Sodium 14 mg/l
Zinc 0.077 mg/l

Alkalinity (as CaCO3) 120 mg/l
Chloride 9 mg/l
Sulfate 38 mg/l
Hardness 120 mg/l
pH 7.1
Total Dissolved Solids 170 mg/l
Turbidity 0.4 turbidity units

All other items tested came back as not detected. Looks like manganese, hardness and iron are the things I should concern myself with initially?

Thanks for the help so far... sorry it took so long to continue this thread with test results.

BJJB

So how is the turbidity and flow problems now?

How many times have you shocked the well?

How much time between each time?

Have you retested for Coliform after waiting 5-7 days after the chlorine is gone to collect the sample?

Look in the toilet tank for an oily fil, on the water and slimy, jelly like clear to black growth at the water line and below it.

The initial flow problem was the result of having a clogged "whole house" filter, and replacing the filter cartridge took care of that.

Bypassing the filter still results in some turbidity, though by no means at the level it was initially. I think developing the well helped a lot.

We still use the "whole house" filter for now, to get rid of residual turbidity. If we don't then the water in the toilet leaves a very fine sediment in the bowl. The sediment is not slimy, nor does it seem to stain. It's just seems to be made of very fine silt particles. Running the water through the filter removes almost all of this fine silt.

The well was shocked once in July or early August prior to getting the occupancy permit and once again after we tested the water in late October and received the bacteria report. Two to three months passed between the two shocks. The water has not been tested after the most recent shock, which was four to five weeks ago.

I'll check the toilet tank water when I get home this evening and see if there is an oily film or a slimy clear or black growth near the water line.

Thanks,

BJJB

Checked the toilet tanks last night and found no sign of any oily film or slimy growths... just some fine brown silt at the bottom of each tank.

BJJB