New Well, Bleach Added - Help!

[Springer]

I had a new well drilled last year, 330 feet, and it has sat while my new house was under construction. The water has always been crystal clear. When the house was completed last week, I was told to shock the well with bleach before using the water. I dumped a gallon down the pipe as instructed.

The next day, after letting the water run for a couple of hours, the water coming out was orange-brown in colour. It has been running orange-brown for the past 4 days. Is this normal after dumping bleach, and how long should it last? Any help is appreciated!

[Gary Slusser]

Yes it's normal IF you have iron in the water, and obviously you do or the water wouldn't be orange/brown. I'd think any well driller would know that but they don't. It was a driller that told you to shock the well wasn't it? Or was it a government agency just wanting to 'help' you?

I hope you didn't run the chlorinated water through a water softener or carbon filter.

You need to hook up a water hose to the boiler drain valve on your pressure tank T, and outside and then run off the well until the chlorine smell and this color goes away. Don't let the pump run dry.

[Cass]

Your well switch should have a low pressure cut off so you don't burn up the pump...if it doesn't you should have a switch installed that has one...

[Cass]

Has the water been running 4 days or have you just been using it normaly for 4 days...

[Gary Slusser]

After four days when it was clear????

You must have missed this part; The next day, after letting the water run for a couple of hours, the water coming out was orange-brown in colour. It has been running orange-brown for the past 4 days.

I don't see where it has gone clear....

[Gary Slusser]

As you say, he said; The water has always been crystal clear. When the house was completed last week, I was told to shock the well with bleach before using the water. I dumped a gallon down the pipe as instructed.

The next day, after letting the water run for a couple of hours, the water coming out was orange-brown in colour. It has been running orange-brown for the past 4 days. Is this normal after dumping bleach, and how long should it last? Any help is appreciated!

It reads that the water is not crystal clear now as it had been before shocking the well.

[upper]

Ok Springer here is the deal,If you poured Bleach down the Casing it could have went through the perforations that let the water in the caseing.The bleach then brokedown some leftover drilling additives and clays left in the well. I would want to see the well Log.OPPS did I say Well Log? Upper

[Springer]

As you say, he said; The water has always been crystal clear. When the house was completed last week, I was told to shock the well with bleach before using the water. I dumped a gallon down the pipe as instructed.

The next day, after letting the water run for a couple of hours, the water coming out was orange-brown in colour. It has been running orange-brown for the past 4 days. Is this normal after dumping bleach, and how long should it last? Any help is appreciated!

It reads that the water is not crystal clear now as it had been before shocking the well.

That's right, Gary. After dumping the water down the 6 inch well pipe, I let it sit for 24 hours. The next day, I let the water run out my garden hose for a couple of hours or longer. It didn't clear up. It's not quite as orange today as it had been, but it is far from clear. Up to the point when I put the bleach in it, it had been crystal clear.

I am starting to get the idea that iot will eventually clear up. Is there anything I need to do regarding treating the water, etc?

[Gary Slusser]

That's right, Gary. After dumping the water down the 6 inch well pipe, I let it sit for 24 hours. The next day, I let the water run out my garden hose for a couple of hours or longer. It didn't clear up. It's not quite as orange today as it had been, but it is far from clear. Up to the point when I put the bleach in it, it had been crystal clear.

I am starting to get the idea that iot will eventually clear up. Is there anything I need to do regarding treating the water, etc?

It should clear up with more running it off. Then wait like 7 days after teh smell of bleach is gone and retest for Coliform, if it comes back positive for Coliform, then yes, you'd need water treatment equipment.

I would suggest my inline pellet chlorinator, mixing tank and a special carbon in a backwashed filter using a Clack WS-1 control valve. That will remove the iron and any manganese, any odor and kill all types of bacteria. The maintenance is very little and you'd love the price but, there are other types of treatment like UV but it requires pretreatment for iron, manganese, hardness and no H2S gas to be able to use UV. Or a solution feeder feeding a solution of water and chlorine before a retention tank, then you need a carbon filter to remove any dirt and the smell and taste of the chlorine anyway.

[Gary Slusser]

What dirt???? A well should NEVER pump dirt, if it does something is wrong and they need to call the driller. The chlorine should be gone in a few hours of steady pumping.
Gray, are you saying you can take coliform out with your system????

What dirt! the dirt that oxidation creates (it's a chemistry thing).

Gerty, I'm saying he can treat the water for Coliform bacteria by disinfecting the water and that is what the equipment I mentioned does. And water treatment equipment is the only way he can get bacteria free water because drilling a new well does not guarantee bacteria free water, or that he would get water. And there is no way you can do anything to the existing well to get bacteria free water other than to treat the water in the well and there is no sense in doing that unless he has a need for it that I'm not aware of yet. We'd go over that when he called me before he bought anything from me. OK?

[99k]

It should clear up with more running it off. Then wait like 7 days after teh smell of bleach is gone and retest for Coliform, if it comes back positive for Coliform, then yes, you'd need water treatment equipment.

I would suggest my inline pellet chlorinator, mixing tank and a special carbon in a backwashed filter using a Clack WS-1 control valve. That will remove the iron and any manganese, any odor and kill all types of bacteria. The maintenance is very little and you'd love the price but, there are other types of treatment like UV but it requires pretreatment for iron, manganese, hardness and no H2S gas to be able to use UV. Or a solution feeder feeding a solution of water and chlorine before a retention tank, then you need a carbon filter to remove any dirt and the smell and taste of the chlorine anyway.

Are you kidding? All this equipment for ferrous iron? I didn't read anything about coliform ... just being proactive because it's a new well. I suggest he test the well for chemistry and bacteria ... probably a water softener will be just fine.

[Gary Slusser]

Then why doesn't cities use YOUR equipment??? They have BT in their water. The just call it an acceptable level.
NONE of my wells have BT or dirt. NONE.

Cities chlorinate their water (too), or add ammonia to the chlorinated water to create chloramines (I don't do that), and also use UV lights to treat their water; all of that is used to control Coliform and other types of bacteria.

The MCL for bacteria is less than (<) one CFU (colony forming unit at 50x magnification) if testing with the membrane filtration method, didn't I go over this with you the other day, in 100 ml of the water being tested OR, the Presence with a Presence/Absence test.

That chemistry thing I mentioned before, oxidation of iron or manganese or H2S gas, it causes dirty water. Even in a well, whether it is a residential or commercial well.

[Gary Slusser]

Are you kidding? All this equipment for ferrous iron? I didn't read anything about coliform ... just being proactive because it's a new well. I suggest he test the well for chemistry and bacteria ... probably a water softener will be just fine.

No it's for the Coliform he's shocked the well for, if it comes back, like I said already, and an added benefit is the removal of any iron or manganese or H2S and all reducing types of bacteria too, maybe I didn't mention that before.