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Name:
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MartiniMan
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Subject:
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well water
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Date:
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7/9/2009 12:31:31 PM
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Here is a primer for what you need to look for with well water.
First of all you need to ask the question of how you plan to use the water. If its just irrigation I would not worry about testing unless you see or smell something strange. Also, if there is a working pump I would operate it for a while to see if the well even has the capacity to justify the cost of testing and the rehab that it will likely need in order to put it back into use. Many of these older wells are so shallow they have very little storativity and of limited use for domestic purposes. Also, the well screen may not be in good shape and may need replacement. All these cost money.
Secondly, you need decide whether you just want to know the water quality from the well itself or from the tap. If the house is less the 20 years old I would just test the well water. Older homes may have piping that can add metals to the water. One note of caution, you can't just turn on the pump and put the sample in a jar and get valid results. When you decide on the lab, they will send you a bottle kit with instructions on how to collect and preserve the samples. You will need to place them on ice in a cooler to take it to the lab.
If you have it tested there are several kinds of tests that you can have done. The first and most expensive is Clean Water Act (CWA) parameters that includes volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs). pesticides, PCBS and metals. This is not a cheap test but it covers the gamut of chemicals that can be a health hazard. For most of these there are criteria that will tell whether there is a potential health risk. Secondly, and probably equally important for an area with homes that have septic tanks, is fecal coliform. Finally, there are a number of organoleptic tests that will identify taste and smell issues. My view of the latter test is if it passes the first two you will know if there is odor or taste issues.
There is a lot more to it than this but it gives you an idea of what is involved. I know, can't this be a simple task? Sadly, if you really want to rely on the results the answer is no. By the way, the other poster is correct, if there is chlorine in the well water there is a leak from a domestic water supply in the area of the well. Chlorine is an additive.
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