Anyone know about well water testing? DIY options,etc.

[janinegirly]

My parents live in an older home and have well water. I don't think it's been tested in awhile--no one uses it as drinking water, but I think it should still be tested, especially since my DD spends alot of time there. It was tested years ago and a UV filter put in but I think it's time to check up on things again.

I've done a lot of research and looks like independent lab testing is the most thorough and reliable. Pricey though - $400 +. Now I'm willing to pay for peace of mind but curious if anyone knows more about this topic and if there are other options (DIY tests or are they bogus)? I have checked with the Health Dept and they do not offer this service.

Thanks!

 

[Steel]

I'm in Europe so this might not help at all...

We bore our well on site and contacted a local testing facility who sent out a vile for us to collect the water and send it back to them next day delivery, we did and they gave a full print out of the content. All was within normal ranges and we have not died yet. It cost less than €100 and they paid the postage so $400 seems high to me even if they visit the site themselves.

What is the area like, urban or rural? Do you suspect possible contamination - did the area flood? Or are you just being cautious for your DD's sake. If the latter, it is very unlikely that water which passed before is now contaminated so either do a home test if you can get one or ring a number of places and bargain them down to something more reasonable than 400 bucks, bearing in mind that the water was tested before and this is merely a check up.

A stupid simple test is to let the water run and then take a jam jar or sealed glass unit and take a water sample in it - when the water settles you can visually see if there are contaminants - bugs etc. Now this does not prove or disprove anything - just tells you if creepy crawlies are in the water and if so, to get it tested properly.

 

[janinegirly]

thanks steal. The health dept here does not offer any public (ie reasonably priced) testing and referred me to the private labs. The house is in semi-rural area, but not too rural - only 45 mins from major cities but is also near farms. There are no recent events have led me to be concerned except for the fact that it is recommended that it be tested yearly and this hasn't been done for some time. Labs test for things like lead, mercury, iron and varous bacterias so don't think a home (visual) test would work. Thanks!

 

[soocool]

I have lived in my house for over 15 years and have a well.

When the well was first put in it was tested for potability. After that it was up to us to test. I did for the first two years by the Dept of Health. All they test for is coliform bacteria and pH.

After that we had it fully tested once for calcium, lime, iron, radon, nitrates, arsenic,benzene, etc. (nitrates because this used to be farm land and I was concerned about the nitrates from fertilzer, radon because it exists in the soil, arsenic, benzene because there was a sheet metal plant located nearby which closed about 20 years ago) All was fine. Then a few years ago a home just over a mile away, well became contaminated with MTBE (there is a gas station nearby and apparently they had a leak in their storage tanks.) The EPA tested the wells of homes within a mile mile radius and of course it did not include our home. We insisted that they test it and when push came to shove they did. Not too far away there was a pretty bad case of wells being contaminated by MTBE. But what guarantees do you have that your municpal water is safe too?.

You said your parents have an older home. Chances are their well is pretty shallow 100 - 150 feet possibly? Ours is 375 feet. Shallower wells have a higher chance of becoming contaminated due to runoff. We put in a water filtration system on our incoming water from the well. We change the filter once a month. In addition I have a Brita pitcher that I use for our drinking and cooking water to be doubly safe. We also put bleach down our well which is what the Dept of Health tells you to do if your well comes up positive for coliform bacteria.

I am including links to the CDC guidelines for testing and maintaining the safety of your well water.

http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/private/wells/testing.html
http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/private/wells/maintenance.html

Contact your state's Departent of Environmental Protection for a list of certified labs. They will not try to sell you anything, and will recommend which tests you need based on the area your parents live.

 

[janinegirly]

socool - I have looked into this and have a list of labs. I suppose I was curious of others' experience (thanks for sharing!) and if these DIY tests are at all reliable. We do have a water filter system (UV filter). Still I'd like it tested for peace of mind. There are no issues in the area (I called the Health Dept etc) and there are no requirements for testing of private wells, only guidelines. We have never drunk the water, but yes do cook with it, shower,etc. My instinct says it is probably fine, but I want some assurance because of DD (who cares about the rest of us, LOL). I think I should probably just pay for the full certified lab test, but still just curious what others might know. Thank you!!

 

[Loves Vintage]

Soocool,

Thank you very much for your helpful post. We have well water, and had it tested as part of our initial home inspection. I was not aware that we should test yearly. I'm going to print off some information you provided and from the link and will compare to our report at home. As far as I know, water was cleared to be perfectly drinkable. I absolutely adore our well water and drink it all the time!! I even bring a 1.5L bottle of it to drink at work throughout the day, so as to avoid the sub-par water here. I hope my well water is ok!!

 

[soocool]

socool - I have looked into this and have a list of labs. I suppose I was curious of others' experience (thanks for sharing!) and if these DIY tests are at all reliable. We do have a water filter system (UV filter). Still I'd like it tested for peace of mind. There are no issues in the area (I called the Health Dept etc) and there are no requirements for testing of private wells, only guidelines. We have never drunk the water, but yes do cook with it, shower,etc. My instinct says it is probably fine, but I want some assurance because of DD (who cares about the rest of us, LOL). I think I should probably just pay for the full certified lab test, but still just curious what others might know. Thank you!!

The UV filter will take care of the bacteria but we have a 3 tiered filtration system. The first 2 are sediment filters and the 3rd one is a carbon filter.

The things I was concerned about was radon (if it is in your water then you could have it in your home), nitrites and nitrates since this was farmland and our neighbors use fertilzers (we use corn gluten - no nitrates), benzene (since people burn leaves here and use gas to start the fire of may spill gasoline on their lawns and I don't want to ingest benzene, and arsenic because of an old sheet metal company that used to be in the area many years ago and the pressure treated wood that people have in their decks. Then there is always the possibility of people putting out poison for the vermin (mice, skunks,etc) or bury stuff or just dump chemicals in the lawn that they cannot dispose of otherwise and that will seep into the groundwater.

If there is a well do your parents or the neighbors have septic systems? These can fail and spew nasty things into the ground water.

It doesn't hurt to get it tested just to know. If it were me, I would want to know.

 

[sirbenson]

socool - I have looked into this and have a list of labs. I suppose I was curious of others' experience (thanks for sharing!) and if these DIY tests are at all reliable. We do have a water filter system (UV filter). Still I'd like it tested for peace of mind. There are no issues in the area (I called the Health Dept etc) and there are no requirements for testing of private wells, only guidelines. We have never drunk the water, but yes do cook with it, shower,etc. My instinct says it is probably fine, but I want some assurance because of DD (who cares about the rest of us, LOL). I think I should probably just pay for the full certified lab test, but still just curious what others might know. Thank you!!

I'm not sure if you mean a filter AND a UV light. I'm not familiar with a "UV filter". Basically a UV light cannot work on water that has lots of particulate matter floating around in it. So usually the system is set up so the water goes through the filter first so remove floaters and then the UV light acts next to kill bacteria. If you cannot confirm that the filter is working properly or it is not changed if it becomes clogged/broken, then the UV light is useless because it can't work in the presence of particulate matter. An important part of maintaining the system is to check that the filter and UV light are working properly.

IMO $400 is a small price to pay to ensure safe water supply. What does that $400 include? Does it include testing for both bacterial and chemical parameters? Too bad your health dept doesn't offer the testing. In Ontario we do offer this service for coliform and E/Coli testing. We reocmmend the public to private labs for testing of chemical parameters though.