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This article describes Use of Springs for Drinking Water. We provide advice about what to do when things go wrong.

Readers of this document should also see Water Tank Types and before assuming that a water problem is due to the well itself, see Water pump and pressure tank repair diagnosis & cost an specific case which offers an example of diagnosis of loss of water pressure, loss of water, and analyzes the actual repair cost.

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Springs as a Water Supply

What's Wrong Using a Spring to Supply Drinking Water to a Building?

Spring water can be delicious and clean if it is in a protected location. But most residential springs serving homes are not so carefully designed.

Springs and cisterns that are open to groundwater runoff like these are unlikely to provide sanitary drinking water since they are easily contaminated by surface runoff. Where building security and personal security are a special concern, the water source needs to be protected from tampering; in these cases a spring could be deliberately contaminated or poisoned.

In the pictures of springs used as a home water supply shown above, the cover is unsafe or missing completely, and the springs remain vulnerable to surface contaminants such as animal waste, pesticides, fertilizers, or other surface chemicals. Even if a water spring passes a bacterial test we have these remaining concerns:

• Other chemicals or contaminants may be present
• The spring is so easily contaminated from surface water that we can't be sure that it will remain as a sanitary water source.

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PLUMBING TOPICS
OIL TANKS
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WATER PRESSURE REGULATOR ADJUST
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WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS GUIDE
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  WATER PUMP PRESSURE CONTROL ADJUSTMENT
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  WATER PRESSURE REGULATOR ADJUST
WATER PUMPS & WELL TANKS
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WATER PUMP TYPES & LIFE EXPECTANCY
WATER PUMP & TANK SAFETY
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WATER TANK TYPES: WATER, OIL, EXPANSION, ALL
WATER TANK LIFE EXPECTANCY
WATER TANK REPAIRS
WATER TANK AIR, HOW TO ADD
WATER TANK BLADDERS & CAPTIVE AIR
WATER TANK REPLACEMENT
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WATER TANK PRESSURE CALCULATIONS
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WATER TANKS HOW THEY WORK
WATER TESTING
WATER TREATMENT EQUIPMENT CHOICES
WELLS CISTERNS & SPRINGS
  Basement Wells
  Cisterns
  Drilled Wells - steel casings
    Drilled Well with Submersible Pump
    Shallow Well with One Line Jet Pump
    Well with Two Line Jet Pump
  Driven Point Wells
  How Much Water is In the Well?
  How to Test Well Water Quantity
    Do Your Own Well Yield Test
    How Water Flow & Pressure Behave
    Reasonable Water Flow Rate
    Step by Step Well Yield Test
    How to Calculate Well Yield if Run Out of Water
    Fixing Inadequate Water Pressure /Quantity
    How to Conduct a True Well Flow Test
    Visual Clues of Limited Well Capacity
    Faucet Flow Rate is Inaccurate Test
  How to Get More Water From a Well
  Hand Dug Wells
  Springs as Water Supply
  Well Pits
  WATER PRESSURE LOSS
  WATER TANK TYPES
  WELL CLEARANCE DISTANCES
  WELL LIFE EXPECTANCY
  WELL PIPING CHECK VALVES
  WELL PIPING FOOT VALVES
  WELL PUMP TYPES & LIFE EXPECTANCY
  WELL PUMP PRIMING PROCEDURE

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