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If your family gets drinking water from your own well, do you know if your water is safe to drink? What health risks could you and your family face? Where can you go for help or advice? This pamphlet helps answer these questions. It gives you general information about drinking water from home wells (also considered private drinking water sources). It describes types of activities in your area that can create threats to your water supply.

It also describes problems to look for and offers maintenance suggestions. Sources for more information and help are also listed. [Editing for clarity by DF are marked by brackets or italics] Initial Source: EPA 816-K-02-003 January 2002 Edits, content addition, & web page design © 2009 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

Where Do Ground Water Pollutants Come From?

Understanding and spotting possible pollution sources is important. It's the first step to safeguard drinking water for you and your family. Some threats come from nature. Naturally occurring contaminants such as minerals can present a health risk. Other potential sources come from past or present human activity - things that we do, make, and use such as mining, farming and using chemicals. Some of these activities may result in the pollution of the water we drink.

Several sources of pollution are easy to spot by sight, taste, or smell. (See Quick Reference List.), however many serious problems can only be found by testing your water. Knowing the possible threats in your area will help you decide on the kind of tests you need.

Quick Reference List of Noticeable [Water Contamination] Problems

Sources of Visible [Water Contamination]like scale, stains, or floating dirt/debris

• Scale or scum from calcium or magnesium salts in water
• Unclear/turbid water from dirt, clay salts, silt or rust in water
• Green stains on sinks or faucets caused by high acidity
• Brown-red stains on sinks, dishwasher, or clothes in wash points to dissolved iron in water
• Cloudy water that clears upon standing may have air bubbles from poorly working pump or problem with filters.

Sources of [Water] Tastes [Water Contamination]

• Salty or brackish taste from high sodium content in water
• Alkali/soapy taste from dissolved alkaline minerals in water
• Metallic taste from acidity or high iron content in water
• Chemical taste from industrial chemicals or pesticides

Sources of [Water] Smells [Water Contamination]

Sources of Sulphur or Rotten Egg Smells in Water

• A rotten egg odor or sulphur odor in water can be from dissolved hydrogen sulfide gas or certain bacteria in your water.
• A rotten egg or "sulphur odor" in drinking water may also come from the water heater and may be easy to fix. If the smell only comes with hot water it is likely from a part in your hot water heater. [The water heater's sacrificial anode, a rod sticking down into the water heater tank, is intended to reduce water tank corrosion and thus extend water tank life. But when the anode is badly corroded or dissolved itself, this condition can be a source of smelly water.
  
  Check for this condition before doing something more expensive to address water odors. We most often notice this odor when the home has been unoccupied for some time and the water heater has become deteriorated. Key is that the odor is only noticed when running the hot water--DF] We discuss the hot water tank sacrificial anode and dip tube in more detail at Check the Sacrificial Anode & Dip Tube of Your Water Heater Tank. [DF addition/edit]
• A sulfurous smell or rotten egg smell may also be due to the combination of loss of oxygen in water (hypoxia), or low oxygen levels, combined with algae which feeds and then dies in rivers, lakes, ponds, streams, or even large areas such as the Gulf of Mexico where agricultural runoff in the Mississippi river results in high nitrogen levels in water entering the Gulf. In 2008 the "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico was reported by the New York Times as likely to form a smelly sulphur-smelling zone of roe than 8,500 square miles.

Sources of Other Odors in Water

• A detergent odor in water and water that foams when drawn could be seepage [into the well] from septic tanks [or other groundwater] into your water well.
• A gasoline or oil smell in water indicates fuel oil or gasoline likely seeping from a tank into the water supply. [We found a property at which an owner was using an old "abandoned" drilled well casing to dispose of his used motor oil. This is an example of why it's a good idea to properly seal abandoned wells, making it unlikely that an un-used well will become a pipe for contaminants to be sent directly into the local aquifer--DF]
• Methane gas or musty/earthy smell in water may be from decaying organic matter in water. [We've had reports, especially from mining areas such as portions of Pennsylvania in the U.S. in which underground methane was seeping into the well through rock fissures. One client could on occasion light gas coming from their kitchen faucet! Be careful, such conditions are dangerous and risk explosion or fire--DF]
• Chlorine smell in water may be from excessive chlorination [or from improper or inadequate water treatment systems that have stopped filtering excessive chlorine in the post-processing step after using a chlorinator to kill bacteria in a water supply. -DF.]

Note: Many serious problems (bacteria, heavy metals, nitrates, radon, and many chemicals) can only be found by laboratory testing of water.

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ODORS in BUILDINGS
ANIMAL ODORS IN BUILDINGS
CARBON MONOXIDE & GAS HEAT ODORS
CARPETS & PADDING ODORS IN BUILDINGS
GAS MEASUREMENT TOOLS
  EPA GUIDE to WATER QUALITY
    Ground water & Well Contamination
    Drinking Water from Household Wells
    What Is Ground Water, How Is It Polluted
    Where Do Water Pollutants Come From
      Sources of Water Debris, Stains
      Sources of Water Tastes
      Sources of Water Smells & Odors
    Naturally Occurring Pollution Sources
    Private Well Contaminant Concerns
    Pollution due to Humans
    Level of Risk of Water Contamination
    Six Steps to Well Water Safety
    Protecting Ground Water From Contaminants
    1. How To Spot Well Contamination Problems
    2. Well Water Test Strategy
    Reasons to Test Well Water
    3. Understanding Water] Test Results
    4. Well Construction and Maintenance
    5. Talk With Local Water Experts
    6. Fix Well Water Contamination Problems
    More Information on Well Water
    Well Water Definitions
HEATING OIL EXPOSURE HAZARDS, LIMITS
HEATING SYSTEM ODORS
HOUSEWRAP AIR & VAPOR BARRIERS
MOLD ODORS, Musty Smells in Buildings
ODOR DIAGNOSIS CHECKLIST
ODORS, SEPTIC or SEWER
ODORS IN WATER
OIL HEAT ODORS
OIL TANK LEAK ODORS
OZONE for MOLD OR ODORS
PAINTS & COATINGS ODORS IN BUILDINGS
PLASTIC ODORS-SCREENS, SIDING
PLUMBING SYSTEM ODORS
SEPTIC SYSTEM ODORS
SEWER GAS ODORS
SEWER GAS ODORS in COLD WEATHER
VINYL Siding or PLASTIC Window ODORS in Buildings
VINYL CHLORIDE HEALTH INFO
WATER ODORS
WELL WATER CONTAMINANT SOURCES

• "Death in the Gulf of Mexico", Editorial, New York Times, 4 August 2008
• Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, for permission to use illustrations from their publication, The Illustrated Home which illustrates construction details and building components. Carson Dunlop provides home inspection education, publications, report writing materials, and home inspection services. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors.

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

• Our recommended books about building design, inspection, and repair, and about indoor environment testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore.
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More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

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• Drinking Water testing, contamination, correction - all topics
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• Choices of Water Tests & Fees: A Summary of Types of Water Tests, Degrees of Comprehensive Water Testing, Details of Water Test Parameters
• Cheating on water tests: Testing Water for Real Estate Transactions - make sure your water test is valid
• Drinking Water Contamination and Pollution How to Detect, Test, Correct, and Prevent Well Water Contamination - US EPA - Groundwater
• Interpreting Drinking Water Test Results what the results mean and what to do about them
• Correcting Unsatisfactory Water what to do, when to do it, treatment alternatives, equipment, filters, etc.
• Water Treatment for Contamination, Hardness, Odors, Sediment, Etc: choices of systems, recommendations
• Drinking Water Contaminant Levels - Maximum Allowed
• How to Reduce Lead Contamination in Drinking Water: how to test & correction lead in drinking water
• Lead Contamination from Water Supply Lines/Entry Mains, Lead Testing & Correcting Contamination from - Lead Pipe Problems/Advice
• Extreme Lead Poisoning Symptoms Suggested by Feb 2006 NY Times Article on Kosovo Roma Camps
• When and How to Shock or Chlorinate a Well - Procedure for Shocking a Well to (temporarily or maybe longer) "Correct" Bacterial Contamination
• Water Requirements, Home & Outdoor Living
• Water Supply & Drain Piping, Wells, Pumps, Water Supply Equipment
• The Septic System Information Website - Extensive, Detailed Consumer and Industry Information on Septic System Inspection, Testing, Maintenance, Alternatives for on-site waste disposal
• Sewage or Septic contamination in buildings - Investigation, Testing and Remediation

Water Supply & Drain Piping, Wells, Pumps, Water Supply Equipment

• Water pressure tanks - how to diagnose the need for air, how to add air, stop water pump short cycling to avoid damage - water storage water pressure tank safety.
• Diagnosing Clogged Drains: Is it a blocked drain or the septic system? - A First Step for Homeowners
• Water Requirements, Home & Outdoor Living
• Drinking Water Contamination, Testing, Well Sanitation, Water Tests

• Drinking Water Supply, Contamination Levels, Water Testing Procedures
• Water Supply & Drain Piping, Wells, Pumps, Water Supply Equipment
• Septic Systems - Onsite Waste Disposal Inspection & Testing Procedures
• Oil Tank piping, tank abandonment, leak and contamination issues

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