- ground water pollution prevention, well water testing, well water safety, US EPA advice part 3
What are the sources of contaminants, odors, or pollutants in well water?
Sources of ground water pollution of drinking water & wells
Health concerns about water pollution
Levels of risk due to water contaminants
Steps to improve well water safety
Protecting ground water
How to correct ground water contamination
Questions & answers about the sources of pollutants or contaminants in well water
Sources of well water contamination: edited/expanded US EPA article chapter on the sources of pollutants in well water.
InspectAPedia offers impartial, unbiased advice without conflicts of interest.
We will block advertisements which we discover or readers inform us are associated with bad business practices,
false-advertising, or junk science. Our contact info is at
InspectAPedia.com/Contact.htm.
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? 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. Also see WATER ODORS, CAUSE CURE.
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]
[Readers needing detailed advice on diagnosing and curing water odors should also see WATER ODORS, CAUSE CURE.]-DF
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.
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] See METHANE GAS SOURCES for details about sources of methane gas in and around buildings and in the water supply or in wells.
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.]
Watch Out: Many serious problems (bacteria, heavy metals, nitrates, radon, and many chemicals) can only be found by laboratory testing of water.
Critique, contributions wanted: Contact Us to suggest corrections or additions to articles at this website, and if you wish, to receive online listing and credit as a contributor. Particular thanks are due to the many experts and also consumers who read and critique technical articles at InspectAPedia.com.
Additional technical contributors & reference sources for this article are listed below.
Use links just below or 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.
Water Supply & Drain Piping, Wells, Pumps, Water Supply Equipment
Access Water Energy, PO Box 2061, Moorabbin, VIC 3189, Australia, Tel: 1300 797 758, email: sales@accesswater.com.au Moorabbin Office: Kingston Trade Centre, 100 Cochranes Rd, Moorabbin, VIC 3189
Australian supplier of: Greywater systems, Solar power to grid packages, Edwards solar systems, Vulcan compact solar systems, water & solar system pumps & controls, and a wide rage of above ground & under ground water storage tanks: concrete, steel, plastic, modular, and bladder storage tanks.
Cheating on water tests: Testing Water for Real Estate Transactions - make sure your water test is valid
Smart Tank, Installation Instructions [ copy on file as /water/Smart_Tank_Flexcon.pdf ] - , Flexcon Industries, 300 Pond St., Randolph MA 02368, www.flexconind.com, Tel: 800-527-0030 - web search 07/24/2010, original source: http://www.flexconind.com/pdf/st_install.pdf
Typical Shallow Well One Line Jet Pump Installation [ copy on file as /water/Jet_Pump_Grove_Elect_Jet_Pumps_1.pdf ] - , Grove Electric, G&G Electric & Plumbing, 1900 NE 78th St., Suite 101, Vancouver WA 98665 www.grovelectric.com - web search -7/15/2010 original source: http://www.groverelectric.com/howto/38_Typical%20Jet%20Pump%20Installation.pdf
Typical Deep Well Two Line Jet Pump Installation [ copy on file as /water/Jet_Pump_Grove_Elect.pdf ] - , Grove Electric, G&G Electric & Plumbing, 1900 NE 78th St., Suite 101, Vancouver WA 98665 www.grovelectric.com - web search -7/15/2010 original source: http://www.groverelectric.com/howto/38_Typical%20Jet%20Pump%20Installation.pdf
Water Fact Sheet #3, Using Low-Yielding Wells [ copy on file as /water/Low_Yield_Wells_Penn_State.pdf ] - , Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, Cooperative Extension, School of Forest Resources, web search 07/24/2010, original source: http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/pdfs/XH0002.pdf
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.
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.
The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 2010, $69.00 U.S., is available from Carson Dunlop, and from the InspectAPedia bookstore. The 2010 edition of the Home Reference Book is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. InspectAPedia.com ® author/editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume.
Crystal Clear Supply provides portable ceramic water filter purifiers and portable reverse osmosis water treatment equipment - see http://www.crystalclearsupply.com/category_s/7.htm
Handbook of Disinfectants and Antiseptics, Joseph M. Ascenzi (Editor), CRC, 1995, ISBN-10: 0824795245 ISBN-13: 978-0824795245 "The evaluation of chemical germicides predates the golden age of microbiology..." -
This well-focused, up-to-date reference details the current medical uses of antiseptics and disinfectants -- particularly in the control of hospital-acquired infections -- presenting methods for evaluating products to obtain regulatory approval and examining chemical, physical, and microbiological properties as well as the toxicology of the most widely used commercial chemicals.
Potable Aqua® emergency drinking water germicidal tablets are produced by the Wisconsin Pharmacal Co., Jackson WI 53037. 800-558-6614 pharmacalway.com
Principles and Practice of Disinfection, Preservation and Sterilization (Hardcover)
by A. D. Russell (Editor), W. B. Hugo (Editor), G. A. J. Ayliffe (Editor), Blackwell Science, 2004. ISBN-10: 1405101997, ISBN-13: 978-1405101998.
"This superb book is the best of its kind available and one that will undoubtedly be useful, if not essential, to workers in a variety of industries. Thirty-one distinguished specialists deal comprehensively with the subject matter indicated by the title ... The book is produced with care, is very readable with useful selected references at the end of each chapter and an excellent index. It is an essential source book for everyone interested in this field. For pharmacy undergraduates, it will complement the excellent text on pharmaceutical microbiology by two of the present editors."
The Pharmaceutical Journal: "This is an excellent book. It deals comprehensively and authoritatively with its subject with contributions from 31 distinguished specialists. There is a great deal to interest all those involved in hospital infection ... This book is exceptionally well laid out. There are well chosen references for each chapter and an excellent index. It is highly recommended." The Journal of Hospital Infection.: "The editors and authors must be congratulated for this excellent treatise on nonantibiotic antimicrobial measures in hospitals and industry ... The publication is highly recommended to hospital and research personnel, especially to clinical microbiologists, infection-control and environmental-safety specialists, pharmacists, and dieticians."
New England Journal of Medicine: City Hospital, Birmingham, UK. Covers the many methods of the elimination or prevention of microbial growth. Provides an historical overview, descriptions of the types of antimicrobial agents, factors affecting efficacy, evaluation methods, and types of resistance. Features sterilization methods, and more. Previous edition: c1999. DNLM: Sterilization--methods.
U.S. Army Field Manual 21-10, Field Hygiene and Sanitation, 1988, web search 07/02/2010, original source: http://www.enlisted.info/field-manuals/fm-21-10-field-hygiene-and-sanitation.shtml The purpose of this manual is to assist individual soldiers, unit commanders, leaders and field sanitation teams in preventing disease and environmental injuries. The manual provides information on preventive medicine measures (PMM) to the individual soldier as well as essential information for the unit commander, unit leaders, and the unit field sanitation team on applying unit level PMM.
When Technology Fails, Matthew Stein, Chelsea Green Publisher, 2008,493 pages. ISBN-10: 1933392452 ISBN-13: 978-1933392455, "... how to find and sterilize water in the face of utility failure, as well as practical information for dealing with water-quality issues even when the public tap water is still flowing". Mr. Stein's website is www.whentechfails.com/
Mobile View
