What to do when a well fails a drinking water test - step by step action guide
How to make sure that a water test has been properly conducted - first step after a bad water test result
Guide to drinking water testing, contamination, and treatment
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The first thing to check if a well fails a drinking water potability or other test is to be sure that the test was properly conducted. Here we describe common mistakes people make when testing water and what to do about them. This series of articles explains many common water contamination tests for bacteria and other contaminants in water samples. We describe what to do about contaminated water, listing common corrective measures when water test results are
unsatisfactory. We include water testing and water correction measures warnings for home owners and especially for home buyers when certain conditions are encountered, with advice about what to do when these circumstances are encountered.
Various treatment methods for contaminated water are reviewed and the pros and cons of each are discussed.
Water Test Procedure Errors: Assure Proper Water Sample Testing Procedures Were Followed, Detecting Water Test Cheating
If a result is not satisfactory the following questions must be addressed:
Was the sample properly taken?
Water Sample Collection Procedure: (We remove the faucet, aerator which can harbor bacteria, run at least 20
minutes of water, 24 hours if house is unoccupied, and fill the container
without touching its interior.)
Water sample bottle: was a sterile water sample bottle used, a bottle provided by the water test lab?
Water sample location errors: was the water sample collected from an indoor plumbing fixture faucet, one that would normally be used to draw water for human consumption such as at a kitchen sink? If a water test person collected water from an outside hose faucet that fixture may itself have been unsanitary; if a water test person collected a water sample from plumbing components that have not been in recent use there may have been bacteria or contaminants in the piping or fixture.
Water sample delivery errors: was the water sample delivered to the water test lab at the proper time? Was the water sample refrigerated during transit? Depending on the type of water test (for bacteria for example) and the lab process used (the process must be one approved by the state health department), the water sample needs to arrive at the test lab within a specified time, such as four hours up to perhaps 12 hours. In some conditions such as hot weather it may be also necessary to refrigerate the sample, particularly if it is not being delivered to the water test lab immediately.
Did someone tamper with the water supply? See Cheating on water tests: Testing Water for Real Estate Transactions - make sure your water test is valid
Has recent repair work been done on the building plumbing or water system that was not followed by an adequate disinfection when the work was completed? (New piping, water tank, controls in the building)
Was work recently done on the well itself? Installing a new submersible (in-well) pump and well line or foot valve means pulling the piping out of the well, lying it on the (unsanitary) ground surface, and then replacing in the well. The well should have been disinfected after such work. On occasion I've found a similar problem occurring with indoor plumbing work.
Is it a new well that has not been in daily use
Was the well improperly disinfected? with inadequate concentration, contact time, or time between treatment and follow-up testing? Additional details are at
Has the building been vacant and the water system not in use for an extended period of time
Is the well properly sealed against surface and subsurface water contamination?
If the well casing top is at or below the surface of the ground it's easy for unsanitary surface runoff to enter the well and contaminate drinking water
Even if the well casing is well above ground surface level, as is usually the case with modern drilled steel-casing wells, there may be leaks into the well casing that let unsanitary surface water enter the well. Examples of leaks into the well include
Leaks at the pitless adapter where the vertical-rising well pipe inside the well exits out of the side of the steel well casing. The pitless adapter is a special plumbing fitting that handles the passage of round well piping through the vertical sidewall of the steel well casing. On some wells we have found that the installer did not have a pitless adapter at hand so s/he simply applied putty or caulk around the opening in the well casing where the well pipe exited.
Leaks in the well casing itself from cracks or splits
Water filters as a source of contamination: Are there cartridge type or R.O. (reverse osmosis) filters in use on the water system? (These can be a source of bacterial contamination.)
When is Well Disinfection Required?
If the source of the contamination is not due to an ongoing situation, for example bad ground water source, then a disinfection of the water system will solve the problem.
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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, 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, 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, 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, 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/
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