Well, well, well

[Drew]

My well report came back today.  Looks like some sulfur oxidizing bacteria has taken up residence to the tune of 656,000 cfu/ml where 500 is considered high.  Now I have to chew my glass of water.

I have a few sites that talk about decontamination via shock chlorination.  Have you folks run into this sort of thing, or is it a shameful affliction suffered only by those of us with poor morals, ethics, spelling, and hygiene habits?

[glenn kangiser]

Tired of turning on the faucet and having the wife and kids go, OMG...did you do that , Drew?

I am a well driller, Drew.  I have dealt with it before. 

Sometimes it can be a bit tough to get rid of - depends on how contaminated the well bore, etc is. 

You can get special chlorine for it but just the plain old gallons of washing bleach will do the same thing. 

How big - deep -- diameter -- depth of water etc. if you know.  Otherwise I would just pull the plug out of the well seal and pour a couple gallons of bleach down there.  Turn your hose on and run water down into the well through the seal plug to agitate the water.  Let it circulate for a while. Then let it set for at least six hours.  Also run all outlets until you smell chlorine from each one leaving them to sit with the chlorine in them too.

Before use again run till the smell is gone from all faucets etc.

There are chlorinators that will drop pellets at timed intervals also but it would be nice to avoid that and is not recommended if not necessary.

[glenn kangiser]

If you get me the info I can refer to a chart in my book for a closer estimate of the amount required.

[considerations]

When I lived in Oregon, the well driller recommended the bleach treatment once a year, in the fall, so if it went stinky, you were'nt stuck dealing with it in the bad weather.  

Once I ran the faucets until I could smell the chlorine, I shut them all off and went on a day trip.  That way I wasn't tempted to use them for 6 hours or so.

[peternap]

Well report?
Sorry, scofflaw humor!

[NM_Shooter]

Could be worse... a neighbor of mine 2 miles to the south just had uranium show up in her shallow well.  I told my wife we won't have to worry about gingivitis. 

[glenn kangiser]

Saves carrying a flashlight.

[NetHog]

Was this the first well report?

How often is the right frequency to get a well tested (vs 'legal' frequency)?

[peternap]

Was this the first well report?

How often is the right frequency to get a well tested (vs 'legal' frequency)?

Depends on where you are. Here, testing is not required. It's a good idea but not mandatory. A quick test is give someone you don't like, a drink. If he chucks, give er some chlorine.

[mvk]

Drew
Our old house had the problem we rent it so we had a water filter installed, it was easier with tenants, we rent the system $250 install $36 a month. If we move back I might remove it and use bleach, and then I might not, getting older. Glen's all over the bleach part but that was what the water guy told us basically. I was going to DIY but couldn't get to it for a while and the tenants were in. They wanted $250 to bleach it, so it wasn't that hard to talk me into it plus my wife didn't want me to do it.

Also there is a rod in your water heater at least in my electric that the bacteria grow on, about a couple of weeks after install, and then it stinks. you have to cut them off. Bet Scott and Glen as well as other's knows all about that.

That seems like a neat little business by the way, I have thought about it, maybe getting into it with my son and then letting him have. I don't like what I'm doing and could use a change and have a few more years to retirement if I can even afford it. Lots of smart folks on this forum whats everybody think? Don't think water is going to get any better anytime soon!

Mike

[glenn kangiser]

Water treatment can be good and can be a liability and or a real hassle.  Things don't always go well and I know the magnet snake oil salesmen were getting threatened with lawsuits if they didn't return money taken.  Underground conditions don't always want to cooperate but in general wells are safe and clean.  Pollution plumes are another story and can often come through the gravel pack of polluted rotary wells and into areas that are not polluted..  I used to have videos showing the internal flow of well water even though nothing was being pumped -- hundreds to thousands of gallons of water flowing from one static level aquifer through the perforated well bore to another static level aquifer.

There are different types of bacteria that can pollute wells but generally if the well seal is good and no one has worked on the well they really never need anything.  I'd check them if I or someone was getting sick or the water had unnatural odors or colors.  Hydrogen sulfide gas is a natural occurrence in many areas.  So is oil and natural gas.  Hydrogen sulfide can be removed pretty well by spraying it into an open tank the pressurizing from that tank with another pump - I'd say near the bottom.  The lack of pressure releases the gas -- like letting the carbonation out of a soda.

[Drew]

I've been away a while.  A new contract and Dan started classes in New Mexico today.  It's me and the kids and a stack of catch up work to do.  It's all good.

What I'm getting from all of this is that it's all handleable by myself without a big expense.  Glenn, I did the math and it looks like I need to put 5.2 pints of bleach into the well.  All I have right now in the system is the casing, the pipe to the pump, and a hose coming off the well cap.  No in-line tanks, no nothing.  I was thinking of mixing my bleach ina 5 gallon bucket of water and letting the hose syphon it back down through the workings.  If that doesn't work, the well cap has an access port on it and I can put it in there.

I think I didthis to myself. I actually hope I did, since it would be an easy lesson and somethign I can avoid in the future.  I have an old water tank I was using for the irrigation system.  It had some dirt and cobwebs in it.  No oil, fuel, or anything. It has a big screw-on cap at the top and a 2" bung at the bottom.  I stuck the hose in the tank through the screw-on cap and ran the pump to fill it.  I may have let the end of the hose go under the water line.  If I did, the water in the dirty tank could have syphoned back into the well.

[glenn kangiser]

The well has check valves in the pipe from the pump, Drew.  Water will not flow back down if it was installed correctly.  You will have to use the access plug in the seal.

Also -- pour the whole 2 gallons of bleach in there as you have area outside the casing to decontaminate.  Put the hose in the access hole and recirculate it a couple hours as you are at it -- that may more effectively kill your bacteria.after recirculating - then open all pipes until you smell chlorine - one at a time then shut them to clean the pipes - when the whole system has chlorine in it then shut it off and let it sit 6 hours minimum.

Don't drink the water until you have flushed it enough to not smell chlorine -- at the least you would get the runs --- the most -- who knows?

[Drew]

That sounds like a good plan.

I like my microbes in my soil, not my water.   

[Redoverfarm]

Drew when I did my well I just removed the casing cover and poured the clorox directly into the casing and it made it's way to  and through the water.  Did exactly like Glenn said on the lines.  Then it turned good.  That was mostly done because of the new house and new plumbing with the first well but the second was done because of the new water line to the house.  I do not have a seal in the well casing cap.