3 Common Problems with Private Well Water During Spring

The arrival of spring leads to many beautiful things. Flowers starts to bloom, leaves start appearing on trees, the weather gets nicer, lots of sunshine and days start to get longer. 

However, the onset of spring could bring water woes, especially if you are on a private water supply such as a well. Across the United States, about 12 million household rely on private wells for their drinking water. If you are one of them, read this article to know what you should be concerned about and how to solve those problems. Also, you can prefer water boreholes that help to solve your water well problem.

Salt Contamination

Over the cold winter months, roads are usually covered with salt to protect motorists from slipping. But all that salt has to go somewhere, and no one really cares about it. Please check best Waterdrop RO water filters.

You guessed it right. It dissolves and carried away via runoff eventually finding its way into streams, lakes and groundwater.

As a result, the well water gets contaminated. Water utility companies often report complaints of salty drinking water during and after the winter months. 

It causes damage to most freshwater aquatic animals and organisms, thereby creating ecological imbalance. On a broader scale, it can also interfere with water circulation in lakes and ponds due to changed water density. 

Highly salted water not only tastes bad, but it’s also unhealthy to drink. This could be a huge problem for people of low-sodium diets. 

Fortunately, there are efficient ways to deal with high salt content in water. Reverse osmosis filters are great at removing most contaminants including sodium from the water.  

Agricultural Runoff

If you live in an area with high rainfall, it is possible that agricultural runoff could contaminate your private well.  Water is known to be the best solvent. As it moves, the runoff picks up pollutants such as animal waste, fertilizers, and pesticides used in farms. These pollutants then get deposited into a nearby stream, lake or private well. 

In most cases, bacterial contamination can also be found. 

The more rain an area receives, the more likely agricultural runoff is to occur. 

One way to solve this problem is by drilling a well on higher ground. When a well is drilled too close to septic tanks, it is likely to be contaminated with pollutants from wet runoff. 

If the well is already contaminated, the best way to start is to get a detailed chemical and microbiological analysis of the water. Depending on the test results, a water treatment company can suggest the best solution for your problem. In most cases, they would also recommend installing a UV water filter. 

Odours

After the bitter cold ends and land slowly defrosts, you may notice a distinct and pungent odour coming out from your water. This smell resembles which resembles sewage or rotten eggs, is usually caused by the presence of hydrogen sulphide gas. 

Hydrogen sulphide gas can have an unpleasant odour even if present in small quantities. It can wreak havoc on plumbing fixtures due to its corrosive nature and could also lead to leaks in water pipes. 

In Summary

While public water supplies are regulated by the EPA, it is not the case with private water supplies. The quality of water in a private well is the sole responsibility of the homeowner. It is generally recommended to test the well water once a year to ensure there may not be any contaminants present in the water. 

Specialist water treatment equipment can solve most of the problems with well water. Most governments offer well water grants to homeowners to help improve the quality of their well. These grants cover a significant portion of water treatment costs. 

Check with the local government in your area about the water grants available and the criteria to qualify for them.