7 Tips on Protecting Your Private Drinking Water Well
A private well is one that is owned privately. It supplies water to a single private property and not to the public through any social or commercial activity. Private wells are not regulated by authorities. They are shallow and are located near commercial or residential developments. Hence, they are extremely vulnerable to contamination.
If you own a private drinking water well and are concerned that the water may get contaminated, these tips on protecting your private well will surely help you.
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Get Your Well Water Tested
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends getting a well water tested every year for nitrates and bacteria. The nitrates in your well water should not be more than 1mg/L. if the quantity exceeds this value, it would indicate that your well water is most likely to contain other contaminants such as pharmaceuticals.
Well water should also be tested for other common well water contaminants like chemicals that are found in solvents and gasoline (volatile organic compounds), pesticides, and arsenic.
If the value of quantity comes to be greater than 10m/L, you will have to get your water treated with ion exchange or reverse osmosis systems.
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Install a Filtration System
If the water test shows that the volume of nitrates greater than 1mg/L, you should consider getting a solid black carbon filtration system installed. This filtration system can remove any contaminants that may have found their way into your well water.
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A Clean Buffer
You should keep the land around your private well clean. You should be careful not to dump hazardous material like fertilizers, pesticides, fuel oil, and paint around your yard. These chemicals seep into the ground and are very likely to contaminate your well water.
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Be Careful With What You Flush
If you own a private drinking water well, you should be very careful about what you flush down the drain. Never flush expired or unused medicines down the toilet. One way of keeping pharmaceuticals from contaminating well water and the environment is to dispose of them properly.
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Choose Less Toxic Products
By using products which contain less harmful ingredients, you can greatly reduce the amount of toxic and harmful chemicals that enter the water being used in the household.
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Identify the Source
Identifying the source that water in your well comes from can help in limiting the contamination. Identify any local factors which may have an influence on the quality of your well water like septic systems, farming activities, etc. Once you know the source and possible contaminating factors, you will be better able to keep your private drinking water well clean.
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Ensure Proper Well Construction
The construction of well plays an important role in keeping the well water clean. Having a well that’s drilled deep enough, lined, and grouted makes sure that any polluting chemicals cannot penetrate the well’s walls.
It is still not known if the contamination of water with low levels of stain resistance chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and flame retardants has any effect on human health. It is better to take the necessary precautions because it’s better to be safe than sorry!
Give Ries Well Drilling Inc a call to answer any questions you may have regarding your water well maintenance. We can be reached at (586) 784-9516!