Well Water Testing

[stoneman]

I have lived in Thailand for almost 10 years now and have never drank water direct from the tap...Always bottled water for everything except showers...

We are entering the final stages of construction on our new house and it is time to be working on the filtering system we will need for the water supply...We had a well drilled last January and the water has been used mainly for watering the plants and mixing cement..

So I got on the internet and found a company in the US that makes Drinking Water Test Kits and I ordered one ...Thursday I decided to test the water coming from my 95 ft deep well...Carefully following the instructions given with the kit, I got the following results...

Bacteria Test...None detected
Lead/Pesticide...Negative
Nitrate...Negative
Nitrate...Negative
pH....6.2
Hardness....50 ppm
Chlorine...Negative

Based upon these results, the water should be "drinkable"...Maybe add a softener but doesn't appear to need anything else..I was prepared to go to Global house and buy the big silver tanks and install them into my system...

Is there other things that need to be tested for...What am I missing?

Stoneman

[polehawk]

Stoneman, please post the name, address and price for your test kit. Our well is same depth but we installed a filter purchased from Home Pro. Wife still insists on boiling the water to be on the safe side. Previous owner drank filtered water from this well, I believe, but don't know if he ever had it tested after the well was drilled 8 or 9 years ago.

When we lived in Michigan in the States we had a 40 foot well and were able to send water samples overnight to our state agricultural dept. in Lansing Mich for testing. It's been quite a few years but I don't recall the results being as comprehensive as yours.

[laphanphon]

there is actually a place down by nong soon that test water, though with me there, getting a price and what the actually test was like pulling teeth. and the main things i wanted tested, heavy metals were extra, so i passed.

actually, the water filter i used, basically took out 99.9 % of everything i was concerned about, and a deep well, so never a problem, drinking water thru filter, the rest as is. main concerns for me were metals and pesticides, a good carbon and ceramic filter will do the trick and they are not expensive, 2000 to 3000 thousand should provide all the protection you need, use pure, and make sure they stock the filters, and buy a few. the third filter they puxh is a sediment filter, really no needed, but inexpensive enough if it is a 3 filter unit, as i find 2 filter units hard to find now. personally, i would stay away fro the ultraviolet light ones, as electronics and bulbs here seem to be a waste of time.

[polehawk]

Thanks LA. We have a 3 filter unit so we should be ok then. Boiling the water is a little over the top but gives the wife peace of mind.

I would have guessed the bacteria and pesticide tests would be the most important ones you would want anyway. Sounds like that test kit would give you a little extra assurance.

[Astana]

I have found this website http://www.filtersfast.com/ to be a good source of information and all kind of filters and widgets.

[tigerryan]

I drill environmental sampling wells for a living Im no chemist but I have picked up a few things. I would approach it using a "risk based" approach to help settle your mind on the issue. FIrst if you can get an idea of your regional ground water flow for example look for terrain changes that lead down in elevation to surface water then look the opposite direction for about two kilometers upgradient and look for signs of industry, dumping or hazordus materials storage gas stations to get an idea if your in a potential downgradient plume of a chemical storage or dumping location/release area. The odor threshold for many chemical solvents is in the 1ppb range if you cant smell it in your water it is not there in any sort of dire levels. You can but a small splash of water in a clean glass an stick it in the microwave for just a few seconds then smell it quickly after and you can often catch the chemical constituent of concern as it is volitalizing this can help increase your detection limit for petrol/solvents.

The condition of your well would be my next concern just because it is deep does not mean that surface water or sewage is not migrating down the borehole and contaminating the deeper aquifer. Water migrating down the borehole is prevented by a proper "well completion" this is done by grouting of or casing off the shallow water and isolating it form the deeper water this in effect forces the water to naturally migrate through the soil and is natures way of filtering it. If the well is poorly constructed the surface water or sewage run off can just cascades down into the well.
Im pretty sure that most natural ground water has all kinds of aerobic and anerobic bacteria its the level and type that is the clincher. Safe to say you don't want to drink poop water. We use hugh activated carbon filters to treat effluent solvent and petrolem contaminated wastewater and when the carbon gets used up the the water flows through it as if it were new the only way we can demonstrate that its working is to regulary put a sample on a gas chromatagraph. Carbon from my understanding is not really a filter so much is it is a absorber. I don't think that you can touch nitrates with a carbon filter they just move on through it. You can drop well treatment products down your well to get a handle on the bacteria its a common practice stateside but I don't really know much about that.

Last but not least if it does not make you sick and you don't have any odors I would not worry.

[stoneman]

Stoneman, please post the name, address and price for your test kit. Our well is same depth but we installed a filter purchased from Home Pro. Wife still insists on boiling the water to be on the safe side. Previous owner drank filtered water from this well, I believe, but don't know if he ever had it tested after the well was drilled 8 or 9 years ago.

When we lived in Michigan in the States we had a 40 foot well and were able to send water samples overnight to our state agricultural dept. in Lansing Mich for testing. It's been quite a few years but I don't recall the results being as comprehensive as yours.

Polehawk..

I ordered the kit through http://www.discovertesting.com/ .They have a large variety of well testing kits...I bought the kit that cost $24.95..

Stoneman

[stoneman]

I drill environmental sampling wells for a living Im no chemist but I have picked up a few things. I would approach it using a "risk based" approach to help settle your mind on the issue. FIrst if you can get an idea of your regional ground water flow for example look for terrain changes that lead down in elevation to surface water then look the opposite direction for about two kilometers upgradient and look for signs of industry, dumping or hazordus materials storage gas stations to get an idea if your in a potential downgradient plume of a chemical storage or dumping location/release area. The odor threshold for many chemical solvents is in the 1ppb range if you cant smell it in your water it is not there in any sort of dire levels. You can but a small splash of water in a clean glass an stick it in the microwave for just a few seconds then smell it quickly after and you can often catch the chemical constituent of concern as it is volitalizing this can help increase your detection limit for petrol/solvents.

The condition of your well would be my next concern just because it is deep does not mean that surface water or sewage is not migrating down the borehole and contaminating the deeper aquifer. Water migrating down the borehole is prevented by a proper "well completion" this is done by grouting of or casing off the shallow water and isolating it form the deeper water this in effect forces the water to naturally migrate through the soil and is natures way of filtering it. If the well is poorly constructed the surface water or sewage run off can just cascades down into the well.

Im pretty sure that most natural ground water has all kinds of aerobic and anerobic bacteria its the level and type that is the clincher. Safe to say you don't want to drink poop water. We use hugh activated carbon filters to treat effluent solvent and petrolem contaminated wastewater and when the carbon gets used up the the water flows through it as if it were new the only way we can demonstrate that its working is to regulary put a sample on a gas chromatagraph. Carbon from my understanding is not really a filter so much is it is a absorber. I don't think that you can touch nitrates with a carbon filter they just move on through it. You can drop well treatment products down your well to get a handle on the bacteria its a common practice stateside but I don't really know much about that.

Last but not least if it does not make you sick and you don't have any odors I would not worry.

Tigerryan..

I agree that surface contamination is the biggest concern..We were very careful when we drilled and completed the well...I grew up in the Okla oil fields and spent a lot of time around oil drilling rigs and am very used to dealing with surface contamination. Our well is on the upside of most of the ground within a 2 km radius...We do have the "mountains" but they are 5 -6 kms away...

My wife is leery of drinking the water, but I think I will attach a softener and use it..But will also continue testing on a periodic basis...Thanks for all your good info

Stoneman

[stoneman]

I have found this website http://www.filtersfast.com/ to be a good source of information and all kind of filters and widgets.

Astana..Interesting that they recommend the same brand of test kits that I bought... http://www.filtersfast.com/water-test-kit.asp

Stoneman

[fremmel]

We had our well water tested through the water department in Udon. They charged 1,200 baht and sent the sample off to Bangkok to the government lab. They checked for iron, manganese, copper, zinc, sulfate, chlorine, fluorine, nitrate, total hardness as calcium carbonate, non-carbonate harness, total dissolved solids, pH, color, and turbidity. They also had a non-numeric test result that my wife couldn't fully translate for me but said that the result of that test said the water was drinkable. Maybe that was bacteria and/or pesticides.

We drilled the well before we started construction on the house. Our workers did their own testing (drank some and said it tasted good) and drank it for 6 months while they were building the house. We use the water straight for bathing and washing and run it through an RO unit for drinking. So far, so good.

The downside to having the government test it is that they want to see that the well driller pulled a permit for it and once they have your well in their records you have to pay a usage fee. Currently that fee is 500 baht for 5 years. We'll just have to wait and see how much the next 5 years is.

They also said that the law on permitting wells has been in place for several years and that they are now enforcing it and if they catch a non-permitted well there will be heavy fines. I don't know how realistic that threat is. I was surprised when we brought in our application for a well permit that they had a big book with all the licensed well drillers and checked the copy of the ID card of our driller before they issued the permit. I didn't even know well drilling was a licensed occupation. So maybe everything is in place for them to actually get serious.

[bluejets]

Some useful info here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_w ... rification

[parrot]

We had our well water tested at the Regional Medical Science Center in Noonsoon 11 years ago. Paid 3500 in 1998, but I think the test is about 4500 now. We had to take min. 10 liters of water (let it flow through your pipes for several minutes before putting it in a sanitary container), no more than 24 hours old.
We received a test report several days after in English....tested for pH, chlorine, hardness, nitrates, iron, lead, coliform, e. coli, and pathogenic bacteria.

We're due to run another test and I'll add pesticides this time around.
As an added protection, we run our drinking water only through a ceramic/solid charcoal filter. I'd suggest the solid charcoal filters as they (supposedly) do a better job than granules. I'd stick with the basic Pure or Mazuma models (2 filters...one ceramic, one charcoal), easily below 2000 baht and available at all the big stores. If you're well water is running into a holding tank before being pumped into the house, you'll be fine with an annual or biannual cleaning of your ceramic filter.

[parrot]

Pure has a website in English at
http://www2.purefilter.com/index.asp?pa ... me=content
for those who are interested.
Robinsons and Lotus carries the high-end water filter systems by Pure (fancy looking boxes) with the newer style filters, but the twin barrel kind are still available and much cheaper.

[wazza]

E Coli and Coliforms are the bacteria u need to test for.

Proves u have sh*t in ur water. Needs to be cooked for 48 hours in an incubator for a full test.

Your next door neighbours cheap septic solution could be ur downfall remember.

[stoneman]

E Coli and Coliforms are the bacteria u need to test for.

Proves u have sh*t in ur water. Needs to be cooked for 48 hours in an incubator for a full test.

Your next door neighbours cheap septic solution could be ur downfall remember.

Wazza...

The bacteria test that was included with the kit I bought said exactly what you outlined...I put exactly two droppers full of water into the test vial containing some kind of powder...Shook it vigorously for 30 seconds and let it stand for 48 hours...At the end of that time the liquid was purple, which is the test indication of no bacteria in the water sample..

Stoneman

[wazza]

The E Coli / Coliform tests I do, must be kept in an incubator at 37 C for 48 hours, then read.

Im sure some other tests will allow some readings like yours.

Bottom line is, your water seems ok and drinkable, but i would always add a filter , just to be careful.

[tigerryan]

One more thing to think about with your domesetic well is to make sure that you have a back flow preventer or foot valve on your well or system. Imagine throwing your garden hose into your Koi pond and filling it up with some more water, then your power goes off and your pump stops pumping and you siphon your entire koi pond back into your well. This scenario happens all the time in municapal water systems during floods. Your garden sprinkler system that may have any submerged heads can and allow for water to sucked back into your well if you dont have a functioning backflow prevention valve in place.

[stoneman]

One more thing to think about with your domesetic well is to make sure that you have a back flow preventer or foot valve on your well or system. Imagine throwing your garden hose into your Koi pond and filling it up with some more water, then your power goes off and your pump stops pumping and you siphon your entire koi pond back into your well. This scenario happens all the time in municapal water systems during floods. Your garden sprinkler system that may have any submerged heads can and allow for water to sucked back into your well if you dont have a functioning backflow prevention valve in place.

Tigerryan..

No I do not have this in my system...Can you give me a little more info on exactly where along the system this should be installed...Also is this something that I should be able to find at Home Pro or Global House?

Thanks...Stoneman

[stoneman]

The E Coli / Coliform tests I do, must be kept in an incubator at 37 C for 48 hours, then read.

Im sure some other tests will allow some readings like yours.

Bottom line is, your water seems ok and drinkable, but i would always add a filter , just to be careful.

What type of filter would you recommend?

Stoneman

[tigerryan]

If you have an electrical submersible pump it may not have a back flow valve built into it most do not. If you are using a surface mounted pump it should have a foot valve to help keep its prime. The foot valve keeps water from moving backwards and is generally just closes against itself with the weight of the water standing in the pipe and is located at the bottom of the well pipe. A back flow preventer should be located where your main shutoff valve is and before any out flowing valves generally next to the pressure regulator.

You can find all sorts of back flow preventer pictures and info online. Practically any sort of one way valve could suffice to prevent back flow a simple flapper valve for $5 could do the trick a spring loaded one would be better depending on you level of concern the standard building code (at least western) requires a double spring loaded and testable valve to be used.

You might want to experiment with your system and see if you can get it to back flow. Take your garden hose and stick it into a clean bucket (something you would drink out of because you might) open your kitchen or bathroom sink to allow for some air to enter then kill the power to your pump and see if it drinks the bucket.