Wisconsin Well Owners Urged to Sanitize Their Well

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FLASH!!  From the online edition of the LaCrosse Tribune, http://bit.ly/1jtA7Pp

All Well Owners, not just those in Wisconsin, need to read this…

With Spring here, some areas are prone to flooding due to snow melt, rain, and the frozen ground thawing. For most of us, it mean flowers beginning to bloom and birds are singing.

But, for well owners, it could mean that your well water may no longer be safe for household use such as drinking, washing, and bathing.  

Chlorinate your well

Springtime is the best time to treat your well

That’s because all that extra water could be bringing unhealthy contaminants such as bacteria into your well  and contaminating the water.

Here’s where we agree…

That’s why the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources‘ private water section chief, Liesa Lehmann, issued the following statement, “Now is the time of year for well owners to watch for signs of flooding and to notice any change in the color, smell or taste of their drinking water.”

The article went on to urge well owners, especially those in flood-prone areas or those who notice changes in their well water, to sanitize their wells. We wholeheartedly support this recommendation.

Here’s where we disagree…

However…

The state says that, “Disinfection and sampling is best done by a licensed well driller or pump installer.“

We don’t necessarily agree with this. Our experience over many years tells us that these ‘professionals’ don’t understand the science behind sanitizing a well. We have been called in many times to test the well water after it has been disinfected by an “expert” and have found high levels of pathogenic bacteria.

This led us to put together a video that gives well owners the why and how behind chlorinating a well. We urge you to view it. You can get access to it by filling out the form on the right Sign up for "Why Chlorinate Your Well" video

 To help well owners disinfect their well the right way and save hundreds of dollars, we have developed a fool-proof well chlorination kit. We call it the “Well Water Wellness Kit”.  It contains everything you need, except for a mixing bucket and stirrer, including a link to an online video that shows you the easy step-by-step process, test strips for testing the level of chlorine after treatment, bacteria tests, the chlorination medium, and written instructions.

You can learn more about the “Well Water Wellness Kit” at drinkingwaterspecialists.com/well-water-wellness-kit/

Idaho Recommends Well Owners Have Their Water Tested

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I came across an article posted by Laurie Boston of the Southwest District Heath in Idaho entitled, “It’s important to test your well water” and thought it brings home the point very well.

The Governor of  Idaho, Butch Otter, has reached out to the well owners of the state to encourage them to have their well water tested on an annual basis.  To help reinforce the importance of doing this, he has proclaimed the week of March 9-15, 2014 as Ground Water Awareness Week.

Idaho residents, nearly 95%, get most of their drinking water from ground-water source. Most of these sources are from private wells.

The Director of Environmental Health Services for Southwest District Health, David Loper, has stated that “with well ownership comes the responsibility to test your well water by a state-certified lab each year and ensure all potential contaminants on your property are kept away from your drinking source. Water from private wells is not regulated by any public entity or monitored and tested.”  In addition to annual testing, he also recommends having your well water tested “whenever there is a change in taste, odor, appearance or when the system is serviced.”

We believe the same thing and it goes with our motto of “Take control and manage the quality of your drinking water.”

In this article it mentions several contaminants that you should consider testing for such as coliform bacteria, nitrates, arsenic, and fluoride among others.

For many homeowners, when they go to a local certified lab, they may find the cost to test the logical suite of contaminants that can affect the health of their family is pretty high.  Of course, while no one wants to ignore making sure their well water is safe to drink, cost may deter them from testing on an annual basis.

So, we have an idea that has worked well for many of the well owners we service.

Even though we are not certified in Idaho, our lab follows the same EPA and standard testing methods as the certified labs in the state. But, our costs are lower and we pass these savings onto our customers.

How are we able to do this?  The answer is:

  • We let you collect your own water samples and send them to us in a test kit we provide to you.
  • We have a standard set of contaminants that we test for which saves us setup time.
  • We have an automated tracking system that adds efficiency to our testing process.

So what happens if we find a problem with a customers water? The customer, if they want, can then have a local certified lab test for just the contaminant we find is high. However, most of our customers don’t do this, they just treat the water using recommendations we provide them to resolve the problem.

We don’t want well owners to ignore the annual water testing regimin suggested by the Governor because it’s vital to the health of families on well water. Our Bang-for-the-Buck Essential Indicators Water Test is  affordable and gives the well owner the information they need to maintain the safety of their well water.

You can read more by going to www.DrinkingWaterSpecialists.com

The original article can be found here.

 

Nitrate in Well Water?

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Well ChlorinationWell owners are strongly encouraged to test their well water annually for pathogenic bacteria and nitrates. Here is an article that brings home the reason for sticking to this schedule: Well Water Found to Contain Nitrates.

Nitrates can be found in potable water from several sources. The most common are nitrogen-containing fertilizers, leachate from septic systems, or runoff from agricultural activity. Nitrates are mainly a health concern for infants under the age of two.

Treatment:  Nitrates can be removed by reverse osmosis or by an ion-exchange resin specific for nitrate removal. An ion-exchange resin functions much like a water softener.

We’ve put together an information video to help well owners learn more about the why and how behind well chlorination. We did this because when we talk to most well owners, we find they don’t really understand what’s the right way to sanitize their well. Here’s the link: Well Chlorination

Health Issues and Well Water

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Well Owners: Contaminants in your well water may lead to health issues like neurological disorders, gastrointestinal illness, and reproductive problems.

Wellhead

Steve Earley | The Virginian-Pilot

More vulnerable members of your family like the elderly, infants and pregnant women are especially at risk.

We continue to harp on well owners that you are responsible for testing and maintaining the quality of your drinking water.

Here’s an article  put out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that harps on the same subject:

I urge you to read the article and and then get your water tested. You need to make sure your well water is the highest quality possible. It’s actually very easy and doesn’t cost an arm-and-leg to do.

CDC Well Water Article Don’t assume there’s not a problem just because there’s no unusual illness in your family or you don’t see or smell anything unusual in your water.

We’ve spent a lot of time coming up with a water test for the key contaminants that can affect your health. Our lab director has tested over 60,000 wells over 30 years as a lab director.  Using his extensive scientific background, he has identified exactly which contaminants need to be tested in order to give the well owner the information they need to keep their well water safe for their family.

What we’ve come up with is to test for  a list of essential indicators–those contaminants that, if found to be at a high level, can be easily treated. And, once these contaminants have been treated, other related contaminants will also respond to the same treatment.

Why is that important?

Because it reduces the total number of contaminants that to be explicitly tested and, therefore, makes the test very affordable while giving the well owner the information they need to make their well water safe.

Even the state with the most stringent regulations for well water testing. New Jersey, uses the ‘essential indicators’ model when a well needs to be tested if a house is sold.

No other mail-order lab we know does this.

Read more about essential indicators testing and learn why it’s the best choice.

Texas Town is Running Out of Water!

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…and it’s a problem that may spread.The combination of nearby fracking operations sucking underground water away from the local residents, and climate changes causing drought.

Here’s a video that lays out the issue facing the small town of Mertzon Texas. Water is a scarce natural resource and in this town there is a conflict between companies who use water to extract oil and natural gas out of the ground and homeowners who need it for drinking, bathing, and washing.

There clearly needs to be an open discussion among all parties about the priorities of the stakeholders. Clearly one stakeholder group cannot take all of the natural resource just because it makes them rich. On the other hand, the other group needs to be open to some compromise.

In this case, it looks like the local government is taking a ‘hands off’ position. Makes you wonder why.

Water is just too precious and scarce for local authorities to bury their heads in the sand.

Related articles across the web

Space Age Water Testing?

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Here’s a story that I find fascinating…

NASA Waer Test

John Feighery, co-founder of mWater. Credit: mWater

Imagine being able to test water in parts of the world where temperatures are above 77 degrees–like Africa and Asia. And at a relatively inexpensive price point. No expensive lab equipment or other heavy materials to carry into remote area. Plus, it can be used in places where live now.

The results of the tests are uploaded to a database. The database contains GPS information. Then, using a smartphone app, you are able to check the database for safety based on your current location.

It looks like this may be possible at some point down the road. Beta testing is going on right now.

According to this article, technology developed for NASA’s Space Station is being re-purposed for to map the quality of water around the world.

The water is incubated at ambient temperatures. After the incubation period, the water is photographed and uploaded to the database where it is categorized and made available to the smartphone app.

Fascinating!

If you are looking to have your drinking water tested now to make sure it is safe and healthy to drink, check out our Bang-for-the -Buck Essential Indicators Water Test. Even if you don’t order the test, you can learn about how Essential Indicators testing gives you the information you need to determine the health and safety of your drinking water at a very reasonable investment.

Wyoming Commission Considering Publishing Baseline Water Test

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This is exactly what we think anyone who lives near a drilling area, whether it’s for gas or oil, should do.

Wyoming Water Testing

DAN CEPEDA | Star-Tribune file

Why?

Because having the water tested before drilling begins establishes a baseline for the possible contaminants that may enter the water supply. Whether it’s a public water supply or a well on the homeowner’s property, this makes a lot of sense.

By establishing a baseline followed by periodic testing, it’s then possible to track the levels of the contaminants being tested. That way if a specific contaminant is showing an increasing level in the water, this can be brought to the attention of the local authorities who can work with the drilling company to resolve the issue.

A homeowner who owns a well can install a treatment device to filter out the specific contaminant while the local authorities resolve the problem.

Here’s the link to the original article we found in the Wyoming Star Tribune’s web site, trib.com.

A really good water test for this purpose is our ‘Bang for the Buck’ Essential Indicators Water Test.

 

Ellendale, Del. Well Owners Need Help

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Polluted Well Water Since 2009, the residents of Ellendale, Delaware have  had to deal with contaminated water. It’s really odd that the best the Delaware environmental and public health officials can do is hold a ‘workshop’ on the current state of affairs.

I know that well owners are pretty much on their own when it comes to the quality of their drinking water.  this article does not say whether or not they are working to clean up the cause(s) of the contaminants such as MTBE and benzene.

If I lived in Ellendale and if I owned a well, I would get a professional lab to test my water. Based on the results, I would then get the appropriate treatment to overcome any contaminants that may be in my well water.

I would also take the preventative measure of sanitizing my well.

I would do both of these things on an annual basis. The original water test should be saved as a baseline against which you can compare the follow-on tests. This will tell you if the level of certain contaminants are either going down or going up. If you want, you can share this information with your local health officials. Hopefully, they can take steps to track down the source of the problem.

I would also encourage my neighbors to do the same. The more datapoints that can be collect the better.

You can read the complete article here.

Learn more about water testing and sanitizing a well.

 

Can Bacteria Remove Nitrates & Nitrites from Well Water?

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Can it really be true? This article set me back on my heels.

A water company in Minnesota is testing a method to remove nitrates and nitrites in well drinking water. I couldn’t believe what they wanted to introduce into the water to do this…

…bacteria!

The article didn’t say what bacteria is being tested for doing this,  but if it’s a pathogenic bacteria, it will be really interesting to see where and how they plan to introduce it. bacteria

We all know that pathogenic bacteria such a e-coli or chloroform presents a real health hazard if it’s found in well water.  In fact, if it’s found, the well owner needs to sanitize their well immediately. That’s why we created our Well Water Wellness Kit.

I’ll try to monitor this experiment to see if I can learn more specifics and if do, I will post it here—so stay tuned.

You can read the original story here.Can it really be true? This article set me back on my heels.

A water company in Minnesota is testing a method to remove nitrates and nitrites in well drinking water. I couldn’t believe what they wanted to introduce into the water to do this…

…bacteria!

The article didn’t say what bacteria is being tested for doing this,  but if it’s a pathogenic bacteria, it will be really interesting to see where and how they plan to introduce it.

We all know that pathogenic bacteria such a e-coli or chloroform presents a real health hazard if it’s found in well water.  In fact, if it’s found, the well owner needs to sanitize their well immediately. That’s why we created our Well Water Wellness Kit.

I’ll try to monitor this experiment to see if I can learn more specifics and if do, I will post it here—so stay tuned.

You can read the original story here.

Savannah GA Rotary Club Completes Haitian Drinking Water Project

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You may have heard of Rotary International and the work they have done to eliminate polio around the world…

Courtesy of Leslie Francis

Courtesy of Leslie Francis

…or, you may only know about it from the gear-wheel signs you see when you enter a town telling you where and when they hold their local club meeting.

But, there’s a whole lot more to Rotary.

On of the best programs created by Rotary International involves teaming up with a local Rotary clubs, say in the U.S., to support in-country local Rotary clubs to fund an approved project for that country. The local club comes up with the project, and if it’s approved by the Rotary District of the local club and by Rotary International, the local club works with the in-country club to manage the project.

One of the beauties of the program is that the local club contributes money which is then matched by the club’s District and by Rotary International. That enables the local club’s contribution to by highly leveraged to support large projects that the local club could not afford on their own.

One area of focus by Rotary International is bringing clean, safe drinking water to places around the world that do not have potable water.

The Rotary Club of Savannah GA initiated a project to bring quality drinking water to a school in Haiti where only 58% of the population has access to safe drinking water. Read more ab0ut this project here.

If you don’t know much, or anything about Rotary International, I encourage you to visit a Rotary Club in your area when they hold one of their meetings. You will find it’s made up of local business people who help support projects in your area and around the world. It’s great for networking with the movers and shakers in your area. It’s a very rewarding experience to be able to give back.