Bacteria in Water Well Water in Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Bacteria in Well water are one of the most common contaminants that come up present during both routine water quality testing and real estate transfer testing. What many homeowners do not realize is according to the EPA the Environmental Protection Agency a Federal regulatory agency and DEP Department of Environmental Protection Agency for Massachusetts and DES Department of Environmental Safety in New Hampshire recommend bacteria to be tested yearly. Again a bacterium in well water is very common typically E.Coli, Total Coli form and Plate Count are the routine tests preformed in regards to bacteria. Typically bacteria initially presents itself with stomach bug like symptoms however after initial exposure just like anything our bodies build an immunity to the symptoms however the contaminant still can effect the immune system. To learn more about the health ramifications of bacteria check out our blog: https://wellguy.com/water-well-testing-analysis-total-coliform-bacteria/

Bacteria in water well systems can be introduced in a variety of ways including but not limited to: during initial construction of the well system or during servicing of the well pumping system if the well is not properly chlorinated post service, due to leach fields or septic system failing in the near vicinity of the well location, due to major plumbing remodels,  due to the lack of a sanitary seal of the well head ie compromised well cap or drillers water well cap or due to a compromised casing or broken offset line. In many cases of bacterium outbreaks the source can be determined and corrected however in some cases it can be near impossible to determine the cause.

Bacteria in water can be treated so no need to worry. Typically the first step in treating bacteria is through a water well chlorination treatment or series of chlorination treatments. A chlorination treatment entails purging a measured volume of chlorine throughout the entire water well and plumbing system letting it saturate for 24- 48 hours purging the chlorine out of the system and retesting. In most cases one treatment is successful however depending on how long the outbreak has been building in the system more than one treatment may be needed to break through the bacterium in the system. If a series of chlorination treatments are unsuccessful in ridding the system of the present bacteria a UV light filtration should be considered.

Northeast Water Wells Inc offers full bacteria chlorination services and retesting capabilities call today to find out pricing or if you would like to discuss the procedure in greater detail.