Private Water Supply Contaminated

W

Wexfordman

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Hi,

My neighbour got a recent dose of food poisening which turns out to be from her water supply which is from her own private well (borehole).

Question is, what can she do about this, and has anyone else ever had these type of problems. What types of filters are availalbe, and how good are they cost wise and how good is at filtering out harmfull bacteria ?

We are in a fairly rural area area, three houses in a row, each with a septic tank, so I wonder if this would be the problem.We are the middle house with an incline, so we would be "downwind" so to speak of the first house, and my neighbour who had the problem would be "downwind" of us!!!!!
Wexfordman
 
Sorry I can't give you any advice but I would certainly only be drinking bottled water until you find out what's causing the problem and if your supply is affected also. This is even more important for young children.
 
It is very possible that it is caused by one of the septic tanks. Septic Tanks hardly ever work properly in any case.

There are companies who will come and test your water and make recommendations. Look them up in the Golden Pages. They'll also be able to make recommendations regarding what needs to be done. I think at that stage you'll also be able to go to the Local Authority and possibly get a grant for any works that are undertaken.

In the meantime drink bottled water, use only bottled water for washing salads etc. and make sure that any possibly contaminated water used for consumption is boiling for 5 minutes min.
 
Could be just due to heavy rain and something in particular penetrating which might not normally, but have to get to the bottom of the matter. While waiting you can put Milton or similar into well, and run water in house until all gone and test again. UV lamps available, but best to cure the cause of the problem first.
 
Personally, I wouldn't bother with a private company. Get on to your local Health board, and they will send someone out to test your water. Our neighbours got theirs tested after one of the kids got sick. We got ours tested, and it was unsuitable for consumption. We got instructions for treating it with Milton, and they're coming back to re-test tomorrow.

It could be the septic tank in your case, but it could be any number of things. Make sure the opening to the well is sealed, so nothing can make it's way down.

FYI, the procedure was this: mix a 23:1 ratio of water and milton (1Litre milton in 5 gallons of water) Pour half this down the well. Run all taps until you can smell milton from the water. Pour remainder down the well. Run taps until smell goes away.

Either way, the first step is to get it tested.
 
You should definitely get it tested, it might not be bacteria it may be hydrogen sulphide or any number of other contaminants. In my experience private companies give a better service than health boards. We were waiting forever for our health board to respond. Acorn Water have a handy test kit that lets you return your sample in the box in which it is packaged to their laboratory and you get the results online.
 
Hi RB, welcome to AAM. In accordance with the [broken link removed], could you please confirm whether you have any connection with that business? I'm sure you'll understand that it may be seen as suspicious for a first time poster to recommend a business in a response to a month old thread.
Thanks,
Leo
 
In case you dont have access to Milton the Geological Survey of Ireland reccommend
[SIZE=-1]To disinfect the well we recommend you use the following method;

You will need

(1) 2 lb (900 gm) of chloride of lime (containing about 35% available chlorine)
or
(2)1 lb (450 gm) of “High test Hypochlorite” (50 - 70% available chlorine).
or
(3) Laundry bleach (Sodium Hypochlorite, 3 - 5% available chlorine) 2 gallons (9 litres) of 3% or 1 gallon (4.5 litres) of 5% strength.

For (1) or (2) dissolve in 5 gallons (23 litres) of water. For (3) make up the solution to 5 gallons (23 litres). Mix thoroughly.

Pour half the solution into the well, start the pump and open all taps until water from each tap has a distinct smell of chlorine. Then stop the pump and add the rest of the solution. Allow to stand for 12 - 24 hours, then pump to waste until the smell of chlorine disappears. [/SIZE]


If speaking to a water treatment company be aware that UV has its limitations if water is cloudy.
There are a large number of labs in the Golden Pages
 
No, I work in UCC although I do know an ex-employee of there who recommended the product. I'm sure there are plenty of other good labs you can use too.
After a quick Google: City Analysts
[broken link removed]
Just stay away from Pure H2O though (obviously).
 
Its very important to get the water tested. The health boards dont test anymore --- its been outsourced to private companies -- your local hb will advise which one.

Once you have the results of the test, you will be able to figure out what is causing the problem.... either total coliforms (vegitation breakdown) or faecel coliform (probably septic tank).

Its also very useful to know which other minerals are in the water ... since you drink it and wash it in --- it stuns me that people dont take more care over their water supply.(rant over...)


There are systems to remove all the problem contaminants.

I have well water --- I have a softener, UV lamp in garage and an undersink filtration system for the drinking water in the kitchen....The three systems were installed about a year ago and cost approx 3.2k
 
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