Well Water Issues, Again.

scesnick · Jan 17, 2007

I have a well that I drilled when I built my house 5 years ago. I have an extrememley iron content, even though it is not hard water. I have tried just about all the filtering sytems made and they all seem to work for a few months and then peter out on me. Well water is not one of my strong points so I figured I would ask you guys on TBN and see what you come up with.
I have a very nice creek that originates on my property and the small town down in the valley used this water for their resevior for years until recently when they were forced to switch to the cities water line.

Would it be possible for me to use this creek for household water? The creek is about 500ft. from my house and I would run this water through my already in place filtering system and a UV system.

* how would I get the water from the creek to my house? I would like to put the pump in my basement to eliminate the high cost of running the electric wire to the creek

* Also, I have heard that if I continually run my well for an extended period of time that it could possibly clear up my well.

DUMBDOG · Jan 17, 2007

Personally, I do not think that I would use the creek water, without a commercial system, there must be a reason the the small town was forced to switch to the city system.

I also have a irrigation wells with high iron content, have run them steady for a week without an improvement of the rust content. They got a little better after the first few hours of pumping when the well was new, but not after that.

PBinWA · Jan 17, 2007

I just change my filters every three months (maybe four ... ok five at the worst). You could buy a cheap (to replace) inline filter and put it early on in the system and then use higher quality filters after it.

I just use a GE filter that they sell at Home Despot and it works pretty good. It's full of Iron when I change it.

DieselPower · Jan 17, 2007

I would NOT use open air water. There is to great of a possibllity of bacteria and other nasties. Another thing to think about is, is there any wildlife or farm animals upstream that use the stream as a toilet? Not a very tastey thought is it.

Well water is very pure compared to above ground water. Well water has been filtered by all the ground it has to go through.

At my house I had a high manganese (sp?) problem with my water, it smelled like rotten egg's and was horrible when heated along with high counts of other minerals. I installed a water softener and a inline charcoal filter and the water is clear and tasteless now.

MikeD74T · Jan 17, 2007

Have you researched treating your well with hydrogen peroxide? Here's a start. Article Archives MikeD74T

scesnick · Jan 17, 2007

The town was pretty much told that they had to switch to city water. it was a money issue and the water that came from their resevoir was good water.
This creek originates on my property in the woods. I live way back in the mountains and this water is very clean. I don't have any aminals on my farm except for one horse on the other side of the property.
I have sunk over $6,000 in filtering systems. they all work well for a few months and then they slowly stop being effective.

The hydrogen peroxide treatment sounds promising. I have never heard of using it before. I appreciate the info.

WayneB · Jan 17, 2007

We have a surface well at our house that has been used for over 200 years and the water is still pure and clean. I do have it tested yearly to make sure of the water purity. Over the past thirty years we have never had a problem with the water or well.

People in the area have drilled wells and most are going down over 300 feet to get their water. Everyone of them has hard water with high iron content. All have some filtering systems inplace and a monthly maintenance concern.

For these reasons I have stayed away from the drilling of a well. We watch our consumption and have a separate well for garden and outside needs.

We also have a mountain cabin/camp that we used a point to reach a water source. This was driven about 15 feet into the ground and we have more water than we could ever use. This is clean clear mountain water and works fine for us. I would think you could drive a point say up to 25 feet into the ground near the creek and use the surrounding earth to clear out particulates from the water.

Installation of Water Wells using a Driven Well Point

or you can go to Ohio Pure Water and find the same products

Ohio Pure Water Company - UV Ultraviolet Disinfection

Just a thought and maybe worth checking out.

I added a UV disinfection system. I installed an 8 gpm system before the filtering units and the water is clean and safe to drink. I still have this tested yearly to make sure everything is working properly and the water is safe. For us 8 gpm was enough protection. Depending upong your house use and what your actual gpm flowrate is will determine the size you may wish to purchase.

Sterilight Ultraviolet Water Purifiers

Wayne

mwechtal · Jan 17, 2007

MikeD74T said:
Have you researched treating your well with hydrogen peroxide? Here's a start. Article Archives MikeD74T

If you go this way, be very very careful with the hydrogen peroxide, and buy the 30% if possible. You can get a bad chemical burn from even 30%, and you do not even want to think about what it would do to an eye.

That said, with gloves, and goggles it's not that bad to handle safely.

Mike

ByronBob · Jan 17, 2007

My water system has it all. Because my water is that bad. I do have an iron remover system which has worked so far for the 3+ years I've been there. Don't shy away from peroxide because of that.