Question on Storing well water

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I know that you are supposed to add about 10-15 drops/gal of bleach to tap water for storage, but what about well water, which has no chemical treatment? Should I add more? Are there other things to worry about when storing well water?

-- a (a@a.a), May 05, 1999

Answers

You're supposed to sanitize your well every six months or so with half a bottle of bleach. If your well runs directly to a tank, there is nothing more you need to do.

-- Doug (Doug@work.now), May 05, 1999.

Just curious.Why would you want to store well water?

Good information & other links on the Noah's Ark site. Try a search using http://www.millenium-ark.net/search.html.

I just tapped in "wells" & found info on common contaminents in untreated water.Happy Hunting!

-- Chris (griffen@globalnet.co.uk), May 05, 1999.


I'm not familiar with periodic sanitizing using bleach, as have never had a problem with any of 4 or 5 wells over last 35 years. However, am aware that bleach - probably 2 or more gallons - is strongly recommended when recovering well from general flooding. Makes sense, but sorry, I don't have specifics. Assume you would uncover casing, pour, let stand for a couple hours, then pump until water is palatable again. Does that sound about right?

-- A. Hambley (a.hambley@usa.net), May 05, 1999.

If you call a Water Bureau in the locale nearest you that has one, I believe you will be able to get perteinent information on treatment of potable water. We use a pool chorline (DON'T GUESS ABOUT THIS... ASK FOR HELP!!!] when installing new water systems and let it "bake" the contaminants for a few days. Then we flush and test the line using an iodine test kit which will react with a very small amount of chorline. I believe these kits may be available for the public. Much care and attention "must" be paid to this, as and overdose of any type of disinfentanct can cause severe problems.

This would be a good thing for all us to invistigate, since a break in a water main and the resulting fix almost always introduces a certain amount of contamination (sometimes quite a lot)into the system. Since the water has already been treated at the plant, it will arrive at your faucet untested. Ever had brown water or small rock chips come out of the spigot? Usually a give away that there has been a break and not simply an interuption in service, is a gushing that results from air being introduced into the main during a repair. A general rule to follow would be to turn on an outside spigot (hose bib) for a few minutes to flush the service line to your house. Often debris in the line can cause the valves in your shower to clog. No simple fix here.

Use your own judgment as to the choice of boiling vs. treating. Boiling may not always be an option. Getting sick always is.

Good health and God bless.

-- spun@lright (mikeymac@uswest.net), May 05, 1999.


I just drilled a new well and installed a solar pump in it. My well driller, who has been in the business at least 30 years, is the source of my information for sanitizing the well. The sanitary well seal (the cap to the well which the pipe runs through) has a little plug in it that can be unscrewed. I inserted a funnel in the hole and poured in the bleach and then poured additional water from the garden hose down to rinse everything down to the actual water level. I waited an hour or so before opening the faucets. It sanitizes the well, the tank, and the lines in the house. I never did smell any chlorine in the water.

It's a good idea to have the water tested in any event. Mine has a high iron content, but no critters or chemicals.

-- Doug (Doug@work.now), May 05, 1999.



Chris said: "Just curious.Why would you want to store well water? "

In our case, the well is over 200 feet deep. Not a good candidate for hand pumps. If you don't have back-up energy source, getting the water out of the well CAN pose a problem.

Mr. K
***stores well water just in case...****

-- Mr. Kennedy (Mr.K@home.tonight), May 05, 1999.

Potentially deadly bacteria is everywhere and stored water is a great habitat. My sources say to use 4 drops of bleach per quart if the water is clear and 8 drops if it is cloudy. I know people who are storing city water with bleach. I have a well and a generator. I'll be storing water with bleach when I run out of gas. I also have a stream and a river to get water from. It will have to be bleached also.

-- John Littmann (jtl9700@juno.com), May 05, 1999.

If this is the well you are now drinking water from, why would you think you need to do anything at all to the water? If you put good water into a clean container, what is going to sneak in there? Good to store it away from sunlight, I guess, just in case there is a smidge of algae in there that woujld grow in sun that could lnot in the dark well. Everybody seems to think dumping chlorine in your drinking water is to be done at the drop of a hat. Chlorine bleach is very toxic stuff. If your well is tested to be contaminated with bacteria, it'd make sense to treat it with chlorine and then rinse and rinse and rinse it. But chlorine would sure be my last choice to treat drinking water with as long as I have a choice. Get some liquid oxygen drops to add to waster you're going to store, or to water you are unsure of later. Clean water in clean contasiners keeps for years. Just gets "flat" and will taste much better if you shake it in a jar to put air back into it.

-- Shivani Arjuna (odnsmall@aol.com), May 06, 1999.

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