A Well Water Filter Ensures Safe Drinking Water

A Well Water Filter Ensures Safe Drinking Water

By Dan DeBaun

Many people have a deep well outside their homes and use it as their main source of water. After all, it is free of charge and well water is considered to be clean and safe. This is mostly true, especially if no sign of sickness caused by well water has ever occurred in any person consuming it. Yet, what if you are suspicious that recent occurrences of sickness in your family may be caused by your well water?

Well water is considered clean since it is directly taken from the ground and no direct contamination should be polluting it. However this is becoming less and less the case as humans continue to pollute the environment. This problem was touched upon in our article stressing the need to conserve the karsts that feed these wells. However even if a well is not contaminated by human pollution, there is always the existence of Coliform bacteria.

Coliform is a type of bacteria that is usually found in plants, animals and soils. It does not immediately cause an illness in a person, but it's presence indicates that other harmful bacteria exist in the water surrounding it. In other words, Coliform is an indicator or a measurement that harmful bacteria can be found in your well water.

Since Coliform indicates the presence of harmful bacteria in our well water, concerned homeowners have the ability to ensure this water supply is safe and clean through water filtration. A well water filter will protect homeowners and their families from illnesses such as upset stomachs, diarrhea, and other dangerous bacteria that can lead to serious consequences.

One effective well water filter is the Big Berkey Water Filter. It is a countertop water filter ready for use in the kitchen, for outdoor activities, and even traveling to other places. The manufacturer of Berkey water filters warranties all it's products and strives to meet it's customers needs for high quality water filtration, reliability in times of emergency and travel, and a user friendly design for ease of use and maintenance.

The Big Berkey Water Filter (2.25 Gallon)

The Big Berkey Water Filter (2.25 Gallon)

The Berkey Water Filter are designed to effectively remove Coliform bacteria, pathogens and parasites, and now the MS2 and Fr Coliphage viruses. It also removes chemicals and unhealthy minerals like lead and mercury without removing the healthy minerals we obtain from natural healthful water.

Each Big Berkey Water Filter, as well as any of our Berkey Water Filter models, are reliable in times of disaster as they do not require electricity or water pressure to operate. You will also be confident that you and your family can take full advantage of the benefits of your well water while at the same time being fully protected from harmful bacteria that may exist in your well.

Dan DeBaun

Dan DeBaun

Dan DeBaun is the owner and operator of Big Berkey Water Filters. Prior to Berkey, Dan was an asset manager for a major telecommunications company. He graduated from Rutgers with an undergraduate degree in industrial engineering, followed by an MBA in finance from Rutgers as well. Dan enjoys biohacking, exercising, meditation, beach life, and spending time with family and friends.

~ The Owner of Big Berkey Water Filters

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  • Avatar of Lisa Chapman Lisa Chapman 2023-12-18 05:50:36

    We bought a new home and the well water taste awful. We had it tested professionally for contamination and anything harmful. It was negative. The water taste salty and just not good. Maybe it has too much minerals. Could your system help our water taste better?

  • Avatar of Dan DeBaun Dan DeBaun 2023-12-20 23:43:24

    Hi Lisa -

    It may help as taste is influenced by minerals and chemicals, but because taste is also subjective, we are unable to guarantee the water will taste better.

    Thanks
    Dan

  • Avatar of Eli Richardson Eli Richardson 2023-03-15 23:11:06

    It's good to know that we'd protect our family from harmful bacteria that could be living in our water well. We moved to another house, and since it's far from the city, we're interested in installing a water well to ensure we have water at all times, so we'll keep your advice in mind when we look for a filtration system for the well. Thanks for the insight on getting clean and safe water from our well.

  • Avatar of Lucretia Dovi Lucretia Dovi 2023-03-04 20:13:29

    I am thrilled to finally have an option for filtering well-water without wasting on RO or needing constant filters. Excellent filter not requiring electricity!!!

  • Avatar of Eve Mitchell Eve Mitchell 2022-10-28 19:52:33

    Thanks for mentioning that well water needs to be filtered as well. I'm hoping that I can talk to a contractor to see if a well can be installed on my property. I think it would provide me with much better water quality.

  • Avatar of Anna Collins Anna Collins 2022-09-02 05:34:03

    We've been receiving water disruptions from our public water line lately, so we're considering switching to a well water system soon. It was saddening when you brought up how groundwater should have no direct contamination but this has been becoming less and less the case since humans nowadays continue to pollute the environment. I'll be sure to get filters as well when I get my well water system installed once I find a company to hire for it soon.

  • Avatar of Laura G Laura G 2022-06-04 20:29:34

    Do you have a filtration system that is used at the well source? That is, the water has been purified as it comes out of the faucet and does not need to be put into a smaller container to purify it.

  • Avatar of Dan DeBaun Dan DeBaun 2022-06-16 20:46:45

    Hi Laura -

    No, we do not.

    Thanks
    Dan

  • Avatar of Joe Hall Joe Hall 2020-04-06 17:31:00

    I really appreciate you talking about coliform and how it can be found in a lot of soil and plants. My partner and I want to get a well on our property so that we can have access to a clean water supply. I'll try to share your article with my wife so that we stay on the same page when going through this project.

  • Avatar of Tristan Stewart Tristan Stewart 2019-12-09 21:14:46

    It's really scary to think about how coliform can be in your well water and cause your family some illness. My wife and I want to try and get off the grid a bit more and start being more self-sufficient. As soon as we get our well built, I'll be sure to test it regularly to make sure there aren't any bacteria growing in there.

  • Avatar of Daphne Ryan Daphne Ryan 2019-04-13 21:07:32

    I have a Berkey that I use 2 black purifation filters and 2 PF-2 filters. Is this what I need to use for well water?

  • Avatar of Dan Dan 2019-04-15 16:35:26

    Hi Daphne -

    The black berkeys, yes. We do not recommend the PF-2 fluoride filters unless you know the well water definitely has fluoride in it. This is not typical with wells in the US.

    Thanks
    DAn

  • Avatar of Ethan Hansen Ethan Hansen 2019-04-11 16:13:40

    I found it interesting how you mentioned how well water is considered to be clean and safe but that can quickly change. My wife and I want to live more off the land when we build our new cabin and I feel like a well will be the perfect way for us to get our water without having to bother the city and rack up bills. I will keep this in mind as we search for a well pump service who can help us reach our underground aquifer!

  • Avatar of Ken Davidson Ken Davidson 2018-09-11 18:10:28

    Can you put a water filter on your in-ground well itself so that the water Watering your raised garden beds is filtered we are attempting to grow a garden that is as close to organic as possible

  • Avatar of Dan Dan 2018-09-11 18:29:31

    Hi Ken -

    The would need to be done with a whole house water filtration system. These are typically expensive to install up front, with regular filter replacements to keep up with the high water volume throughput. The Berkey does not specialize in this, so wouldn't be an option. The Berkey is meant to be a Point of Use counter top system that can filter all your cooking and drinking water. The filter replacement intervals are much longer due to this reduced volume throughput. For example, the black berkeys would be replaced every 3-5 years on average, whereas a whole house solution would be every 6 months to a year intervals.

    Hope this helps.

    Thanks
    Dan

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  • Avatar of Kristen Kristen 2018-01-16 19:53:28

    We have high total dissolved solid in our well water which make it taste bad. Would a berkey remove them?

  • Avatar of Dan Dan 2018-01-17 14:49:24

    Hi Kristen -

    It depends what the TDS consists of. If it's just minerals, then since the black berkeys do not remove them, it will not change this TDS reading much. If that TDS reading consists of heavy metals, then the TDS reading would drop as the filters remove these heavy metals. Taste is influenced by many things and can be subjective, so we cannot guarantee how taste will be affected without a detailed composition of the source water.

    Thanks
    Dan

  • Avatar of Cristina Clark Cristina Clark 2017-09-05 21:24:49

    I have well water. Will this system work for me? Thank you!

  • Avatar of Dan Dan 2017-09-06 15:52:28

    Hi Cristina -

    Yes, absolutely. The filters work equally well for both city and well water systems.

    Thanks
    Dan

  • Avatar of Gelsey Gelsey 2017-08-28 03:41:38

    We have a well but already have a full house water softener and full house filter. Does the Big Berkey filter out the sodium or baking soda used to soften our well water? If there is already a full house filter and softener, and PH balancer on our house, would the Big Berkey be beneficial? If yes, how?

  • Avatar of Dan Dan 2017-08-30 19:32:30

    Hi Gelsey -

    The filters will not remove sodium or baking soda from the water. The berkey will remove any other contaminants from the water that the full house filter may not be addressing or taking out.

    Thanks
    Dan

  • Avatar of S Hayes S Hayes 2015-09-22 03:56:03

    I have a big burley love it, use it on my well water, but it allows particulate through. Is that normal?

  • Avatar of Dan Dan 2015-09-22 14:14:31

    Hi S -

    This is most likely calcium. The filters do not remove beneficial minerals from the water, so if you have high calcium in your water, you will see a buildup over time.

    Thanks
    Dan

  • Avatar of Mary Troyan Mary Troyan 2011-09-28 13:08:20

    Great article. Thanks for covering this.

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