Many households across the country that are not served by public drinking water systems rely on private wells for their drinking water. This means that drinking water obtained from these wells is not regulated or routinely tested to ensure that it is safe to drink. As a well owner, the onus is on you to have your well water tested to identify any potential contaminants, and to take whatever measures are necessary to ensure your drinking water meets the safety standards set for drinking water quality and that it is safe for drinking.

Water from a private well originates from groundwater pumped up from underground aquifers. While groundwater is protected to a degree from surface contaminants, harmful manmade contaminants such as pesticides from agricultural activities, bacteria and nitrates from leaking septic tanks, or even natural contaminants such as arsenic, can leach through soil and rocks and make their way into the groundwater.

These contaminants can pose a health risk if present in drinking water obtained from affected wells. Continue reading below to find out how to tell if is safe to drink the water from your well, and what to do if you suspect there might be problems with your well water or well system.

How to ensure private well water is safe to drink

If your household water supply is supplied by a private well, the first thing you need to do is test your water regularly. You can collect a sample of your tap water and send it to an authorized laboratory for testing. They will send you a report of what they found in the water and at what levels, highlighting any health concerns. Some contaminants can make you sick in the short term, while others can have long-term health effects which may only show up much later in life. Many of these health effects can be debilitating, if not life threatening. Bearing in mind that common drinking water contaminants such as coliform and other pathogens are not visible in water, it is vitally important that you get your well water tested from time to time so that you can rest assured your family is not being exposed to any harmful pathogens, chemicals, heavy metals or other contaminants that could potentially pose a health risk. Once you know what is in your water, you can take the necessary remedial action, such as filtering your drinking water with an appropriate home water filter system, to remove the contaminants that are present.

Factors that affect well water quality

There are various factors that can affect the quality of your well water, including the geology of surface soils and underground rock formations; the location and depth of your well; the age of your well, how it was constructed, and whether it is properly maintained; and what human activities are occurring nearby that could be a source of contaminants in well water that can potentially cause water quality issues. Since there can also be seasonal variations in well water quality, you should regularly test your well water and keep these water quality reports on file so that you can compare between seasons and monitor water quality fluctuations over time. The Centre for Disease Control (CDC) recommends testing your well water for coliform bacteria, heavy metals, nitrates, and other common drinking water contaminants at least once a year.

Water Testing: Why you should test your well water for drinking

Depending on the factors mentioned above, your well water may contain one or several drinking water contaminants. If you get your drinking water from a private well, it is therefore important that you know what well water contaminants are present and at what levels. Depending on what is present in well water, contaminated well water can pose a wide range of health risks. If you get your water from a well, it is therefore important to get it tested to check that it's safe to drink.

Common Well Water Problems

Drinking water sources, including surface water and ground water can become contaminated with naturally occurring minerals and chemicals such as arsenic and radon, or as a result of agricultural practices, such as the application of fertilizers and pesticides, or leaching of animal waste; and sewage discharges or leaking septic tanks. If there are industrial activities being conducted nearby, such as oil and gas fracking for example, the chances of contamination from chemicals used in these operations, together with methane and other naturally occurring contaminants that are released during the fracking process, is high.

Unlike public water systems which are monitored by the water utility, whose responsibilities include making sure that public water supplied to consumers conforms with to EPA drinking water quality standards, if you own a home with a well, the responsibility for ensuring the safety of your well water falls on you.

If the annual well inspection reveals problems with your well water or with the structural integrity or cleanliness of the well, it would be advisable to consult with a water treatment expert from the local health department who can advise you on what action is needed and/or the most appropriate water treatment options available to treat your well water to ensure it's safe to drink.

According to the CDC, the most common health outbreaks associated with well water contamination include:

1. Hepatitis A
2. Giardia
3. Campylobacter and coli
4. Shigella
5. Cryptosporidium and Salmonella
6. Arsenic, Nitrate, Gasoline, Selenium, and Phenol

Exposure to pathogens and other contaminants in well water can cause debilitating health conditions. For example, well water can cause nausea and gastrointestinal upsets, neurological problems, or reproductive problems. Exposure to some chemical contaminants, especially over a prolonged period, can cause long term health effects such as heart disease and cancer. The elderly, pregnant women, babies and young children, and people with compromised immune systems are particularly vulnerable.

Disinfecting Your Water Well

If your drinking water testing results indicate high levels of Coliform bacteria in the well, one option you can employ is to disinfect your well water using chlorine or household bleach to kill these microorganisms. Besides the chemical treatment options mentioned above, you can also disinfect water using physical processes, such as UV filters, to kill microbes. Both of these processes, together with filtration, are commonly used by municipal water suppliers to treat public water supplied to consumers to ensure it is safe to use and consume.

Can Water Filters Render Well Water Safe to Drink?

The short answer is Yes! But the type of filter best suited to the job depends on what water concerns you need to address. When it comes to home water filters, there are various options that you can install or use to ensure the safety of your water. In order to choose the most suitable water filter for your needs, you need to opt for one that is capable of removing the most common contaminants found in well water, or more specifically, is able to target the contaminants that you know are present in your well water.

When it comes to home water filters, there are several options to consider:

• Whole house water filtration systems - filter water at the point of entry, meaning all water that enters your home is filtered.
• Undercounter water filter - usually fitted under the sink faucet to filter water delivered from the kitchen faucet.
• Countertop filter - a filter that sits on top of the kitchen counter - it can be connected to the faucet, in which case it will rely on water pressure to push the water through the filter; or it can be a free-standing unit, such as the Berkey range of water filters that operates by gravity and is manually filled.

Can Berkey Filters Deliver Purified Well Water?

The Berkey range of home water purifiers fitted with Black Berkey purification elements have been tested to remove over 200 common water contaminants, including the most common pathogenic, chemical, heavy metal and organic contaminants that well owners may have to deal with. With a Berkey close at hand, you should always have clean water to drink.

Berkey filters are top quality gravity-fed countertop filters. They are free-standing water filtration systems that do not need to be connected to a water source and do not need electricity to operate. This makes them the perfect solution for off-grid and emergency situations. They are fully portable - take them anywhere you need to have a safe source of drinking water. Since the Berkey is capable of filtering all types of water, it can even convert the most dirtiest sources of water into clean water. If you drink well water that has been filtered with a Berkey water filter, you can rest assured that your water will be safe to drink.

Berkey water filters are available in a wide range of sizes, allowing you to choose the option that best suits the size of your household or budget. With a filter lifespan of 3000 gallons per Black Berkey element (6000 gallons per set of two), a Berkey filter will typically continue to deliver clean water for many years without requiring a change of filters. Since replacing filters can often be the most costly part of filtering drinking water, the Berkey's are extremely economical compared to its competitors if you analyse these costs over the longterm. Rather than being disposable like many other filters on the market, the Black Berkey purification elements are re-cleanable. When the flow rate slows down, gently scrub the filter elements with a ScotchBrite pad under running water, and reinstall into your Berkey system. And voila, you will have access to clean, safe drinking water once again.

Homeowners who get their water from private wells need to take precautions to ensure their well water source is safe. This includes having the water tested for pesticides, arsenic, bacteria and other common contaminants; and taking the necessary steps to address common problems with well water, and to remove any harmful contaminants that may be present by disinfecting or filtering their water to ensure it's safe to drink.