Proper well water treatment

[joebridges]

I bought a house last fall that has a well in the back yard. My plan is to use the well for filling our swimming pool, watering, outdoor cleaning, etc.

What is the easiest/cheapest method to get the water tested? I used some strips from the hardware store that show iron but it looked good otherwise. The water does smell like sulfur and tastes awful because of that.

Since I am not planning to drink the water I basically want to get rid of the iron and sulfur in the water. What would be a cost-effective filter for this purpose?

Any feedback would be appreciated. This is my first foray into this area.:smile2:

[Mr T]

Most city/county/township offices will check your water for a small fee. Most will look for health hazards, some will look at mineral contents too.

Sears will test hardness and iron levels for free.

Since the main purpose for the well is your pool, I'd contact your local swimming pool shop first to see if they can test it. They will also be able to tell you what it's gonna take to get that water to be usable in the pool. It would be good to know up front if you are gonna have to dump a ton of chemicales into it.

If the well is not being used currently and hasnt for a while I would run it for a while to flush it out. You may want to sanatize it (search on the internet for instructions). You may get false readings and the water quality may improve once it's in use and / or cleaned.

It sounds like you have city water too. I would check around and find out why the well was abandoned. If the water is unsafe it may not be suitable for your pool either. If the well doesnt have sufficient output you may have trouble getting the pool filled. Start with asking yoru neighbors, if they dont know then check with your local water and health dept.

[joed]

In Ontario they will test your water for free at the local health department. They only test for ecoli and bacteria not for chemical poisons or mineral hardness.
For lawn watering, car washing and pool filling I would not be too worried about it.

[suemarkp]

Metal can be bad in pools depending on the chemicals used (chlorine shock). You can get iron stains if you're not careful. You should also check for other metals (manganese and copper). You could just treat the pool with a metal chelating agent before adding any water, and definitely before adding chlorine. But to know how much chelating agent to add, you need to know the ppm level of the iron in the water. You can get iron and copper test strips here: http://www.poolcenter.com/aquachek_testing_strips.htm

The sulfer shouldn't be an issue except for smells in the pool, and chlorine shock should oxidize it away.

The bad things that chlorine does to pool water can be a good thing in a water treatment system -- you'll get the iron to separate out. You'll just ahve to evaluate costs to see if treating just the pool is cheaper than treating all water from the well.

[joebridges]

Thanks for the input. I don't have any information from the previous owner on well depth, water quality, etc and it was not registered with the state like it should have been.

I ran the well for about 6 hours straight at full speed then about 4 hours the next day and it never ran out of water. The iron level did drop some but it did not completely disappear. There are several water wells in my subdivision that all produce plenty of water (we are next to a lake). I do know that my neighbor across the street has a well that produces 75 gallons per minute (according to the people that dug the well).

I guess I'll try to find someone here locally to test it thoroughly for me. I will check with the pool people to see if they do it and then go from there.

If iron is the main problem what would be the best type of filter to use on it?

[Bumblerazz]

I agree with what was said above, except you may want to be a little careful about bacteria. Invariably if you have kids that will play in a sprinkler or a favourite pet that gets a bowl of water while outside will drink some of it. A low probability but care at the outset can prevent headaches later.

As far as being able to filter that stuff out, most big box stores have a variety of inline filtration devices. What you will need will depend on the content of the water.

Large sand filters, similar to pool filters are quite good for large particulate matter and are high flow, but will not remove dissolved contaminants.

Charcoal filters will take out lead, iron, copper and most other types of minerals such as sulphur, but will quickly get plugged up by particulate. They also have a max flow rate, so a couple in parallel may be required.

String or fabric filters are excellent pre-filters to remove particulate matter and should be used for most applications where other filters or UV systems are used. They can be high flow depending on requirements, are often used in tandem with other filter types.

Most ceramic filters will strain out most bacteria and other such organic material and can even get some metals, but are often low flow so you may need to have a number of these in parallel to get enough flow.

UV lamps are higher flow and will kill all bacteria, BUT you can NOT have any particulates or suspended solids in the water. It also needs power and can be dangerous, especially to curious children.

Chlorinators will kill all bacteria, even when there is a high solids content, but will leave stains on your washed car and it kills grass.

As far as cost effectiveness, again, it will depend on the water content. I would expect to use a prefilter followed by a charcoal filter as a minimum, but you may find that, as MrT stated, once it is flushed the well may provide clean enough water for your pool and yard.