Q: Water from our new well seems to have an unpleasant odour and taste. This is before treatment. We’ve not had the well attached to the house yet because we’re still a month from moving in.
I lived in a rental house where guests refused to shower due to what I assume was an iron-eating bacteriological infection.
A couple of local guys wish to install a sacrificial pH adjuster and a water softener. Both seem appropriate to me.
Our well test is as follows: hardness as CaCO3 (EPA 200.7) 100 mg/l, iron (EPA 200.7) 1.7 mg/l, total bacterial plate count of <1/ml and pH 6.4.
I’ve considered adding a carbon unit to what my local experts have suggested, but I’ve also wondered if I should install a chlorine unit, aerator or UV unit.
I would so love to have nice water in our new home.
Should I wait and see or are there more proactive steps?
A: I recommend that you have the water tested for E. coli and coliform bacteria.
If either is present, you should install an automatic chlorine feed system followed by a properly sized retention tank and carbon filtration system.
This system will eliminate the problems with the bacteria and iron.
I also see that you have a pH of 6.4, which is low and can harm your plumbing fixtures because it is acidic.
The pH must be controlled and returned to a neutral state before any type of water system is installed.
I suggest you install a liquid chemical feed pump that can pump in soda ash. Proper dosages of the ash will neutralize the acidity.
There is no water softener made today that will kill bacteria. To do so you must use a disinfectant such as chlorine, ozone or hydrogen peroxide. Chlorine is the world’s most widely used disinfectant for water.
You can install an ultraviolet light system, but it has limitations. For ultraviolet to be effective against bacteria, the water must have no iron, hardness, manganese or turbidity.
Tracking down odour
Q: I have a question about country water. We have our own well and I think it is a good well because it is 60 metres deep. However our cold water smells bad. I think it smells like magnesium.
We have a new hot water tank (electric) but I don’t think the hot water smells as much as the cold. I can smell it in the salt tank when I add salt to our softener. It smells bad when taking a bath.
I had our well “blown” about a month ago and chlorinated, but it did not take the smell away. Can you suggest anything?
A: I suggest you completely clean out the water softener’s salt tank and begin filling it with sodium or potassium hypochloride salt.
Check what type of water softening salt you were using.
There is a type of salt that has sodium hydrosulfite in it to help clean the resin bed during backwash and free it from iron. This type of salt has an odour similar to rotten eggs. If this is the case, stop using that kind of salt.
If this is not the case, you may want to shock chlorinate the well again. Bleed the chlorine into every water line in the house and let it sit overnight, then flush out in the morning.
This may be only a temporary solution. Make sure to place all water treatment devices on bypass when beginning this procedure.
If the shock chlorination does not work, then you will have to install a continuous chlorination system followed by a properly sized retention tank and multi media filtration system to get rid of the odour.
If you have a specific water problem and would like advice, write to the Water Clinic, attention Philip Stadnyk, 850-47th St. E. Saskatoon, Sask., S7K 0X4, e-mail philip@thewaterclinic.com or phone 800-664-2561. Stadnyk is president of the Water Clinic and a member of the Canadian Water Quality Association. His views do not necessarily reflect those of The Western Producer.
