I looked up the local health department to get information about testing well water. There are three types of private drinking water wells: dug, driven, and drilled. Proper well construction and continued maintenance are keys to the safety of your water supply. Your state water-well contractor licensing agency, local health department, or local water system professional can provide information on well construction.
We tested the pump by turning on the water and allowing it to run for several hours, thus forcing the well pump to come on. Heat readings were taken of the pump at regular intervals as well as checking the quality of the water coming out of the well. We did not observe sand or other contaminants in the water. A water analysis was not performed at the owner’s request because of other issues with the house. Well maintenance records were not available so we were unable to determine if the well had prior issues.
15% of all homes use a well or a private water supply for their water. Unlike public water supply which are governed by state agencies and the EPA, home owners with their own well are not under regulation. In other words, the home owner is responsible for proper maintenance of the well and regular water testing to ensure the water is safe to drink.
Regular maintenance is essential, but it is not all the homeowner should do. In addition, the homeowner should ensure that the slope of the ground is always away from the well to prevent ground water polluting the well water. Pesticides and fertilizers will eventually contaminate ground water and should be restricted. Keep livestock and animal pens at least 20 feet from the well. The farther away, the better.
Above all, perform annual tests of the water quality. If tests are marginal, more frequent testing may be required. If tests are negative, a professional should be contacted to determine the best type of water treatment based upon the contaminants found in the water.
This is a picture of a leaky faucet. This can cause major strain on the well and septic. Over a period of time it could add up to thousands of gallons of water wasted. It is important to get this fixed.
In the library of inspection articles, i read about ant inspection. They talked about the different from termites and ants. Termites have slim, same size wings where ants don’t. Ant are larger in the rear the termites. Termites like moist wood where carpenter ants like moist and dry wood.
When dealing with a private well, I would emphasize that no one but the home owner is responsible for the quality of the water. The well should be tested before purchase and then annually after that for bacteria and nitrates at a minimum. Reacting to changes in taste, smell or color right away by testing further can correct a problem before it becomes a health problem. Inspecting the well area regularly for surface water infiltration and surface contaminates is very important. Keeping records is also important.
This is a picture of a well designed interior portion of a drilled well water system. The pressure tank, is of sufficient size for a modern family. There is a water softener ion exchange system with bags of salt on the floor. The pressure gauge fluctuated between 40 and 60 pounds which is normal and the control box on the wall along with the pressure switch regulates the water pressure which is produced by the submersible pump at the bottom of the drilled well outside.
The well cap was a non-sanitary cap and should be replaced with a sanitary cap to prevent bacteria and other contaminants from entering the well shaft. Recommend hiring a qualified well company to replace the cap with a sanitary type cap.
Private Water Wells: 15% of American households use a private well for their water supply. Unlike municipal sources which are carefully monitored by trained personnel, monitoring and maintenance responsibility falls on the homeowner. It is recommended that bacterial tests be performed annually and tests for other contaminants every 2-3 years minimum. It is important for the homeowner to understand where their water is coming from and how to make sure what they are drinking is safe.
The image attached is of a well controls contactor that was scorched. The pump and other water supply was in a well house with a failing roof, no cover on the controls, and power supply that was not GFCI protected.
Article Read: Hand Dug Wells
Hand Dug Wells are a rarity in my operating area (Florida). I have only seen one or two and never on an inspection. I can see the rustic appeal but would advise any client with a property having one to have it closed and/or understand the immediate dangers it presents (especially to children and animals).
The picture is a well head located at the back of the house near the garage. The entire patio area is concrete, and the area around the well head is all concrete. The water flows around the well head as it drains from rain. The well head is 8’ from the house and well over 50’ from the septic. However, the well head clearly is not 12 inches above the concrete, and even if you consider 4" of concrete, it would have been no more than 7-8" above the ground level. The cap is secured. It should be inspected by a licensed well contractor, and extend the well casing if needed.
This well head is in very good shape. I did recommend to my client some sort of structure or barricade. My concern is the grass grows fast here and the head gets buried and a new owner might hit the head when mowing. any sort of barricade will prevent headaches in the future.
I read the article on Carbon monoxide detectors and poisoning. I enjoyed the information about the importance of placement in the home. It is easy to just look for minimum requirements but an easy way to really help your clients is to educate them on placement.
An elaborate well system I inspected with four pressure tanks and a 3000 gallon cistern. There was a pressure drop at the irrigation lines which I found were the blue pressure tanks. I performed a “tap” test on both blue pressure tanks and found that they were “water logged”.
Rigid Metal Conduit Image: Often times when inspecting the main electrical panel I find that a conductor is shoved through an opening in the box without screw type metal conduit retainers. These are important components which are necessary to protecting conductors from wearing on box and possibly arcing.
Private Wells, have the potential to be more of a fragile system than most think. Until taking the private water well course and reading this article, I had also not considered just how fragile it could be. Im sure that most just know that they have a well, and they have water. Certainly, there is information and segments of the news on rain, ground water, water sheds, etc.; but how many truly consider the impact to their family water supply from nature let alone the multitude of surface activities that can impact your well. I certainly have a new appreciation for this topic.
This is an inspection photo of a drilled well, a bladder-less pressure tank, plumbing, pressure switch and the electrical service panel distributing the electric to the various components of the well and the well-house. Everything was installed and working correctly at the time of the inspection.
This article is about drinking water and its potability. Drinking water usually either comes from surface water or from wells pulling water from the underground reservoirs called aquifers. Surface water has to be treated and filtered to make it potable while the earth’s natural filtering process usually makes treatment unnecessary.
The picture below represent an old dug/open well.
These type of well are considered obsolete for today modern safety standards. There design was simple and effective, dig a hole to the water aquifer and lower a pal inside the well to collect water.
Either by pulling a rope by hand of using a mechanical pully system to aid in the recovery of water.
The open well, are prone to contamination as they are open to the element, debris or animal may fall inside the well and create unsuitable potable water.
