Uncategorized

If you live in an area that was recently flooded, your private well may be in danger of contamination from pollutants carried by flood water or at risk of shock from waterlogged well equipment. Here are some steps you should follow after a flood:

• Do not drink or wash with your well water. You could get sick from contaminants carried into the well by the flood.
• Do not turn on the well pump. There is a danger of electrical shock and damage to your well or pump if they are flooded.
• Contact your licensed well contractor for help in dealing with the impacts of the flood on your water quality and well system.

You should suspect well water contamination any time your well casing becomes flooded, if your well is shallow and you are near areas that have been flooded, or if you notice taste, color, or sediment changes in your water. Find a safe alternative source for drinking, cooking, and washing until a water test proves your well water is safe.

Many times, when your area experiences flooding or a natural disaster, your local health department or state environmental agency will provide free or low-cost testing for well owners. If free or low-cost water testing is not available, please contact the wellcare® Hotline at 888-395-1033 or visit our Well Water Testing web page.

Download our wellcare® information sheet on Managing a Flooded Well for more information.

Disinfecting Your Well

If your system checks out okay following a flood, it will likely require disinfection before the system can be used. We recommend using a licensed well contractor to perform the disinfection procedure. However, if you must perform the procedure yourself, our instructions can be used. Please read all cautions before proceeding. Note: The instructions provided by your local or state environmental agencies supersede our instructions.

Download our Disinfecting Your Well instructions.

With hurricane season beginning on June 1^st, natural disasters and emergencies are on our minds. If a natural disaster has occurred on or near your property, there are some things you need to know about your drinking water supply. Throughout the articles some cautions may be redundant, however, they are important to reiterate for each natural disaster. If there are concerns about your water supply, follow local or state health department drinking and bathing advisories.

Moving flood water or high winds can carry large debris that could loosen well hardware, dislodge well construction materials, or distort casing. Coarse sediment in flood waters could erode pump components. If the well is not tightly capped, sediment, debris, and flood water could enter the well and contaminate it. Wells that are more than ten years old or less than 50 feet deep are likely to be contaminated, even if there is no apparent damage. Floods or heavy debris may cause some wells to collapse.

Remember that there is a danger of electrical shock from any electrical device that has been flooded. Rubber boots and gloves will NOT protect you from electrical shock. DO NOT turn on the equipment until the wiring system has been checked by a licensed electrician, well, or pump contractor.

In most emergency situations, procuring bottled water is the most promoted way to access safe drinking water. However, if the water only needs to be disinfected to be potable, there are four main options to treat water to make it safe for consumption:

• Boiling
• Chlorination
• Distillation
• Water treatment devices certified for microbial reduction of bacteria, cysts, and viruses

DO NOT rely on water treatment filters or devices that are NOT certified for microbial reduction as they may not provide the protection necessary for emergency situations. Consult a water professional or manufacturer for more information.

Septic systems should not be used immediately after floods. This is because drain fields will not work until underground water has receded. Septic lines may have been broken during flooding or other storms. If flooding has occurred for you, contact a local septic service immediately. Only trained specialists should clean or repair septic tanks because tanks may contain dangerous gases.

Prepare yourself in advance by downloading our FREE wellcare® information sheet on Emergencies & Disasters and Wells and by finding emergency agencies in your state using our Emergency Agencies interactive map. You can also view our short video on YouTube.

The wellcare® Hotline can also help! Our friendly staff members are available to answer your questions and provide you with any information you need to maintain a safe water supply. Contact us by calling 888-395-1033 or chat with us live at wellcarehotline.org.

This fun experiment will teach your little ones what can dissolve in water. It can be applied to water sources, like groundwater, and how contaminants aren’t always visible in well water.

What you’ll need:

• 5 different powders such as sugar, salt, gelatin powder, flour, and pepper
• 5 clear jars
• Water
• Stirrers

Steps:

1. Talk to your kids about what they think will happen when water is added to the jars.

2. Warm the water that you will be adding into the jars (this will make the experiment a bit faster than using cold water. You could also use warm water for the first run experiment and cold water for the second run and note the differences).

3. Put one tablespoon of material into a jar. Repeat 4 times with the other materials into the remaining jars.

4. Pour 1 cup of warm water into each jar.

5. Stir each jar and then wait 60 seconds.

Once the 60 seconds is up, your kids can determine which materials dissolved in the water and which ones didn’t. You can ask them which ones they guessed correctly and which ones they had to change their answers on.

Extra Tip: To get them to think like a scientist, you can ask them, “What do these results tell you?”

Adapted from https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/which-solids-dissolve-in-water-chemistry/

A poorly maintained wastewater treatment system (also known as your septic system) can pose a serious threat to the quality of your drinking water and can require expensive repairs. Just like your well, you should have a maintenance plan for your septic system. Here’s a checklist for your septic system:

1. Have your septic tank inspected for capacity and leaks.
2. Pump your septic tank every 3-5 years based on the use and size of your household. Your septic service professional can provide recommendations.
3. Repair the septic tank or drainfield system as needed to prevent leaks of bacteria and nutrients into groundwater.

More tips: Never drive or park a vehicle on the septic as this may crush buried lines or compress the soils around the leach field which can lead to failure.

If you have any questions about your septic system, contact your septic service professional or the wellcare® Hotline at 888.395.1033 or visit our website.

If you need assistance locating a professional, check with your local health department or search these websites: NOWRA and NAWT.

For more information, see our wellcare® information sheet on Your Septic System.

Please note that not all well water needs or has treatment. However, if you have treatment currently installed, you should make every effort to maintain it properly. Check with your treatment system’s manufacturer or the company that installed them for the maintenance schedule. If you do not have treatment, we highly recommend that you test your water first to determine if it is necessary. Water test results also help to determine the best system(s) for your water quality. Before selecting and installing treatment, discuss your results and concerns with a water treatment professional in your area.

To locate a water treatment professional visit Water Quality Association’s (WQA) website.

Water treatment should be certified by either NSF or WQA when available. Water testing after treatment is installed is equally important to confirm the effectiveness of the system(s).

Download our wellcare® Water Treatment sheet for more information.

If you have additional questions on water treatment, contact the wellcare® Hotline by calling 888-395-1033, send us an email, or chat with us live on our website.

At a minimum, your water should be tested every year for bacteria, the most common water quality problem. Additional tests may be recommended depending on where you live and what may be present in your area such as arsenic, lead, nitrate, and radon.

You should test more than once a year in special situations:

• someone in the household is pregnant or nursing;
• there are unexplained illnesses in the family;
• you notice a change in water taste, odor, color, or clarity;
• your neighbors find a dangerous contaminant in their water; or
• there is a spill of chemicals or fuels into or near your well.

Our wellcare® Well Water Testing and Understanding Your Well Water Test Results information sheets will walk you through the steps you need to take to ensure your well water is safe.

Contact your state or local health department for a list of state-certified laboratories in your area or use our interactive map and watch our new video on How to Sample Well Water.

If you have additional questions on well water testing or need help once you receive your test results, contact the wellcare® Hotline by calling 888-395-1033, send us an email, or chat with us live on our website.

As a well owner, you are responsible for caring for your water well system. Spring is a perfect time to start your well maintenance, starting with well inspection.

Several times each year you should visually inspect your wellhead – checking the well covering and casing to make sure all are in good condition and that there are no cracks or other entry points for potential contamination.

It is recommended that your well is inspected every 5 years by a licensed well contractor. The inspection should include, but is not limited to, the following:

• the wellhead
• the pump
• storage tank
• pipes and valves
• water flow

If you have no inspection record and cannot determine the age of the well, have it inspected immediately by a licensed well contractor. To keep track of your well maintenance, you can utilize our Well Owner’s Manual which has a section for your well maintenance history. To view and download our WOM, click here.

For a list of licensed well contractors in your area, use our interactive map on our website. If you need help locating a licensed well contractor, contact the wellcare® Hotline at 888-395-1033.

This is your annual alarm for well maintenance! Well maintenance is important to make sure your well system lasts for years to come. We have so many homeowners who put off the essential maintenance only to find they need extensive repairs or a new well. Do not wait! The cost of visual inspection and water testing are minimal to what repairs can be.

Here is your spring water well checklist:

Visually inspect your wellhead. Check the well covering, casing, well cap or seal to make sure all are in good condition, leaving no cracks or other entry points for potential pollutants like pesticides and nitrates from a nearby farm and/or livestock field runoff.

Check around your well for overgrowth and make sure the area around the well is free and clear of plants, roots, and leaves, and the soil slopes away from your well.

Keep paint, chemicals, fuel, oil, etc., as far away from the well. They can be a future source of groundwater contamination.

Look for leaks inside and outside your home. Find more tips for finding and fixing leaks on the “Fix a Leak Week” website.

Have the well system inspected every 5 years by a licensed well contractor, including the pump, storage tank, pipes, valves, water level, and flow.

If you have no inspection record and cannot determine the age of the well, have it inspected immediately by a licensed well contractor.

Make sure any abandoned wells on the property are sealed properly by a licensed well contractor.

For more information on well inspection and maintenance download our free Well Owner’s Manual. It is also available in Spanish from the same link. In this publication, you can also find a place to keep records of any water testing and well maintenance. If you prefer a hard copy, send your name and mailing address to info@wellcarehotline.org.

This one is fun for the kiddos and even the big kids!

NOTE: The temperature must be below 32 degrees Fahrenheit for the bubble to freeze, with best results in extreme cold weather 9-12 degrees Fahrenheit.

What you’ll need:

• Bubble solution –  If you can’t find any at the store you can make your own! Combine 4 cups of distilled water, 1 cup of regular Dawn or Joy dish soap, and ¼ cups of glycerin (light corn syrup can substitute for the glycerin). Stir this up well and let it rest for 24+ hours before using.
• Bubble wands (you can also use straws, twisted pipe cleaners, zip ties, etc.)

TIP: Save the homemade solution for other bubble adventures! DO NOT put it down the drain or flush it into your septic system.

Instructions:

1.     Gather the bubble making supplies and wands.
2.     Bundle up and go outside and blow bubbles! The gentler the bubbles are blown, the more likely they will freeze and won’t pop.
3.     Have fun!!!

Adapted from https://www.firefliesandmudpies.com/frozen-bubbles/

Finding extra cash when emergency home repairs occur isn’t easy. Water is a daily necessity that most of us don’t think about. We use it to shower, brush our teeth, wash our hands, flush toilets, water plants, hydrate and bathe our furry friends, make coffee, do laundry…the list goes on and on.

Water Well Trust may be able to help if you’re currently experiencing a financial hardship and need to repair your well or drill a new one. To see if you are eligible for assistance through WWT, start here or call 1-833-539-8200.