Got well water? Learn how to test it to stay healthy. Most people don’t think about water when they think about food safety. But water can be contaminated just like food can. And if well water supplies your household with its drinking water, you should be extra careful, according to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension Center.
The Extension Service states that annual testing and then treating the water is the only way to make sure that the water your family is drinking is safe.
Because water is a solvent, it can dissolve just about any substance, including contaminants that can be harmful. And to make things worse, most of those contaminants are tasteless, odorless, and colorless. In other words, you won’t be able to tell if there’s a problem with your water just by drinking it.
Public water systems that are in use in cities are regulated under the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act and are tested regularly for many contaminants. But private wells are not regulated, which means you are responsible for its safety.
Check with your state’s advice, but the Nebraska Extension recommends that you test every year for nitrate and E. coli bacteria. Depending on where you live, you may also be told to test for heavy metals such as uranium, arsenic, selenium, and manganese. Lead is another concern, depending on your home’s plumbing system and age.
It’s especially important to test your water when you have infants, elderly people, pregnant women, or those with chronic illnesses or a compromised immune system in your home. Those groups are more susceptible to serious complications from contaminants.
And always inspect and test after natural disasters, such as wildfire or flooding. Repairing a well also requires testing.
Every well has parts above the ground. Inspect those parts too for damage. Keep grass mowed around the well cap to limit root growth. and make sure that the soil is higher around the well head area so water will drink away. To test your water, use certified labs, especially when the results are important for your family’s health. Home test kits are not as thorough and are not a substitute for a certified lab’s analysis.
Treatment for the water can range from a reverse osmosis system plus a carbon filter that is usually placed under the kitchen sink, to a larger pressure tank that is installed in a utility room. And you may want to think about adding minerals back for better taste.
