If your family gets drinking water from a private well, do you know if your water is safe to drink? What health risks could you and your family face? Where can you go for help or advice?
The EPA regulates public water systems; it does not have the authority to regulate private drinking water wells. Approximately 15 percent of Americans rely on their own private drinking water supplies, and these supplies are not subject to EPA standards, although some state and local governments do set rules to protect well users. Unlike public drinking water systems serving many people, they do not have experts regularly checking the water’s source and its quality before it is sent to the tap. These households must take special precautions to ensure the protection and maintenance of their drinking water supplies.
The homeowner should obtain and keep forever a copy of the Well Drill Log (well drillers journal).
The U.S. EPA recommends that a comprehensive analysis (Water Test) be done upon drilling a new well and repeated every 5 years. When wells are drilled in Texas, the pump installer or well driller typically only does an e-coli test and it is normally negative. Homeowners misinterpret this test as a water test to confirm their water is safe: the ONLY way to ensure safety is a lab test for drinking water quality performed by an EPA certified lab.
In Texas, the lab tests should include Sodium, Nitrates, Nitrites, Arsenic (species and type), Radium, Chlorides, Sulfates, Lead, Cadium Total hardness as CaCo3, Total Dissolved Solids, Iron, Manganese, TCE, Benzene, Copper, Pesticides, VOCs, Organics, Inorganics, PH and temp and date of sample.
With an on-site visit from a Kinetico water specialist, we can determine which tests can be conducted on-site and which need to be sent out to an authorized lab. Once a plumbing audit, fixture count and water testing has been completed, the correct system can be recommended for your home.
