Connecticut has seen some heavy rainstorms in the past few months, and all that rain can have a negative impact on your well. How? By introducing surface water.
There are two types of water, Groundwater and Surface Water. If you get your water from a well, you are using groundwater to drink, bathe and clean with.
Groundwater
Groundwater is water that has passed through rock and soil into underground aquifers. While not perfect, rock and soil are excellent at filtering some contaminants (such as bacteria) out of the water. As the water travels through the Earth, however, it can pick up minerals found in that soil. In and around the town of East Hampton, CT we have a lot of iron in our soil, which is why most of us have orange, metallic smelling and tasting water.
Surface Water
Surface water is simply water located on the surface of the Earth, such as ponds, lakes, puddles and streams. This water is exposed to the air, runoff, animals, and anything else that can come in direct contact with the water’s surface. It is not recommended to drink surface water without some sort of treatment to make it safe. Doing so would be like drinking out of a puddle on the side of the road!
When there are heavy rainstorms like the ones Connecticut has recently experienced, this surface water can overwhelm and overflow well casings, or get into shallow well pits. This can introduce pollutants and/or bacteria that make your water unsafe to drink.
It can also cause soil around your well casing to become soft and erode away, causing your well casing to become lopsided. Or it can bring soil, leaves, and sticks and bury your well under them.
After a heavy rainstorm, it is a good idea to check around the area of your well to make sure it is not buried or damaged.
If you experience any changes in your water quality after a severe rainstorm, it is recommended to have a potability test done to ensure no unsafe organisms such as E. Coli or Coliform bacteria have managed to enter your well. Learn more about well water contaminants here.
H2O Equipment Company offers potability tests, as well as free evaluations of your well, pump, pressure tank and any water treatment equipment you may have in your home. We are happy to go over test results with you and offer solutions based upon the test’s findings.