WorldWide Drilling Resource

Environmental Monitoring by Thomas Kwader, Ph.D., P.G. A Word of Caution Concerning Private Wells Recently, I “chastised” the large public water supplies for “prohibiting” the drilling of new private wells within their jurisdiction. Well (no pun intended), I received an earful of what is wrong or potentially a prob- lem with private wells. Owners of private wells have some moral responsibilities also, such as: 1) When there is a drought and water restrictions are imposed, we as private well owners withdrawing from the same aquifers, should also cut back on water consumption. In most cases, we all share the same aquifer and need to do what is best for each other and the groundwater resource. 2) Test water for bacteria and “drinking water contaminants of concern”. If the water has a peculiar taste or the area is near commercial businesses, it is possible it could have low levels of harmful contaminants such as benzene, chlorinated solvents, pesticides, etc. I can’t tell you how many drinking water wells I’ve tested with “compounds of concern” (CoC’s) and the owners didn’t even suspect they were drinking them. In some communi- ties, the local health department or city laboratory may analyze a sample for free or at a reduced cost. 3) Bacteria - Keep in mind, public water supplies are chlorinated to kill bacteria and/or viruses. If a well does not have a chlorinator, it may or may not have a bac- teria or virus problem, particularly if it is a shallow well and or has an on-site sep- tic tank. Most health departments will test private well water for harmful pathogens at little or no cost. 4) Proper well construction - Is the well grouted from top to bottom? If not, it could have contaminated water and/or be contaminating the aquifer for other users downgradient. If unknown, confirm the integrity of the well seal. I know of an incident where a well with a short casing (cased above the water level) near a landfill, allowed methane gas to seep up alongside the well and into the house. When the basement pump turned on (electrical contacts), there was an explo- sion. Fortunately, there was no one home at the time. Owning a private well has many ad- vantages; however, there are responsi- bilities that come with “well ownership”. Tom Tom Kwader may be contacted via e-mail to michele@ worldwidedrillingresource.com Approximately 400 billion gallons of water are used in the United States each day. Nearly half of the water is used for thermoelectric power gener- ation. 10 FEBRUARY 2017 WorldWide Drilling Resource ®