Am I drinking surface water?

[Banjo Bud]

I am pulling water from a spring that has been bubbling up from the ground for decades. It was in a depression about 6’ deep. I built a concrete box with sides, a top, but no bottom in it. I then snaked a perforated pipe throughout the box and exited one side with a solid pipe. Then I filled in the depression over the box and extended around it by 25’ or so with dirt. The solid pipe is extended also by 30’. That’s the pipe that my foot valve is in. Anyway, the water has been tested twice by an independent local lab and it is very good. The other day an acquaintance told me I’m drinking surface water. I don’t think he is right. The water is coming UP from the ground, not down from the surface. What do you guys think?

 

[Dana]

There may be a county hydrology survey that would give you a hint.

Other hints are the water hardness & taste, some of which may be discerned from the test report. Deep artesian water from upwelling springs has more dissolved mineral content than surface water (250 ppm dissolved solids or higher, sometimes MUCH higher), and is often alkaline, and can often have a slight (or not so slight) taste, depending on what the dissolved minerals happen to be. Surface water is usually very soft (low mineral content) and slightly acidic, with very little noticeable taste/aftertaste.

Do you really care, as long as the water is clean, safe, and devoid of objectionable taste?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Banjo Bud]

PH is about 6.4. Taste is neutral. No taste.

 

[Dana]

Slightly acidic, no taste= probably surface water. Did they measure the water hardness (in grains per gallon, or ppm?)

 

[Banjo Bud]

Hardness is zero. Whatever that means.

 

[Dana]

Zero means either they didn't really test it, or it was below what their methods could quantify.

If the latter it means surface water, no question! Mildly acidic water that percolates down to a deep aquifer and stays there for awhile picks up at least something.

 

[Banjo Bud]

Should I be drinking it?

 

[Banjo Bud]

I just looked at the report again. Water hardness is 5 gpg.

 

[ThirdGenPump]

A majority of the planet gets their water from surface supplies. Reservoirs and high yielding shallow wells make up the supply for most cities.

What matters is the test results. If it meets potability standards it's safe to drink.

Surface water aquifers are more subject to change than deeper aquifers so more frequent monitoring is recommended. For an added level of security you could look into chlorination or ultraviolet treatment systems as bacteria is one of the prevalent issues with surface water supplies. but if it's testing negative for coli-form now it's also possible it may never test positive.

There are a number of correlations in results or surface water aquifers vs deep well aquifers but correlative data does not prove where the water is coming from. Water could be very soft and acidic and still be coming from a deep well aquifer, water could be hard and alkaline and be coming from a shallow aquifer. If your betting on the source I wouldn't recommend gaming against the odds.