Is our water safe to drink?

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Dnbrenne

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Hi,

The background for this is my wife and I recently purchased an older farmhouse and have been muddling our way through the process of getting the well water treated. When we bought it, the only treatment being done to the water was iron removal via an old greensand/potperm filter. However, the water was still very hard, smelled like sulfur, tasted bad, and had tested positive for total coliform.

We had a couple different companies come out to test the water and quote on treatment options but opted to just purchase the equipment and self-install to cut down costs. (This forum was immensely helpful with that task) We are treating for:
- High iron
- Hardness (21 gpg)
- IRB & SRB
- Total coliform

So we are treating the water with:
Proportional Flow Chlorinator -> Contact Tank -> Katalox Lite (repurposed the old greensand tank) -> Fleck 5600 Backwashing Carbon filter -> Fleck 2510SXT 64k Water softener.

The water now seems much much better. No more sulfur smell, no more hardness. I tasted a few sips which were much better, but I wanted to get it tested before we start drinking it and I wouldn't mind getting some more experienced eyes on the test results.

- The report flagged the arsenic level, but from what I can find, it's below EPA standards. Should I be concerned about this? If so, how do we treat that?
- Are there byproducts of the chlorination that I need to be concerned about, or does the carbon filter remove all of that? (I think we are chlorinating on the heavy side because our contact tank is only 30 gal. Water at the taps is still showing no chlorine.)
- This test came back positive for total coliform which I can only imagine was due to me not properly sterilizing the tap.
- Overall, based on the test results, would you say this water is safe to drink, or are there other concerns? (Would you drink it?)

If anyone can provide any insights for us, we would be most grateful. Thank you in advance!
 

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Reach4

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Is that water test from after your KL system was installed and working?
 

Dnbrenne

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Yes, that sample was taken roughly a week into having the entire system (chlorination, KL, carbon, softener) up and running.

One other thing I did notice is that the ph came back significantly higher than when it was tested prior, which was almost right at 7. Based on what I've read, I'm attributing that to the KL and hoping it drops back down over time.
 

Dnbrenne

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That's how I interpreted it as well, but when I logged in to my SimpleLab account to view the report, it had flagged the arsenic level as "Exceeds a health related benchmark", however the benchmark it has listed is 0. I assume they are just setting an unrealistically low benchmark for it? I'm not an expert on these things though and wanted some other opinions about how to interpret that.
 

Reach4

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I think so.
I note that they indicate total coliform: Detected.

If you did not takes special precautions when you took your sample, including sterilizing the faucet, that is probably a false positive. There is probably not coliform in your water, unless your well is shallow, and even then contamination during sample taking would be the most likely cause.
 

Dnbrenne

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Our well is 85 ft. I'm doubtful that coliform is surviving the chlorination even if it is from the well. Any other concerns with drinking this water (based on the lab results)?
Does the chlorination process produce byproducts that I need to be concerned about? Or can I trust that running it through the carbon filter should mitigate those?
Are there any specific contaminants that I should have tested for that were not included in this test?
 

Reach4

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I think your test looks comprehensive compared to the usual lab test for well water.
 
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