Dnbrenne
New Member
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!
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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