“Of course our well water is safe to drink!”
Introduction: One usually assumes that their well water is completely safe to drink, and it usually is. Most people don’t give it a second thought as they turn on the tap to fill the kettle, or drinking glass, especially if the water appears to be crystal clear. There are times when people need to take a sample of their well water and have it tested (buying or selling a house), but not always do these samples come back with a satisfactory result. Sometimes people find out that bacteria are present in their well water. If this happens it can be frightening, especially when they don’t understand what the words “total coliform” or “contamination” really mean. One must remember that bacteria are invisible to the naked eye, and just because a water sample may look to be crystal clear, it does not mean that it is free from parasites or bacteria. Groundwater, because of the layers of soil of overlying soil, gets filtered naturally and is usually safe to drink, meaning it’s usually free from the presence of disease-causing micro-organisms. It is important to understand that if bacteria are present in someone’s well, quite often the people are unaware of such conditions, but sometimes, says Patrick Stewart of Envirosphere Consultants Ltd in Windsor, “Once in a while bacteria in your well could be a sign of problems and a possible explanation for ongoing health issues.”
I write from experience, so I do know that wells can get contaminated from time to time, and sometimes quite often - depending on how much rainfall we’ve had. As many people often do, I used to hold a glass of water up to the window and say, “See! It’s clear - it’s good, safe water!” But I once learnt a serious lesson: I was living in New Brunswick and my husband and I were about to sell our house. The sale depended on the well’s water test coming back negative - and it didn’t! We were in shock. What had happened to our water? When we had bought the house the water had been declared safe, and we had a drilled well and drilled wells are supposed to be reliably safe, aren’t they?
Somehow, total coliform bacteria had got into our well water. There was a river and lake very close by, and it was a shallow drilled-well of about 100 feet; we wondered if this was the cause. The real estate agent asked us questions: “Do you feel unwell? Have you been suffering from headaches, or diarrhoea?” And like silly ‘whatevers’ my husband and I both answered “no”. Because of our ignorance regarding coliform bacteria we sort of panicked because we didn’t want to accept that there was anything wrong with our well, but I had been having peculiar headaches, more like tight bands surrounding my head. When they appeared I felt like I wanted to go outside and breathe in bucketfuls of fresh air, and I even accused the furnace of leaking deadly fumes, but after being inspected, it was given a clean bill of health. Whenever I bent over sideways to pick something up, it felt like there was a lump deep inside, which frightened me, but that came and went. Also, I felt excessively tired. Shall I mention the sudden surges of diarrhoea, usually when we were out shopping or away from home? I had actually thought I’d developed a sensitivity to pork, which seemed to go right through me, especially when it was cooked on the bbq! My husband had also suffered on and off, but except for the tiredness, he had more serious symptoms. He had even been in the hospital for tests for his illnesses, even for parasites - all coming back negative and confounding his doctors!
So, yes, we had been out of sorts on an off for well over a year. But now what were we to do about the contaminated water? We wanted to sell the house and move, and we were told the house could not sell until we fixed the problem; those were the regulations. Thanks to our real estate agent (thanks Phil M.) he suggested we install a water-treatment system. It was a UV light system, and we had it professionally installed. Right away the real estate agent ran the tap (to flush the pipes of any lingering bacteria), and took a water sample. How nice when it came back negative showing there was no longer any contamination in our well water, and the sale of our house went through. Even nicer was when two weeks later I realised I felt sooo goood in myself. I felt energised instead of the lethargy and sleepiness I’d struggled with, and there were no more peculiar headaches. The diarrhoea, as well as the tenderness in my sides, was gone! Only then did both of us really connect our health issues to our well water.
We had learnt a valuable lesson.
Then, a year later, my mother got sick. Because her symptoms sounded eerily familiar, I urged my parents to have their well water tested. It was hard to convince them to do it because their well is spring fed, which had given them a false sense of security over the years, believing that their water was always pure. Finally they gave in to my nagging. When they did have it tested, a low count of total coliform (not E. coli) was found. To prevent any further illnesses they installed a UV light system and have never suffered from those contaminated water symptoms again. I must stress, though, that my mother had been to the doctor several times, but not once did the doctor ask if she was drinking well water. Also, as with my husband, bacterial infections caused by total coliform did not seem to show up in any tests. It frightens me when I think of where this can lead to, especially if one has been plagued with symptoms on and off for many years: more hospital tests? Surgery? A close friend of mine, who lives in another province, has a serious problem with her heart. She has been warned by her cardiac physician that bacteria in her body could create life-threatening complications for her. A couple of years ago she wasn’t feeling well and her symptoms sounded familiar to me, so I told her just what I’ve told you. Sure enough, she found out that her well water had been making her ill.
Symptoms: One may experience soft stools or mild to severe diarrhoea, occurring on and off throughout the year, sometimes accompanied with stomach cramps, or perhaps not. Headaches where it feels like there is a band around your head and you feel “fuzzy” and need fresh air, a slight temperature, possibly increased urination, inflammation in bowels and intestines resulting in a feeling of tenderness when you bend sideways. You may also experience an unusual tiredness or excessive sleepiness (napping when one never used to nap), and a general lack of “go” in you (from your body fighting off an infection), and possibly aching bones. No two family members will suffer the same symptoms, and some people don’t seem to ever be affected whereas others can become quite ill. They may seek a doctor’s care, but he or she may not suspect the real cause of the symptoms.
Testing for Total Coliforms: When lab tests are done on well water samples it is to find whether or not there is a presence of coliform bacteria in your well. These “coliforms” occur naturally in the soil, but one species, Escherichia coli, commonly known as E. coli, can come from the intestinal tracts of warm-blooded animals; the combined occurrence of both types is known as Total Coliforms.
The performance of your well: Groundwater is more often than not naturally clean and safe for consumption because the overlying soil filters it. Contamination of your well may mean that your well is not performing the way it should: there may be a crack in your well-casing, or if your well is a shallow dug-well, the depth of soil may not be adequate enough to filter it properly. Contamination may occur after heavy rains, but after a few weeks of reasonably dry weather it may disappear only to return again after more heavy rainfalls.
E. Coli: Should you be told that your well has tested positive for E. coli, this is a serious problem, as the presence of E. coli in any well usually means it is faecal in origin. The source may be sludge from your septic-system, faeces from family pets, or perhaps livestock or poultry manure. If E. coli is found, there is cause for great concern since we humans share various diseases with other warm-blooded animals. An E. coli presence in your well water can give you an increased risk of contracting a disease, virus, bacterial infection, or possibly parasites.
Testing: Environment Canada suggests you test your well water regularly, two or three times a year. If you are on a drilled well I’d still get it done once in a while, just to be safe. In Nova Scotia, if you are purchasing a home that is on a well, your bank will request that the well water be tested.
Fixing the problem: One can either pour bleach down their well (amount is determined by quantity of water in well) and “shock” the well, or they can purchase an ultra-violet light system that will kill all types of coliform bacteria without leaving any aesthetic effects (see www.evowater.ca). There are businesses that will provide and install one for you, for a price; the light has to be replaced in them yearly (recommended), but it leaves your drinking water worry-free. I have one, and I know quite a few people who have had them installed. Health Canada approves of the UV systems and works closely with NSF International to develop standards for these water-treatment systems. There is another way, and that is to do what people did before modern times, and that is to boil all water before drinking it. However, you have to boil it at a rolling boil long enough to kill all the bacteria.
Boiling water: If you boil it long enough it will kill any bacteria or parasites in it. It sounds easy: “We put the kettle on all the time!” But modern electric kettles turn off just after they reach a rolling boil. We bring vegetables to the boil and then we turn down the heat and simmer them. That isn’t hot enough to kill all types of bacteria and parasites – yes, parasites. I have heard two minutes to ten minutes, so I did a bit of internet research. New York State only recommends, if there is a “boil order”, for towns people to boil their tap water for 2 minutes. The International Red Cross recommends you boil any contaminated drinking water (at a rolling boil) for at least five minutes. Any people living in towns where they have been put on a “boil” order will be familiar with the inconvenience, although recommended times for how long to boil their water may vary from town to town and country to country.
Do you want to have your well water tested? You will find several water testing labs in the Halifax/Dartmouth area, or you can have your water tested in Windsor at Envirosphere Consultants Limited, 120 Morrison Dr. (798-4022) You can pick up sample bottles (you cannot use your own container) at the Valley Regional and Hants County Hospital as well as at other Valley hospitals.
My online sources were:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coliform_bacteria
2. www.evowater.ca
3. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/1/8
4 http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/pubs/water-eau/well-puits-eng.php(Health Canada)
Dog Boarding. Board your dog in a non-traditional kennel. At Forever Shales there are just 3 kennels, so less dogs means less noise and more attention for your dog. Daily walks are included in the boarding price, and there is a fenced-yard directly off the kennel room. Kennel room is attached to the house and is not a separate building, and it is partially carpeted and decorated in bright colours. Deborah Berkeley 757-0744 South Rawdon.
Dog Obedience Classes. Paws and Claws offers dog obedience classes and puppy classes in Ardoise. Ask for Heather at 757-1730 email: pawsandclaws10@gmail.com
Dog Agility Classes. Want something to do with your dog after the obedience classes are over? Try agility – it’s fun for both dog and owner, and you get to build on your dog’s obedience skills. Classes are in S. Rawdon at Lietash. Ask for Bob at 757-0929.
Our Mother’s Keepers. Check out this lovely store located at 85 Water Street, Windsor. Leesa sells products that are for ‘soul and planet’. Drop in and visit her and her cats, and check out the handcrafted products she has for sale – some are locally made. She also sells copies of Forever Shales. Thank you Leesa, for handing out copies of The Sheepdog.
Tan Coffee. Thank you for allowing me to leave copies of The Sheepdog in your lovely café for people to read. It is very much appreciated. People, please drop into Tan’s on Water Street, Windsor, and have a coffee and a bite to eat.
Daniels Flower Shop. Thank you for handing out copies of The Sheepdog. The appreciation of flowers is a deep reflection of what is inside one’s heart. Please go to Daniels, 40 Water Street, Windsor, and appreciate that special person in your life. 798-5337
I write from experience, so I do know that wells can get contaminated from time to time, and sometimes quite often - depending on how much rainfall we’ve had. As many people often do, I used to hold a glass of water up to the window and say, “See! It’s clear - it’s good, safe water!” But I once learnt a serious lesson: I was living in New Brunswick and my husband and I were about to sell our house. The sale depended on the well’s water test coming back negative - and it didn’t! We were in shock. What had happened to our water? When we had bought the house the water had been declared safe, and we had a drilled well and drilled wells are supposed to be reliably safe, aren’t they?
Somehow, total coliform bacteria had got into our well water. There was a river and lake very close by, and it was a shallow drilled-well of about 100 feet; we wondered if this was the cause. The real estate agent asked us questions: “Do you feel unwell? Have you been suffering from headaches, or diarrhoea?” And like silly ‘whatevers’ my husband and I both answered “no”. Because of our ignorance regarding coliform bacteria we sort of panicked because we didn’t want to accept that there was anything wrong with our well, but I had been having peculiar headaches, more like tight bands surrounding my head. When they appeared I felt like I wanted to go outside and breathe in bucketfuls of fresh air, and I even accused the furnace of leaking deadly fumes, but after being inspected, it was given a clean bill of health. Whenever I bent over sideways to pick something up, it felt like there was a lump deep inside, which frightened me, but that came and went. Also, I felt excessively tired. Shall I mention the sudden surges of diarrhoea, usually when we were out shopping or away from home? I had actually thought I’d developed a sensitivity to pork, which seemed to go right through me, especially when it was cooked on the bbq! My husband had also suffered on and off, but except for the tiredness, he had more serious symptoms. He had even been in the hospital for tests for his illnesses, even for parasites - all coming back negative and confounding his doctors!
So, yes, we had been out of sorts on an off for well over a year. But now what were we to do about the contaminated water? We wanted to sell the house and move, and we were told the house could not sell until we fixed the problem; those were the regulations. Thanks to our real estate agent (thanks Phil M.) he suggested we install a water-treatment system. It was a UV light system, and we had it professionally installed. Right away the real estate agent ran the tap (to flush the pipes of any lingering bacteria), and took a water sample. How nice when it came back negative showing there was no longer any contamination in our well water, and the sale of our house went through. Even nicer was when two weeks later I realised I felt sooo goood in myself. I felt energised instead of the lethargy and sleepiness I’d struggled with, and there were no more peculiar headaches. The diarrhoea, as well as the tenderness in my sides, was gone! Only then did both of us really connect our health issues to our well water.
We had learnt a valuable lesson.
Then, a year later, my mother got sick. Because her symptoms sounded eerily familiar, I urged my parents to have their well water tested. It was hard to convince them to do it because their well is spring fed, which had given them a false sense of security over the years, believing that their water was always pure. Finally they gave in to my nagging. When they did have it tested, a low count of total coliform (not E. coli) was found. To prevent any further illnesses they installed a UV light system and have never suffered from those contaminated water symptoms again. I must stress, though, that my mother had been to the doctor several times, but not once did the doctor ask if she was drinking well water. Also, as with my husband, bacterial infections caused by total coliform did not seem to show up in any tests. It frightens me when I think of where this can lead to, especially if one has been plagued with symptoms on and off for many years: more hospital tests? Surgery? A close friend of mine, who lives in another province, has a serious problem with her heart. She has been warned by her cardiac physician that bacteria in her body could create life-threatening complications for her. A couple of years ago she wasn’t feeling well and her symptoms sounded familiar to me, so I told her just what I’ve told you. Sure enough, she found out that her well water had been making her ill.
Symptoms: One may experience soft stools or mild to severe diarrhoea, occurring on and off throughout the year, sometimes accompanied with stomach cramps, or perhaps not. Headaches where it feels like there is a band around your head and you feel “fuzzy” and need fresh air, a slight temperature, possibly increased urination, inflammation in bowels and intestines resulting in a feeling of tenderness when you bend sideways. You may also experience an unusual tiredness or excessive sleepiness (napping when one never used to nap), and a general lack of “go” in you (from your body fighting off an infection), and possibly aching bones. No two family members will suffer the same symptoms, and some people don’t seem to ever be affected whereas others can become quite ill. They may seek a doctor’s care, but he or she may not suspect the real cause of the symptoms.
Testing for Total Coliforms: When lab tests are done on well water samples it is to find whether or not there is a presence of coliform bacteria in your well. These “coliforms” occur naturally in the soil, but one species, Escherichia coli, commonly known as E. coli, can come from the intestinal tracts of warm-blooded animals; the combined occurrence of both types is known as Total Coliforms.
The performance of your well: Groundwater is more often than not naturally clean and safe for consumption because the overlying soil filters it. Contamination of your well may mean that your well is not performing the way it should: there may be a crack in your well-casing, or if your well is a shallow dug-well, the depth of soil may not be adequate enough to filter it properly. Contamination may occur after heavy rains, but after a few weeks of reasonably dry weather it may disappear only to return again after more heavy rainfalls.
E. Coli: Should you be told that your well has tested positive for E. coli, this is a serious problem, as the presence of E. coli in any well usually means it is faecal in origin. The source may be sludge from your septic-system, faeces from family pets, or perhaps livestock or poultry manure. If E. coli is found, there is cause for great concern since we humans share various diseases with other warm-blooded animals. An E. coli presence in your well water can give you an increased risk of contracting a disease, virus, bacterial infection, or possibly parasites.
Testing: Environment Canada suggests you test your well water regularly, two or three times a year. If you are on a drilled well I’d still get it done once in a while, just to be safe. In Nova Scotia, if you are purchasing a home that is on a well, your bank will request that the well water be tested.
Fixing the problem: One can either pour bleach down their well (amount is determined by quantity of water in well) and “shock” the well, or they can purchase an ultra-violet light system that will kill all types of coliform bacteria without leaving any aesthetic effects (see www.evowater.ca). There are businesses that will provide and install one for you, for a price; the light has to be replaced in them yearly (recommended), but it leaves your drinking water worry-free. I have one, and I know quite a few people who have had them installed. Health Canada approves of the UV systems and works closely with NSF International to develop standards for these water-treatment systems. There is another way, and that is to do what people did before modern times, and that is to boil all water before drinking it. However, you have to boil it at a rolling boil long enough to kill all the bacteria.
Boiling water: If you boil it long enough it will kill any bacteria or parasites in it. It sounds easy: “We put the kettle on all the time!” But modern electric kettles turn off just after they reach a rolling boil. We bring vegetables to the boil and then we turn down the heat and simmer them. That isn’t hot enough to kill all types of bacteria and parasites – yes, parasites. I have heard two minutes to ten minutes, so I did a bit of internet research. New York State only recommends, if there is a “boil order”, for towns people to boil their tap water for 2 minutes. The International Red Cross recommends you boil any contaminated drinking water (at a rolling boil) for at least five minutes. Any people living in towns where they have been put on a “boil” order will be familiar with the inconvenience, although recommended times for how long to boil their water may vary from town to town and country to country.
Do you want to have your well water tested? You will find several water testing labs in the Halifax/Dartmouth area, or you can have your water tested in Windsor at Envirosphere Consultants Limited, 120 Morrison Dr. (798-4022) You can pick up sample bottles (you cannot use your own container) at the Valley Regional and Hants County Hospital as well as at other Valley hospitals.
My online sources were:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coliform_bacteria
2. www.evowater.ca
3. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/1/8
4 http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/pubs/water-eau/well-puits-eng.php(Health Canada)
Dog Boarding. Board your dog in a non-traditional kennel. At Forever Shales there are just 3 kennels, so less dogs means less noise and more attention for your dog. Daily walks are included in the boarding price, and there is a fenced-yard directly off the kennel room. Kennel room is attached to the house and is not a separate building, and it is partially carpeted and decorated in bright colours. Deborah Berkeley 757-0744 South Rawdon.
Dog Obedience Classes. Paws and Claws offers dog obedience classes and puppy classes in Ardoise. Ask for Heather at 757-1730 email: pawsandclaws10@gmail.com
Dog Agility Classes. Want something to do with your dog after the obedience classes are over? Try agility – it’s fun for both dog and owner, and you get to build on your dog’s obedience skills. Classes are in S. Rawdon at Lietash. Ask for Bob at 757-0929.
Our Mother’s Keepers. Check out this lovely store located at 85 Water Street, Windsor. Leesa sells products that are for ‘soul and planet’. Drop in and visit her and her cats, and check out the handcrafted products she has for sale – some are locally made. She also sells copies of Forever Shales. Thank you Leesa, for handing out copies of The Sheepdog.
Tan Coffee. Thank you for allowing me to leave copies of The Sheepdog in your lovely café for people to read. It is very much appreciated. People, please drop into Tan’s on Water Street, Windsor, and have a coffee and a bite to eat.
Daniels Flower Shop. Thank you for handing out copies of The Sheepdog. The appreciation of flowers is a deep reflection of what is inside one’s heart. Please go to Daniels, 40 Water Street, Windsor, and appreciate that special person in your life. 798-5337
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