[All] FW: [Pipeline] High rate of unsafe water for private wells

[Susan Bryant]

From: Susan Bryant [mailto:shbryant at mailservices.uwaterloo.ca] 
Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2012 11:28 AM
To: 'Louisette Lanteigne'
Subject: RE: [Pipeline] High rate of unsafe water for private wells

 

Hi Lulu-

 

My two cents---it's always better to FIX the water quality problems in
private wells rather than treat the water! I've visited over 300 private
wells in Waterloo Region with my Well Aware job, and most water quality
problems here are the result of older wells that need upgrades because they
leak (easy to fix, often, with simply a new well cap in 2/3 cases!),
land-use practices that create contaminants on the owner's own land---which
should also certainly be, and usually can be, corrected, or problems caused
by filtration devices that are not properly maintained.  Remember that
reverse osmosis wastes an awful lot of water in its backwashing
process---and that it doesn't address bacteria problems such as e-coli and
coliform. You'd need to add UV treatment to kill bacteria.

 

E-coli in wells can also be a useful early-warning sign of septic issues
that should be addressed, and positive coliform tests don't always mean that
the bacteria in the well is harmful. It just means there's a leak somewhere
that should be fixed. 

 

Public health in Ontario recommends bacteria testing 3 times a year, and
it's free. I've noticed that people who treat their water often don't
maintain their wells or worry about land-use issues---and that's a big
problem, because they can then contaminate the aquifer.

 

Treatment is a good option only when there's no other option.

 

Cheers,

 

Susan  

 

 

 

 

From: pipeline-bounces at gren.ca [mailto:pipeline-bounces at gren.ca] On Behalf
Of Louisette Lanteigne
Sent: Sunday, January 15, 2012 4:14 PM
To: pipeline at gren.ca
Subject: [Pipeline] High rate of unsafe water for private wells

 

Hi folks

 

New study from the US shows 40% of private wells don't meet safety standards
for drinking water. Makes me wonder if we should push to encourage local or
provincial policy to implement the mandatory use of reverse osmosis for
folks in private wells. 

 

http://articles.dailyamerican.com/2012-01-14/news/30628917_1_water-wells-dri
nking-water-coliform-bacteria

 

 

Lulu

 

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