Well Water Woes Super OT

[55 Fargo]

Hey all, I know most of you Guy's are on municipal water, and so was I for the first 42 years of my life.

The well water in Southern Manitoba can range from poor ( Red River region), high in Iron, Maganese, and generally hard, to excellent well water for most of the province, some wells do not even need a water softener.

I have a high tech, Iron Breaker 3 iron remover, and a 60000 grain softener, plus an ozone generator, on the iron remover to sterilize it during backwashes.

These items are a real PITA, the iron remover requires maintenace, so sediment or caking iron does not hamper the mechanics of it, my direct well ater has 6 ppm of iron, and is high in sulphur, the iron remover takes most of this out, the softener catches the remainder.

But this unit works great sometime, and sometime it doesn't, very hit and miss. So this means I have to keep an eye on the water quality, and the water softener requires rust remover cleaner added to it's back wash on a 4 times per year basis.

My question to any of you with well water supplies, what do you use, and if you have high iron, how do you deal with it.

My equipment is US made, from very reputable companies.....Fred

[PatS....]

This local company handled the well at the asphalt plant where I worked. All of the treatment equipment we had was designed for city water and the well water was overwhelming the system...along with nobody doing any maintenance. (the filter was 6 yrs old!)

I left before they finished installing the proper equipment for rural well water.

The guys at the plant say they can actually drink the water now...before it was only used for the toilets:eek:

http://www.bigirondrilling.com/water_wells.asp

[Flatie46]

I've got a well, and I'm well satisfied:D. Sorry couldn't resist. The only thing I can say is the lime content is a little high but the water has a great taste. About once a year I have to clean the lime outta the screen on the washer. We put a PUR water filter on the kitchen faucet, sometime I use it sometimes I don't. I live close to Cherokee Lake and that's where people that have "city water" get it. The "city water" here pretty much sucks, too much chemical treatment. [i think it's chlorine] Yea, I like my well better. Coffee and tea are much better with it and I think it makes a big difference in soups too.

[55 Fargo]

I've got a well, and I'm well satisfied:D. Sorry couldn't resist. The only thing I can say is the lime content is a little high but the water has a great taste. About once a year I have to clean the lime outta the screen on the washer. We put a PUR water filter on the kitchen faucet, sometime I use it sometimes I don't. I live close to Cherokee Lake and that's where people that have "city water" get it. The "city water" here pretty much sucks, too much chemical treatment. [i think it's chlorine] Yea, I like my well better. Coffee and tea are much better with it and I think it makes a big difference in soups too.

Hi, a lot of wells in this part of Canada, are like yours, mine in this district are not, very high in Iron, and super hard too. My dad grew up about 45 miles east of here, there water was an artesian well, people came from all over for water for making beer,wine and pickles, very good stuff..........Fred

[1950 Special Deluxe]

I grew up on a farm here in Saskatchewan, about 20 miles South of nowhere. Our well was 12 feet deep, the water was not treated with anything, my dad sent samples away every year and it always came back fine. I never realized water was an issue until I moved to Saskatoon at age 20. But, as a kid I did not realize T-Bone steaks were a treat either. And, I was about 14 before I learned that you needed a licence to hunt wildlife and that you were supposed to do it only during hunting season. Oops my dad and his friends missed that part of parenting.:)

[Guest P15-D24]

Our house was originally built using well water. Eventually they went on the city water system but we have the well for landscaping irrigation. Very high iron to the point our tree trunks turn red where the sprinklers hit them. Tried a filter once, full clogged it in 10 minutes! Have to take a closer look at this iron breaker technology.

[B-Watson]

Hi, a lot of wells in this part of Canada, are like yours, mine in this district are not, very high in Iron, and super hard too. My dad grew up about 45 miles east of here, there water was an artesian well, people came from all over for water for making beer,wine and pickles, very good stuff..........Fred

Before Winnipeg built the aquaduct from Shoal Lake on the Ontario border after WWI they had artesian wells but the water was very hard. Constant problems across the city with pipes getting clogged with scaling.

Back in the 1970's there was an artesian well at the north end of Day Street in Transcona. One of the last from the beginning of the 20th century.

There was also an artesian well on Garven Road east of Birds Hill one of the breweries claimed they used for their beer. Had a big sign bragging about the quality of the clean, clear, soft water. And, of course, the superb taste and quality of their beer.

Now, go west of Winnipeg from the perimeter highway across White Horse Plains to west of the Assiniboine River - all salt water. Apparently there is an underground salt water lake under the plains. My grandfather on my mother's side lived at Headingley and he had to have his water trucked in from the GWWD filling depot beside the Chapel Lawn cemetery.

Bill

Vancouver, BC

[hkestes41]

This story was on our local news tonight. This guy has some major well water issues.

http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/Flaming-faucets-alarm-Montague-County-family-97994344.html

Funny that in ANWAR Alaska they can't drill within 300 miles of a Caribou, but here in Texas you can drill within 300 feet of someones back door.

[1just4don]

20 years ago lived down in the river bottom on a small lake. Worst water in the world. Be darn happy you dont have high manganese( I think thats what it was ).

Put water in coffee, tea, or whiskey and turned instantly black. Smelled like rotten eggs and tastes worse. Made sidewalk brown in a week so used lake water for lawn sprinkling. Showers and stools were color of chocolate in a months time.

Only thing that would cut it off was full strength muratic acid and that is NASTY stuff. It will burn your nose hair out, let alone lung damage

tried filters and softeners to no avail. Still think I feel poorly from that crappy water. My well was shallow,,probably 20 30 feet max.

My next door neighbor was a professional well driller. He drilled his own well very deep and didnt have that crap at all.

Moral of the story,,,ask a well driller IF drilling deeper gets you out of your iron probs? often does.

Another well I had once had excessive high levels of selenium. Would have never known that had not huge expensive full spectrum testing was required. Been out of the testing loop for 5 years,,but back then full tests cost 1500-2000 bucks,,,likely higher now. Test for coliform, lead and copper residue(relates to ph), selenium, arsenic, nitrates, ph, if you have money left you can also test for voc's and inorganic vc's and any thing else they may recommend,,,might be very surprised what you find.

Would reverse osmosis work for you???

[55 Fargo]

Thanx everyone for the replies,

My well is 120 feet deep, going deeper in my immediate district is a big iffy for better water quality.

Watson is right, Headingley arera ground water is salt, so not fit for human usage.

My well has 60 grains hardness,6 ppm iron, light amounts of maganese,some sulphur smell, the well is 20 years old.

The iron breaker 3 can and will remove 10 ppm iron 11 ppm sulphur and maganese, if it is functioning correctly, water comes out lcear, and smell free and remains clear after time.

My trouble is sometimes it's clear, the next time it's parially clear. The good thing my softener cleans up any residual iron etc.

My trouble is this, my kids want me to fill up a 350 gallon splash pool, it's been hot up here, and trying to fiure a way to do tis without getting iron in the water.

The iron remover is good usually up to 800 gallons of water beofre backwashing, mine is way below this.

My well has been tested within the last 2 years, coliform=0, ecoli=0, that is the biggest concern, nitrates normal. I am lucky, I have no house within a 1/4 mile, no livestock, no barns either......Fred

[PatS....]

Fred, for the pool it might be better to truck it in. Check to see if there is a water truck in the area delivering somewhere else and have them stop in. Might be better for the kids.

You SHOULD be safe from feezing the pool solid until the end of August!

[55 Fargo]

Fred, for the pool it might be better to truck it in. Check to see if there is a water truck in the area delivering somewhere else and have them stop in. Might be better for the kids.

You SHOULD be safe from feezing the pool solid until the end of August!

Pat this is Winnipeg not Calgary, you guys don't even need AC in the summer. We have colder winters, but our summers, are a way hotter than Albertas, our summers are more like southern Ontarios, just not quite as long. Now having said that, I would not mind Calgary summer evenings, it is sometimes very muggy hot here at night in summer, last week it was 90 with a humidex of 106.

Even if some iron leeches thorugh, it is harmless, itwill eventually setttle or get filtered thorugh the paper filter, if not too heavy.

The ozone gen I have on my system, would kill any harmfull bacteria, of which my aquifer, consistently has none of........Thanx Fred

[50 Deluxe]

I have three wells on our land. The first one is a 25' deep 10' across brick lined well that was dug back in the late 1800s, the water is very good unless a rodent falls into it, we have to keep it covered all the time. We have another 25' deep 6" pipe well that taste and tests good but goes dry in the middle of the summer. The last well is 135' deep 6" pipe that requires reverse osmosis, water softener, and requires rust remover cleaner 4 times a year; however, it puts a huge volume all year round. The only thing we did to the 25' well is to put a PUR water filter on the kitchen faucet.

[Tim Keith]

You could consider collecting rain water. You might not have enough rain for all uses, but for cooking and laundry you might not need so much fresh water. In many regions a large storage tank is the major requirement to make this work.

[55 Fargo]

You could consider collecting rain water. You might not have enough rain for all uses, but for cooking and laundry you might not need so much fresh water. In many regions a large storage tank is the major requirement to make this work.

Yes a huge stroagew tank, but for Canadian use this is impractical except for a spring to fall use, for cottages etc. Winter is very old this would freeze up solid here.

I new a guy that did this very thing, he used it for his cottage spring to fall use only, worked well, was huge tank to collect water.

There are people that have cisterns underground, they pay for water to be trucked in, and thats what works for them, a major pain too.....Fred

[Flatie46]

My brother lived on an old farm that had a big cistern. They had a huge barn and all the guttering from the barn was plumbed into it. All the surface of the barn roof was a big funnel. It worked pretty good, it was used for livestock.

Fred, here locally if you make a small donation to the volunteer fire dept. they'll come fill your pool and it doesn't take long. You might check into that.

[Troganin]

How about rapping some coated copper wire around a iron rod and dropping it in there. Should catch alot of the iron if properly electrified.

[55 Fargo]

How about rapping some coated copper wire around a iron rod and dropping it in there. Should catch alot of the iron if properly electrified.

This iron is soluable, and does not become evident in the water until it hits oxygen(air), or Chlorine, or peroxide or ozone, will also precipitate it.

So water comes out clear, but you can taste and smell the iron, then after a short time the water turns amber to orange, depending on the iron content.

My iron filter, which is a Iron Breaker 3, is draws air on regeneratrion, so the tank is air charged, as well the ozonator sterilizes the media bed (some type of sand), the well water flows into the unit, the iron gets precipitated, then gets filtered by the media, so clear iron removed water flows out.

My unit is functioning as per service man just checked yesterday, but the unit is not precipitating the iron enough upon entry to the tank, thus it is not being filtered enough upon exit of the tank.

These iron fliters work great in most cases, something is causing mine to fail or function at way below it's capabilities.

I am super frustated tonight about this, good thing my softener removes anything else this iron remover cannot, so the water in the house is clear and softened, at least at this point. But if you take water after the iron filter, and before the softener, it will turn amber colored in a short time. I am fed-up, a new well might work, but maybe not, and it's a $6-7000 gamble......Fred