Berkey Water filter, NF

[SirCranksalot]

We have a fairly new drilled well that's over 100 ft deep but we are getting results back that say "sample overgrown with bacteria commonlt found in the environment" with the latest sample saying we have 10 parts of coliform. No e-coli. I am trying to figure out where this may be coming from. I thought that joints in the well casing were supposed to be watertight. With it being so new I wouldn't expect it to have developed holes already.

 

We have a water softener system and I'm wondering if the bacteria is entering thru the salt bin. Since salt is used to preserve food assumed that it killed bacteria, but maybe not coliform??

 

Any ideas??

 

thx

[irishfield]

You are supposed to take your sample.. PRE softeners or filters for sampling.

 

Did you clean the testing taps spout with chlorine first... then run.. then get your sample?... and never set the test bottle lid down!

[Sinker]

Yeah, sanitize your tap, sample raw, untreated water, and dont touch or set the bottle cap down. Its easy to mess up a water sample. Try it again.

 

S.

[SirCranksalot]

Thx, gents. I will wipe the tap with bleach and make sure I don't putt the cap down the next time around. I could do the next test with the softener bypassed to try to determine if the softener is the problem. But it's the water that has passed thru the softener that we want to drink and if coliform is somehow coming in via the softener then I need to fix that problem. So I think the subsequent test should be done with water that has passed thru the softener. Is that what you were suggesting?

thx

[irishfield]

Do you have a basement tap somewhere before the softner? I have one right on the pressure tank. So you could take a sample there.. and another after the softner and see what you get back after clearly marking which is which.

[Terry]

we use isopropyl alcohol

keep it cold but don't let it freeze

get it to the lab within 24hr

[Sinker]

Always start with your raw, untreated water, and go from there.

 

S.

[SirCranksalot]

Do you have a basement tap somewhere before the softner? I have one right on the pressure tank.

 

No, but I have a bypass on the softener so I could do that, flush it thru the kitchen sink and take the sample from the kitchen. I'll do that in the next few days then, depending on the results, check again downstream of the softener. I'll post what I find out.

 

Thx for your help gents!

[aplumma]

By pass valves can leak thru even in the off position. The correct way is to hook up a hose to the valve on the well tank and flush it for 5 minutes. Then disconnect hose and wipe down with alcohol and draw sample. If the sample comes back with out any bacteria you can at that time shock the well with chlorine and let that run thru the softener and it will sanitize it.

 

 

Art

[wormdunker]

I've been reading this post for the last couple of days. Very interesting! I have a Kinetico water softener in my house which is 30 years old. I have never done any maintenance, disinfecting etc. Is there anything I should be doing to ensure it is operating properly, such as disinfecting the salt tank? Last time I took a water sample to the Kinetico dealer was about 5 years ago. Me Bad!!

[aplumma]

I've been reading this post for the last couple of days. Very interesting! I have a Kinetico water softener in my house which is 30 years old. I have never done any maintenance, disinfecting etc. Is there anything I should be doing to ensure it is operating properly, such as disinfecting the salt tank? Last time I took a water sample to the Kinetico dealer was about 5 years ago. Me Bad!!

You can either replace it because it owes you nothing or have the water tested to see if it is still working. The advantage of replacement is the newer unit use less salt as well as the advancements in the resin beads will well be worth it. On a separate note a poorly working water softener is not a health risk so you are not risking much. I could use the old scare tactic of how it makes soap work better and you are killing your appliances but life is to short to worry about those things. if however you have any type of sanitizing system U.V., chlorine, ozone or carbon keep it well maintained your health depends on it.

 

Art

[SirCranksalot]

I've now had 2 tests done about 10 days or so apart. The results look pretty good but a bit inconclusive as to the source of contam. I did the first, as you folks suggested, before the softener,using bleach to clean the tap and making sure I didn't set the cap down. The result was 0 coliform. I then tested from the kitchen tap, again using the same precautions. The result was 2 coliform. It's recommended that I get 3 consecutive good results before drinking----2 coli is considered good. I'm not sure how accurate the measurements are. If the margin of error is 2 coli, then maybe my first sample had 1 or 2.

 

I thought coli originated in feces---human or animal. If so, I'm puzzled how it would get into the softener.

 

Again, thx for all your help.

 

SCL(aka Knuguy)

[irishfield]

Total Coliform... or E Coli... two different things! The first at 2 is acceptable... the 2nd one is not!

[SirCranksalot]

Sorry, I meant coliform.

[Sinker]

Try again.

 

Do you have any kind of treatment after the softener? UV? Chlorine?

 

Sanitize the tap, and let the water run for a good 10 mins or so before sampling.

 

S.

Edited December 5, 2014 by Sinker

[SirCranksalot]

I intend to follow the recc that I get 3 clean samples before drinking.

 

The recc is that I run the water for 5 min. At first blush that sounds like a sensible recc, but aren't we supposed to be getting a representative sample? In normal use we don't run the tap 5 min before drinking, so why do it for the test?

[Sinker]

You need to know if the water is safe. Most contamination comes from fixtures. Make sure the water from the well is safe, and work from there. Its not too hard to disinfect your water system, but its difficult if you dont know if thhe water is clean.

 

Running the water for a period of time ensures you are getting fresh water from the well, not water thats been sitting in the distribution system.

 

S.