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When you live out in the country, you rely upon your well to provide you with one of the most important essentials of life: water. It is up to you to ensure that your water remains safe from toxins and pathogens. For many, this includes installing biological drinking water treatment. There are some key steps to follow to ensure that your water does not make you sick. Dangerous Pathogens There are three main categories of potential pathogens that might reside in your water: viruses, protozoa and bacteria. Bacteria love dampness and water. Even with biological drinking water treatment, you most likely will not have water completely free of bacteria. However, you want to make sure that you protect against those that actually cause disease, such as salmonella or E. coli O157:H7. When it comes to protozoa, or parasites, you want to make sure that you avoid those that cause giardiasis or cryptosporidiosis. Several viruses, including hepatitis A and the Norwalk virus can live in water. Contaminated Well Water Many pathogens tend to only exist in surface water rather than ground water. However, there are times where ground water meets surface water. In your well, you might have cracks or other places that leave it vulnerable to becoming contaminated with pathogens. This usually happens when animal or human feces contaminate the soil, which then can pass into the ground water. Poorly constructed wells might actually make it more likely that you risk biological pathogens entering the system. Severe storms might also lead to an increased risk of contamination. Having a biological drinking water treatment system in place is one way to protect you. However, you want to also ensure that you protect from the start through correctly designing your well. It also is important that you routinely maintain the well and inspect it after heavy storms. Protecting Yourself The best way to protect yourself is to install a water filtration system that guards against biological pathogens. How do you know whether it is necessary? You can get your water tested by reputable labs. They will see whether your water is safe to drink or contaminated by viruses, bacteria and/or protozoa. Additionally, you can have an expert come through and inspect your well for any weak spots that might increase the risk of contamination. When you install your well, it is best to also consider adding protection such as a biological drinking water treatment system. However, this can always be added down the line when you find that your well water might be contaminated and require additional protection.
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