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Residential Water Problems
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Water is a staple of life; it is the single most important substance to the human body. In fact, the body can survive longer without food or other nourishment, than it can without water.
Therefore, it stands to reason that when purchasing a house, a customer would be concerned about the availability and quality of the water at that address.
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Water Quantity(Flow Rate):
If a homebuyer feels relatively assured that the water quality of the house they are about to purchase is at or above EPA standards, they still might be interested in whether that house's well(if not on public water) can provide an adequate amount of water per day. This test places considerable stress on the well pump, and will assure the homebuyer that they won't be running out of water in the middle of a shower.
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New England Home Inspection recommends the following tips for homeowners, once they purchased a house with a private well:
- Always use licensed or certified water well drillers and pump installers when a well is constructed, a pump is installed or the system is serviced.
- An annual well maintenance check, including a bacterial test, is recommended. Any source of drinking water should be checked any time there is a change in taste, odor or appearance, or anytime a water supply system is serviced.
- Keep hazardous chemicals, such as paint, fertilizer, pesticides, and motor oil far away from your well.
- Periodically check the well cover or well cap on top of the casing (well) to ensure it is in good repair.
- Always maintain proper separation between your well and buildings, waste systems or chemical storage facilities. Your professional contractor knows the rules.
- Don't allow back-siphonage. When mixing pesticides, fertilizers or other chemicals, don't put the hose inside the tank or container.
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- When landscaping, keep the top of your well at least one foot above the ground. Slope the ground away from your well for proper drainage.
- Take care in working or mowing around your well. A damaged casing could jeopardize the sanitary protection of your well. Don't pile snow, leaves, or other materials around your well.
- Keep your well records in a safe place. These include the construction report, as well as annual water well system maintenance and water testing results.
- Be aware of changes in your well, the area around your well, or the water it provides.
- When your well has come to the end of its serviceable life (usually more than 20 years), have your qualified water well contractor properly decommission your well after constructing your new system.
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Water Quality
Water Quality can vary greatly from area to area, based on any number of geographical and geological conditions, such as temperature, underground water movement(or lack thereof- stagnant water), industrial buildings such as factories or airports nearby, ec. When purchasing a house you intend to raise a family in, it is important to remember that although levels of a chemical may seem small, keep in mind you may be taking it in for 20+ years.
Water Quality testing screens for total coliform bacteria(Fecal matter and/or E. Coliform), iron, manganese, pH levels, volatile inorganic compounds(VOC's), contaminants, nitrate, and lead.
In the Northeast, Water Quality levels are especially crucial, as the overabundance or lack of specific elements in the water table may cause pipes and/or hot water heaters to detereorate quicker than expected. Many homeowners use chemicals to treat water so that it is less acidic/less basic, and so forth.
Listed below are Federal Drinking Water Standards, for ALL the Northeast states.
Trihalomethanes 80µg/l[ppb] annual running average
Total of Dichlorobromomethane, Chlorodibromomethane, Bromoform and Chloroform
Radionuclides are elements such as radium and uranium. Combined radium 226 and radium 228 has an MCL of 5 picocuries/liter (pCi/l). The MCL for gross alpha particle activity [including radium 226 but excluding radon and uranium] is 15 pCi/l
Turbidity is measured by use of an instrument called a nephelometer, and expressed as nephelometric turbidity units [NTU] No more than 5% of the samples may exceed 0.3 NTU, nor any sample may exceed 1 NTU
Coliform bacteria standards are based on the presence or absence of coliforms in a sample. The number of samples collected by a public water system is determined by the size of the population served. A system collecting at least 40 samples/month can have coliform in no more than 5% of the samples. A system collecting fewer than 40 samples/month can have no more than one coliform positive. Any number exceeding these amounts triggers an MCL exceedance.
Haloacetic Acids 60 µg/l ppb running annual average Total of Monochloroacetic, Dichloroacetic, Trichloroacetic, Bromoacetic and Dibromoacetic acids.
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Inorganics
Contaminants |
Maximum Contaminant Level MCL[µg/l or ppb] |
Antimony |
6 |
Arsenic |
5 |
Asbestos |
7x 10E6 fibers/l > 10µm |
Barium |
2000 |
Beryllium |
4 |
Cadmium |
5 |
Chromium |
100 |
Copper |
1300**[AL |
Cyanide |
200 |
Fluoride |
4000 |
Lead |
15**[AL |
Mercury |
2 |
Nitrate[as nitrogen] |
10000 |
Nitrite |
1000 |
[combined nitrate/nitrite |
10000] |
Selenium |
50 |
Thallium |
2 |
Nickel |
+ |
** An action level [AL] is not an MCL. It is a trigger point at which remedial action is to take place. |
+ No MCL-Monitoring Required. |
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Synthetic Organic Compounds
| Contaminants |
MCL [µg/l or ppb] |
| Alachlor |
2 |
| Aldicarb |
+ |
| Aldicarb Sulfore |
+ |
| Aldicarb Sulfoxide |
+ |
| Atrazine |
3 |
| Benzo[a]pyrene |
0.2 |
| Carbofuran |
40 |
| Chlordane |
0.5* |
| Dalapon |
200 |
| Dibromochloropropane [DBCP] |
0.2 |
| Di[2-ethylhexyl]adipate |
400 |
| Di[2-ethylhexyl]phthalate |
6 |
| Dinoseb |
7 |
| Diquat |
20 |
| Endothall |
100 |
| Endrin |
2 |
| Ethylene dibromide [EDB] |
0.05 |
| Glyphosate |
700 |
| Heptachlor |
0.4 |
| Heptachlor Epoxide |
0.2 |
| Hexachlorobenzene |
1 |
| Hexachlorocyclopentadiene |
50 |
| Lindane |
0.2 |
| Methoxychlor |
40 |
| Oxamyl |
200 |
| PCBs |
0.5 |
| Pentachlorophenol |
1 |
| Picloram |
500 |
| Simazine |
4 |
| Toxaphene |
3 |
| 2,3,7,8-TCDD [Dioxin] |
3 X 10E-5 |
| 2,4-D |
70 |
| 2,4,5-TP [Silvex] |
50 |
| * N.J. MCL [A-280] |
| + No MCL-Monitoring Required |
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Volatile Organic Compounds
| Contaminants |
MCL [µg/l or ppb] |
| Benzene |
1* |
| Carbon Tetrachloride |
2* |
| meta-Dichlorobenzene |
600* |
| ortho-Dichlorobenzene |
600 |
| para-Dichlorobenzene |
75 |
| 1,1-Dichloroethane |
50* |
| 1,2-Dichloroethane |
2* |
| 1,1-Dichloroethylene |
2* |
| cis-1,2-Dichloroethylene |
70 |
| trans-1,2-Dichloroethylene |
100 |
| 1,2-Dichloropropane |
5 |
| Ethylbenzene |
700 |
| Methyl tertiary Butyl Ether |
70* |
| Methylene Chloride |
3* |
| Monochlorobenzene |
50* |
| Naphthalene |
300* |
| Styrene |
100 |
| 1,1,2,2-Tetrachloroethane |
1* |
| Tetrachloroethylene |
1* |
| Toluene |
1000 |
| 1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene |
9* |
| 1,1,1-Trichloroethane |
30* |
| 1,1,2-Trichloroethane |
3* |
| Trichloroethylene |
1* |
| Vinyl Chloride |
2 |
| Xylenes [total] |
1000* |
| * N.J. MCL [A-280] |
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Secondary Standards [primarily aesthetic]
| Physical Characteristics |
Recommended Upper Limit or Optimum Range |
| Color |
10 color units (standard cobalt scale) |
| pH |
6.5 to 8.5 (optimum range) |
| Odor |
3 Threshold odor number |
| Taste |
No objectional taste |
| Chemical Characteristics |
Recommended Upper Limit (mg/l or ppm) |
| ABS/L.A.S. |
0.5 |
| Aluminum |
0.2 |
| Chloride |
250 |
| Fluoride |
2 |
| Hardness (as CaCO3) |
250 |
| Iron |
0.3 |
| Manganese |
0.05 |
| Silver |
0.1 |
| Sodium |
50 |
| Sulfate |
250 |
| Total dissolved solids |
500 |
| Zinc |
5 |
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Just what is in your drinking water? |
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