Acting on Unsatisfactory or Contaminated Water Test Results - Advice for Home Buyers & Home Owners.

This article explains when it is useful to re-test a drinking water well after it has failed a bacteria test. We explain how to interpret and thus act on the results of water tests for various types of water contamination.

This series of articles explains many common water contamination tests for bacteria and other contaminants in water samples. We describe what to do about contaminated water, listing common corrective measures when water test results are unsatisfactory.

Handling Failed Wells that Pass a Second Water Test: What to do if water passes after disinfection

We include water testing and water correction measures warnings for home owners and especially for home buyers when certain conditions are encountered, with advice about what to do when these circumstances are encountered. Various treatment methods for contaminated water are reviewed and the pros and cons of each are discussed.

Article Contents

• WELLS THAT PASS A SECOND WATER TEST
• WELLS THAT FAIL A SECOND WATER TEST
• WHEN TO RE-TEST A WELL

When will shocking the well actually cure a problem?

• If the well water contamination level was a relatively low bacteria count and was caused by an unsanitary growth in plumbing equipment this treatment can "correct" the problem.
• If the contamination was a relatively low to modest count and is caused by a persistent source of contamination, this treatment can appear to correct the problem by killing off bacteria. But the problem can recur.

When does well disinfection not work?

• If the contamination is from a major source, with a high bacteria count, repeated sterilization and testing of the well may yield inconsistent results, sometimes passing, sometimes not.

What's wrong with just re-shocking the well and relying on the next OK water test result?

• "Shocking" a well can temporarily make unacceptable water look fine. If no other corrective measures were taken than to "shock" the well, it is appropriate to follow the first acceptable water test with a second and perhaps even a third, spaced a week or more apart.

What's the best course of action for a buyer of a home that fails a well water test?

• If in a real estate sale transaction the schedule does not permit these tests before closing, a buyer should consider requiring an escrow fund set aside during purchase of the property. This fund will guarantee acceptable water while giving the buyer a reasonable time, perhaps a month, to perform additional testing..

When to re-test a well that has been shocked with chlorine bleach or some other disinfectant

To be maximally effective at attempting to disinfect a well, the chlorine solution needs to be in contact with the entire well casing and piping and water storage tank for 24 hours. Then the bleach-treated water is flushed from every fixture until there is no more bleach odor. A realtor/seller anxious to "pass" a bacteria test will try for an immediate re-test at that point.

WARNING: Wait. Don't re-test a well too soon. 

We suggest a minimum of five days, preferably seven to ten days before re-testing a shocked well. If there is a persistent source of bacterial contamination shocking the well won't fix anything.

The longer you wait before re-testing a well for potability, the more time you're giving for the bacteria to reappear at a level sufficient to be picked up in the next water test.

If circumstances force a too-quick follow-up bacteria test real to meet a estate closing date before adequate wait time has been allowed for re-testing to be more credible, we recommend that the parties agree to escrow the cost of a proper water treatment system ($5000. to $10,000) and to allow the new buyer 30 days to conduct follow-up testing. If at the end of that period the well is ok the escrow can be released.

Handling Failed Wells that Fail a Second Water Test Again: What to do if water fails a follow-up water test after well disinfection by Chlorination or Well Shocking

• If the well water test still is not satisfactory,
  
  it is likely that there is a persistent source of contamination. Common sources of contamination include loose or damaged cap on buried well casings, loose or damaged pitless adapter (where buried water line enters the well casing), a bad plumbing connection in piping between the well and the building, spiders living in the well head and possibly insects they've dropped into the well, a dead animal in a well which was not properly capped, and, less common, a cracked or damaged well casing.
  
  Damaged well casings can involve significant expense to repair or replace.
• Since water systems can change,
  
  drinking water from private wells should be analyzed on a regular basis. The frequency of testing should be determined by the history of the water quality of the well.
• Usually the property owner/seller is responsible for correcting unacceptable water. C
  
  heck with your attorney and your contract regarding this matter.
• Often sellers have the well "shocked" 
  
  using the sterilization treatment described above as a quick "fix" for a well that fails a bacteria test. This is a reasonable step to try IF the well has not already been shocked but otherwise, just trying this step over and over is probably wasting time and money, and it risks covering up a persistent contamination source that needs to be addressed.
• In addition to sterilizing the well, an owner/seller or the new owner of a well that has failed a water test more than once in succession should:
• Find the contamination source: have an experienced plumber or well service company look for, find, and correct a source of contamination such as a bad plumbing connection at the well (pitless adapter or well casing cap), bad plumbing between well and house (broken or leaky pipe joint), or bad or soiled plumbing components inside the house.
• Install water treatment/sterilization equipment such as a chlorinator/charcoal filter system or an ultra-violet light system. These systems work but require maintenance. Water treatment equipment are discussed in the next section.
• Correcting the source of contamination is naturally preferred.
  
  But if a home is being sold, often schedule pressures do not permit longer investigation by a plumber to find a problem if it is not obvious. Therefore to provide safe potable (drinkable) water immediately, a water purification treatment system may be installed. If that course of action is followed, we still recommend that the new owner/occupants attempt to find and correct the source rather than having to maintain equipment.
• See WATER TREATMENT EQUIPMENT CHOICES for details of how we correct contaminated drinking water when simple well disinfection doesn't do the trick.

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Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

On 2018-08-17 by Steven - does a well test detect dead bacteria?

Will dead bacteria show up in a well water test.

On 2018-08-17 - by (mod) -

Steven

Answer to your question of whether a coliform test detects both living and dead bacteria depends on the type of test performed.

Some bacteria tests check for simply presence or absence of bacteria using a chemical reagent that might respond to both living and dead organisms. However if a test uses of culture approach obviously dead bacteria don't grow on culture.

What confuses your question a bit is the possibility of a mix of living and dead bacteria. You are dead it's not a health concern.

P/A test, or presence - absence test

MFT or Millipore filter test actually physically screens for bacteria and a way that permits Counting. That's obviously more detailed.

Culture test relies on growing bacteria in a culture medium

On 2017-06-22 by Sandy - How do I test my well water if I have a filter and UV light?

First experience having a well and septic system. Appreciate your website...very informative! In regards to water testing. How do I test my well water if I have a filter and UV light? Do I take a sample at the well ( and how is that done?) and then at the kitchen sink?

Thanks!

On 2017-06-22 by (mod) - where to collect your water test sample ... it depends

To understand the water source, collect your water sample at a faucet that is ahead of all water treatment equipment so that we know we're testing water directly from the well. Otherwise we don't know of a problem is in the well or in the treatment equipment, and it's possible also for a UV or filter to hide well contamination.

To understand if the water treatment equipment itself is sanitary and working, then collect a water test sample from a nearby faucet that is downstream from all of the treatment equipment.

When I collect a water test sample at a kitchen sink I still like to remove the faucet strainer and run the water for 20-30 seconds before collecting a sample. I'm trying to rule out a bacteria contamination source that happens to be right in the faucet strainer itself.

But I've seen other inspectors use a match to "sterilize" the faucet opening before collecting their sample.

Really? That's nonsense and makes me worry that the inspector is not well informed about water testing or basic science. There's simply no way that a match or cigarette lighter is going to get a kitchen sink faucet hot enough to sterilize it.

On 2016-03-29 by Karen - minimum wait time before testing if the well was shocked

We just had a repair made down our well. I would like to know how long to wait before testing water to ensure there has been no contamination by doing a water test. 24 hours? A week? I don't want to water test too early, and don't want to shock chlorinated more than I have too. Just need a timeframe for bacteria to show up in water if anything fell into well.

On 2016-03-29 - by (mod) -

Karen:

Minimum time: 24 hours; longer is better in that you're giving time for bacteria to propagate.

And be sure all chlorine or disinfectant was previously flushed out of the building pipes and water tank.

Standard procedure among well drillers is to sanitize the well any time pipes are pulled and then replaced, as certainly you're laying pipes on the ground (surface bacteria), handling them, installing new parts: none of which is kept in sanitary condition.

Question: Did we test too soon after the shocking? T

(May 23, 2012) Cathy Bankes said:
Our well tested at 103 and we shocked the well. Follow-up test result is 160. The test water was a little cloudy. Did we test too soon after the shocking? Thanks.

Reply:

Cathy:

103 and 160 what?

If you mean bacteria level, both are unsatisfactory and within range of variation if in fact no cure has been effected. Testing "too soon" gives a lower, not a higher bacteria count.

Question: how to test the water when the pump system won't work

(Mar 15, 2014) D Dunn said:
How do I get the well water tested, when there has been freeze damage and it is impossible to operate the system. The lender requires well testing before mortgage approval

Reply:

D Dunn

TO obtain well water testing you can call a local water test lab near your home. Many home inspectors or local health departments also offer that service

But you cannot get a water test sample if the well pump isn't working.

Where I've inspected a home whose water can't be run so can't be tested, my advice, and that which should be offered by the owner's or buyer's attorney, is to either get the well restored to service, shocking and then waiting on the well to be sure the test is valid. If you can't do that you may be able to satisfy a lender by an escrow account that holds potential repair money until the well can be tested.

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Continue reading at WELL CHLORINATION SHOCKING PROCEDURE or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

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• CHEATING ON WATER TESTS
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