Well Chlorination Diagnostic Q & A

Well Disinfection Procedure for 2-Line Jet Pumps Q&A

Shocking a well with a 2 line jet pump - where do I put in the bleach?

Several readers have asked this question:

How do I add Clorox to purify my well water with a two-line jet pump? This pump has been running since 1964.I have bateria in the water and I have to kill it. (Oct 10, 2011) Joe

How do i shock my jet well? i have very little water and it takes a long time for my well to catch up (Aug 25, 2012) clint

How can I shock my 2 line well when I have no access to the well head? It is under a parking lot. I can not find a vent tube or pipe. (Sept 4, 2012) Don G

Reply:

Joe, you could try inserting bleach into the pump priming chamber, but it would be a repeated process, tedious, and messy. The best approach is to open the well casing top, measure the size of the static head of the well (how much water is in the well when it is at rest) and then put the proper concentration of bleach directly into the well.

By following that procedure you'll also have an opportunity to wash down the well casing interior - a step that may make a big difference in clearing up your bacteria problem.

Search InspectAPedia for "Well shocking procedure" for details on how to do this or see

WELL CHLORINATION SHOCKING PROCEDURE

Clint, shocking a well won't fix a low yield problem. For complete instructions on how to shock a well, search InspectAPedia for "Well Chlorination Procedure: when and how to shock a drinking water well " using the "Ask a Question or Search InspectAPedia" box found just above.

Don,

A plumber may be able to rig up a bleach feed onto the down-line into your 2-line jet pump well, but without access to thte well head you may have no idea of how much static head of water is in the well so the bleach quantity will be either a wild guess, or you'll send bleach down until you smell bleach coming out of a nearby faucet. Don't buy odorless bleach or that aid won't work.

A plumber with pipe locating equipment might be able to find the well head for you - which would be worth locating and then making a car/truck safe access cover to it.

What's the cost to shock a well?

Generally, how much does professionals charge for shocking a well with coliform?

Someone charged me $420, am I robbed? thanks (Aug 14, 2014) Eric

Reply: cost depends on ease of well access

Eric,
$420. would be steep for simply opening an accessible well casing and pouring a proper dose of bleach into a well. But if you add work to find, uncover, open difficult connectors, calculate or determine well depth and static head water volume, thus calculate the proper bleach dose,

then flush and wash down casing sides, possibly returning to flush the bleach out of the system 24 hours later, the amount would not be at all excessive at North American prices. In short, it depends on what work was done.

Q&A on Details of Pouring Bleach Into a Well for Disinfection

Warning that bleach may not mix in very deep wells with a large static head

I followed this guide over the weekend and thought I'd share a comment on something that happened during the procedure that I didn't see mentioned here or was simply an anomaly with my well.

I introduced the bleach around noon on Saturday, followed by a generous amount of water from my hose as advised.

However, I did not detect the odor of bleach until Tuesday. I don't know the weight of bleach versus water but it certainty took some time to get to the pump or tank itself. Is this normal? Is it due to the depth of my well (520ft. shaft depth, 300ft. of water I think)? 8/13/14 Mark

Reply: specific gravity of household bleach

Mark,

Thanks for the helpful comment; we'll keep it for future readers.

Indeed in a very deep well it could take some time for bleach to properly mix in the water inside the casing, especially if the well is deep - and even longer if the mistake is made of dumping in solid chlorine tablets.

A recommended procedure that works if you can get a hose from building water supply back to the well is to recycle water using a garden hose, washing down the casing sides and thus avoiding running out the well while mixing in the bleach. Without adequate bleach concentration and exposure time the well shock procedure may not be effective.

The specific gravity of household bleach by the research I found is typically around 1.16 - where the specific gravity of water is 1 (ignoring temperature variations). So bleach should sink slowly through water, all else being equal.

Do I remove wiring before shocking the well?

Shouldn't the wiring that is packed into the top of the well casing be removed before pouring in the Clorox mixture? (Sept 29, 2014) Anonymous

Reply: Main concern is wetting electrical connectors;

I agree that we do not want to wet electrical components.

When shocking a well by pouring bleach directly into the well, good procedure is to wash down the sides of the well with disinfected well water, both to disinfect the upper section of casing and also to wash off any concentrated bleach that would be on the casing sides or on the well piping where it's above the water level.

The well pump wiring splices are normally at the top of a well into which electrical wires run; lower in the well they must be waterproof;

So yes, if the splices aren't protected from water then pull them aside without disconnecting the wires, then pour in the bleach and complete the wash-down procedure.

Dug Well or Spring Disinfection Q&A

Tip: See DUG WELL CLEANING, DISINFECTION, SANITATION PROTECTION

When & How to Disinfect a Dug Well close to the Winnipeg River

I have a dug well close to the Winnipeg river ( distance to water's edge is from 20 ft. to 0 ft., when the river is high and the top of the well is underwater).

It is in a vertical black plastic culvert, 4 ft. in diameter and approximately 10 feet deep. As the actual volume of water in the well varies, I need to know what would be the safe ratio of chlorine to well water to shock the well which was submerged for much of the summer.

I can measure the current water depth, as the well has a removable screw-on plastic cap. I also have a Triplex UV water treatment system on the water line between the in-home pump/pressure tank and the house water supply.

I intend to replace the filters during this process. What would be the best point in time to do that? (Oct 6, 2014) Ted

Reply:

Ted,

A well that is flooded is at extra risk of contamination from anything in the floodwaters: sewage, chemicals, salts, etc.

WELL CHLORINATION & DISINFECTION answers your question of how much bleach to use to sanitize the well - but that will NOT address any chemical contaminants that may be entering the water system. I would not consume water from such a flooded well before having the water tested to determine if other water sanitation and treatment steps are needed to provide safe drinking water.

UV treatment addresses bacteria, not other contaminants.

After shocking the well and flushing the piping system you'd replace filters.

Coliform found in my "spring well" water supply

I’m purchasing a home and after doing a water test, I’ve discovered high Coliform levels.

My first reaction was to have the spring well directly tested but it seems to be fine. I know the home has sat for approximately a year without water running so I’m guessing it’s coming from my pipes. Any thoughts on how to fix/manage this? - On 2018-10-08 by Nicole

by (mod) - it is not possible to assure that the spring water is always safe and potable

Nicole

Because spring water sources are normally going to include surface runoff it is not possible to assure that the spring water is always safe and potable

If that's going to be your primary water source you might want to plan on installing a water treatment system and you certainly would want to test the water frequently.

Watch out: Be sure to read SPRINGS as WATER SUPPLY 

Is it ok to wait days after shocking a well before flushing out chlorine

I am planning to go out of town for a week. If I shock the well before I leave is that time frame too much until I return home to flush it out? (Aug 22, 2014) Anonymous

Reply: OK except be careful about long exposure to rubber or plastic components

Good question:

If you shock to the recommended concentrations you're probably OK

What I'm thinking about (worried) is the mistake of leaving high concentration bleach in contact with any rubber or plastic components too long.

Chlorine is quite volatile and tends to leave water in which it's dissolved, but in an enclosed system its effects may remain for a longer time than one would think.

 

Problems With Bleach or Bleach Smell in Well Water After Chlorination

Watch out: remaining bleach after well sterilization might be a health concern: too-high a concentration may be unsafe to drink (boiling the water may help drive off chlorine), and doing laundry with high-chlorine water may bleach clothing that you'd prefer to have left alone.

Flush out the water until you don't smell chlorine and read through the Q&A's below for more details.

How do I get rid of chlorine in well water after shocking the well?

We shocked the well, it was 425 ft deep so we used 1 1/2 gal of bleach, it did not smell right away like it said. ran water in house for about 20 min and nothing, let set over night and then ran hose to recycle water. then we started smelling so we let it set again.

When flushing out we ran directly from where water enters home to outside plus rand faucets to clear out. Still strong chlorine, when I test it is orange when chlorine tester only has yellow.

We do get a lot of sediment from our well, ( brown Water) if used a lot. Any Idea how much longer it will be to clear out. Getting tired of having chlorine showers and smelling it all day long. - P.D., property manager, Harrisburg PA 8/27/2013

Reply:

IF (and this is not quite the case) your 425 ft. well were completely full of water and assuming it's a 6-inch casing, that's about 640 gallons of water in the well, plus additional water volume in the piping system.

According to CHLORINATION WELL SHOCKING PROCEDURE

1.5 gallons of household bleach was a stronger concentration than needed (1 gallon would treat about 500 ft. of water in a 6-inch well casing). Considering that if your well's total depth was just 425 ft. and that most likely the static head of water in that well was less than 425 feet total, the well was overdosed.

Overdosing with chlorine can indeed make for some extra trouble in flushing out the chlorine or bleach later.

Flushing out the well needs to run more than that volume, however, since you cannot by running water just draw out the static water that was treated with bleach; rather, water running into the well dilutes the bleached-water already therein;

You'll need to use water for several days to fully flush out the chlorine bleach; the exact volume and rate of flush-out also depends on the flow rate of the well.

Further, as you've run chlorinated water into a water pressure tank and water heater tank, those too need to be flushed, or simply drained and refilled - a step that can speed the flushout procedure. Try that and keep me posted.

Reader follow-up:

I believe [the chlorine concentration in our well water] is at 10ppm  

Reply:

The maximum residual disinfectant level goal (MRDLG) and also the maximum residual disinfectant level (MRDL) set by the U.S. EPA for chlorine in drinking water is

4.0 mg/L or 4 ppm or 4.0 mg/L or 4 ppm as an annual average respectively. [1]

I would - shut off water to the building, drain the water heater tank and pump pressure tank, run water outside - straight from the well via an outdoor faucet - and check the chlorine level there. That will help sort out chlorine remaining in the well water supply from chlorine that may have been left in water tanks and piping in the building.

If bleach was introduced into the well by pouring it directly into the well casing, it might help the flush-out procedure if you used a garden hose to recirculate some of the well water back to the well, using it to wash down the casing sides and center piping before continuing with the actual flush-out of the well itself.

Keep me posted; send along photos of your well equipment, tanks &c as that may permit further comment.

Citation on limits of chlorine in drinking water:

• [1] US EPA, "Water: Basic Information about Regulated Drinking Water Contaminants", retrieved 8/27/2013, original source http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/basicinformation/disinfectants.cfm
• [1a] DRINKING WATER FROM HOUSEHOLD WELLS - PDF, U.S. EPA, Original source last retrieved 2/13/2013, original source: http://www.epa.gov/privatewells/pdfs/household_wells.pdf

Trouble getting rid of bleach in the well

We shocked our 400 ft well 10 days ago, following the exact procedure. We have been flushing the well every day, all day outside of the house, turning it off at night.

We test it every day with a high quality water testing kit. The bleach content is still high, and is not clearing, and the odor is still very strong. Any suggestions? (Oct 5, 2015) wendyk

Reply:

Wendy:

If you used liquid bleach at proper concentration then it should flush out of the well; if you used solid bleach tablets the flush out can be much more difficult - very difficult, though steps to speed tablet dissolution such as injecting a hose into the well bottom to try to speed the process might help.

Try washing down the well casing sides by circulating water through a garden hose to the well casing;

Also you can calculate the volume of water that's in the well casing; running out that volume of water as well as water in the well piping and building water tank and pipes should significantly reduce the remaining bleach level.

It won't immediately remove all bleach as the flow rate of water into the well is a factor; a low flow rate well means that the dilution of bleach-containing water in the well is slowed.

Finally, try turning off the pump and draining your water tank, and turning off your water heater and draining that tank completely; then re-fill the tanks and start anew.

Reader follow-up:

Thank you for your reply. I'm sorry, but I forgot to say it is 780 foot well with a static water level of 400 feet. Yes, we have done everything you suggested. We used 1/4 cup of fast disolving powder and also liquid bleach as recommended for such a deep well. I guess we will continue flushing.

 

We used bleach tablets to disinfect the well, now having trouble getting rid of the bleach

We had our submersible pump pulled and replaced three weeks ago. After replacing the pump, the well service man added a cap full of tablets down the well to disinfect it. He didn't really measure or count the number of tablets, in fact there was a few extra tablets in the bottle, so through them in there also.

Needless to say he way over treated the well. This was three weeks ago and we still have chlorine smell and taste in our water.

I have flushed it outside for hours at different times, as well as in the house. The well man has came back out to house and he thinks some of the tablets may be have not completely dissolved, or the concentrate of the of the chlorine is still on the bottom of the well.

Our well is a strong producing well, at least 20 gallons a minute and the pump is sitting 30 feet off the bottom off the well. Today when he came back out he said he wants me to keep running it and hopefully it will clear up.

The next step may be to have the well air blasted, but I am reluctant to do this. I'm thinking maybe we should lower the pump to approximately 5 foot off the bottom of the well and then let it run. I am open to any suggestions as I really don't want to air blast the well if at all possible. (Nov 10, 2015) George

Reply: bleach tablets are not the correct way to disinfect a well, as you've discovered

Try recirculating water thru the well using a garden hose, leave it running 24 hrs or more to try to spreed up dissolution of the tablets. Monitor chlorine level. If it goes up this approach may be working.

Then flush the well.

We used "splashless" bleach to disinfect our well: is that OK?

We accidentally used splash less bleach to shock our well. Didn't realize it until we got foam in the inside facuets. Also ran the hot water faucets because some other web sites said open both hot and cold. Just did this so letting the system sit now. What do we do? Will we damage anything? Thanks On 2018-07-17 20:42:24.854917 by Donna

Answer by (mod) -

Donna

From looking at Clorox's description of splashless bleach, it appears to be a different viscosity bleach to simply splash-less. It should still dissolve properly in water, though it may be extra important to wash down the well casing sides and pipes after pouring this or any bleach directly into a well.

I also didn't see that the usage quantity and thus the strength of the bleach is functionally different from standard bleach.

I did see that it uses a different fragrance - but then you need to wash any bleach out of the water supply system after shocking a well - fragrant or not.

If you used the proper quantity of bleach and if you run bleach through all of the plumbing fixtures you are sanitizing the system and then will flush it out normally.

About running the hot as well as cold water faucets when sanitizing a well or plumbing system, that makes perfect sense - in fact some hot water systems are extra prone to growing bacteria.

The longer the system sits the more-effective is the disinfection. And of course if the bleach-to-water mix ratio is wrong (too weak) the whole treatment will be ineffective no matter how much wait time is allowed.

Watch out: WHEN you run bleach solution INTO a tank type water heater, like an electric, oil, or gas water heater that has an actual storage tank (that is I am excluding tankless coils and demand water heaters), THEN flushing the bleach OUT of the tank can be troublesome and take some time.

We can have the same trouble when chlorinated bleach-water enters a water pressure tank.

If you have trouble flushing the system to get all of the bleach and fragrance OUT of the system you may need to empty those tanks and then re-fill them.

Effect of chlorine on the water pump during chlorination?

What is the effect of chlorine on the pumping machine inside the well during chlorination 2016/03/17 Rotimi Jacobs

Reply:

Rotimi

At the recommended concentrations of disinfectant when shocking a well, I've not read of damage to the water pump from the chlorine.

 

We used lemon-scented bleach to shock or chlorinate a well - now what?

What happens if you use lemon scented bleach? I did not realize that I should only use non-scented. Linda

Reply:

I don't know, Linda but I suspect you'll have a bit of extra purging to get rid of both bleach and lemon scent in your water.

"Some chlorine may persist in the system for 7–10 days. Water with a slight chlorine smell should be usable for most purposes. If the odor or taste is objectionable, simply let the water run until the chlorine dissipates." - Wright (1997)

If the scent is gone and your water test finds no remaining bleach, my OPINION is there is probably no measurable-hazard remaining.

Scented products can be a particular hazard for asthamtics, people with multiple chemical sensitivity, and similar conditions. The example MSDS sheets we retrieved for lemon bleach or lemon-scented bleach describe the product in overview as not hazardous but do give various precautions, some of which we excerpt below. Keep in mind that the MSDS documents refer to the bleach product itself, not its properties when it has been dissolved in well water.

References on Using Lemon Scented Bleach when Chlorinating a Well: Lemon-Scented Bleach Hazards?

• Ingber, Arieh, Bente Gammelgaard, and Michael David. "Detergents and bleaches are sources of chromium contact dermatitis in Israel." Contact Dermatitis 38, no. 2 (1998): 101-104.
• MSDS for Clorox Lemon Scented Bleach, [PDF] (2012) retrieved 2016/03/21, The Clorox Company 1212 Broadway Oakland, CA 94612 Tel. (510) 271-7000, original source: http://www.allfloridapaper.com/wp-content/
  uploads/222072-Clorox-Lemon-Fresh-Bleach1.pdf
  Excerpt:
  Eye irritant. May cause skin irritation. May be harmful if swallowed.
  No medical conditions are known to be aggravated by exposure to this product.
• MSDS for Clorox Lemon Scented Bleach, [PDF] - Australia, retrieved 2016/03/21, original source: http://www.msdsonline.com.au/msds/msdsview.asp?Std=1&ID=c8bfa350-7b8f-460e-a0b4-674a5bccaf1a
  Excerpts:
  
  Ingestion: Immediately rinse mouth with water. Do NOT induce vomiting. Slowly give water to drink. Seek medical assistance.
  
  Inhalation: Inhalation of chlorine gas at 1 ppm will irritate the mouth, nose and throat. Above 1.3 ppm, vapours may cause coughing and difficulty breathing.
  
  Risk of delayed onset of pulmonary oedema (fluid in the lungs).
  
  Regulatory information: Not Classified as Hazardous according to criteria of National Occupational Health & Safety Commission, Australia (NOHSC).
  Not classified as a Scheduled Poison according to the Standard for the Uniform Scheduling of Medicines and Poisons (SUSMP).
• Robertson, Jack. "Building brand equity at the Clorox company." Planning Review 20, no. 5 (1992): 59-61. - discusses the addition of Lemon Scent to bleach
• Wright, Marsha, "Disinfecting a Domestic Well with Shock Chlorination", [PDF] Cooperative Extension Service, College of Agriculture & Home Economics, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces NM, 1997 retrieved 2016/03/21, original source: www.aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_m/M115.pdf - advises against using lemon scented bleach but does not say why.

We put too much chlorine bleach into the well

Help. I may have overchlorinated my well. (Oct 27, 2014) Anonymous

Reply:

The chlorine will flush out of the well, but if you overdosed with the wrong material, such as chlorine tablets, indeed that will take some time.

If the well is too deep to retrieve the solid tablets (if that's what you did) then recycling water through the well can speed the dissolution, followed by a flushout.

 

Plumber bleached our well due to a bad taste in the water, now we can't get rid of the bleach smell

A plumber bleached our well due to a bad taste in the water. Since then there is a bad bleach smell and taste and a soapy foam in the water.

We have run the water for hours to clear out the bleach smell and taste, both inside the house, the cold and hot water, and outside the house through a hose.

Nothing helps. As a matter of fact, it seems to be worse after running the water. What should we do to correct the problem? On 2017-05-11 by Warren

Answer by (mod) -

Warren:

You may need to drain your water pressure tank and water heater (don't turn the heater back on until it's full of water or it may be destroyed or even dangerous), then flush the plumbing system.

Watch out: if the plumber (a serious mistake n my OPINION) dropped solid chlorine tablets or pool tablets into the well it's much more difficult to flush the well until those are fully dissolved. So find out what she did.

Will bleach-smelling water pass a bacteria test

Can the water test pass inspection if there is still STRONG bleach odor after shocking? (July 21, 2014) magnolia

Reply:

Magnolia

Oh yes your water test will probably pass a bacterial test after shocking and while a strong bleach odor remains,

Watch out: but the test will be improper, possibly illegal or deceptive and may risk the health of future occupants.A proper re-test flushes all bleach from the system and waits several days, preferably a week so that if bacterial contamination remains it can be detected.

If I were collecting a water test sample at a building where I smelled or detected chlorine in the test water (I use a test strip for that purpose) I would not complete the test as it would be improper.

Other Water Quality Problems After Disinfecting a Well

Water leaves black stains after bleaching well, water now brown and cloudy

We just shocked our well. When we started to flush it, the water looked black and is leaving rings around the toilets and dirt in the tub. Why?

We used to have nice clear water, just a little bacteria. :-) It's been two days now and the water is still brownish and cloudy, did we ruin our well? Thanks! (Sept 25, 2012) Teresa

Reply:

Teresa,

Presuming you used a recommended concentration and quantity of bleach to sanitize the well, most likely the well flushing procedure after the bleach treatment was complete has nearly exhausted your well so it's picking up dirt and debris.

But it's also possible that the well casing has been damaged and is dropping dirt into the well, so if the problem doesn't clear up in a day or two I'd ask for a well bore inspection using a camera designed for that purpose.

See WELL BORE CAMERA SYSTEMS

 

We had our well sanitized but the water is still green: is it safe to drink?

We moved into a house and the owners hadn’t done any maintenance on the well in a couple years, so we had it sanitized. It’s been a couple days, the chlorine/bleach smell is gone but our water is still slightly green.

I’m guessing this is biomass still coming free from the system. I’ve flushed the system at least 3-5 times. Is my water safe to use/drink? On 2022-12-17 by Dennis

by InspectApedia (Editor) - green water drinking safety?

@Dennis,

Thank you for the "green water drinking safety" question.

I won't bet your health and safety on guessing when we have not a shred of information about your water supply and its chemistry.

Greenish tint in water might be from algae, from copper oxidation or corrosion products (including from new copper plumbing).

I don't assume that the green is what you're calling biomass.

My advice is to take a water sample to your local water testing lab and ask them what tests are appropriate for "green-tinted water" or what packaged collection of tests they recommend.

Bacteria testing, alone, such as you might have had performed when you purchased your home, does not detect any other sorts of water contaminants.

This COLOR OF WATER FACT SHEET [PDF] from the California State Water Resources Control Board may be of help

There are also some less common causes of greenish stuff in water, such as aluminum hydroxide - as discussed at this

ALUMINUM HYDROXIDE in WATER - AO SMITH TECHNICAL BULLETIN

We poured 2 gallons of bleach into the well - still have orange water

Hi okay so we've always had really orange water, 2 months ago we got a new softener and the water was great!. That only lasted a few weeks, we thought maybe something caused a bacteria bloom but it wasn't going away,

so about 3 weeks ago we poured 2 gallons of bleach into our well let it sit for a few hours ran the faucets till we smelled it then let it sit again for a few hours, and then ran faucets till we no longer smelled it which took a whole day.

The water clear and felt great in the shower, well starting last week the orange water and iron smell is back full force, it seems to come out clearish but if let to sit it turns really orange ... What is going on? What do we do now? On 2021-06-16 by Hillary Middleton

by mak.church (mod) - orange water and iron smell is back

@Hillary Middleton, You need to start by having your water tested to ensure that the red stain is coming from the water source and not from algae or bacteria in any of your water treatment equipment.

If the stain is from the water source, then when the type of material is identified, such as iron, we will know what treatment is needed.

The stain could be iron, algae, bacteria, mud, or something else.

Let us know if you have additional questions and we'll be interested in hearing the outcome of your testing.

Watch out: using an arbitrary volume of bleach has little chance of success even if that was the right treatment for your well.

If your water test lab agrees that shocking the well is what's needed, see WELL CHLORINATION SHOCKING PROCEDURE

Persistent fine air bubbles in water supply weeks after our well was shocked

We had our well shocked two weeks ago. There is no smell of bleach and chlorine now has tested negative. We have a submersible pump that is only 3 years old along with our water softener system.

Now our water from all our taps is cloudy and there are bubbles in it. It clears quickly in a glass and there isn't any sediments at the bottom. What could cause this and how do I clear this. It's has never been like this. On 2022-07-21 by diane

by InspectApedia-911 (mod) -

I find air bubbles in the water supply is not likely to have anything directly to do with having shocked the well unless the shocking process left a leaky pipe connection somewhere.

Please read this article where we explain the causes of air bubbles in the water supply

AIR DISCHARGE at FAUCETS, FIXTURES

There you will see that we have several articles on this topic including the cause of fine air bubbles in hot water, air discharge at fixtures in general, and ways to cure the problem.

If you notice that the fine air bubbles are particularly present in the hot water supply you could go directly to this article:\ AIR DISCHARGE from HOT WATER 

What causes & how do I get rid of murky water after well chlorination

Sister's well treated was treated with cholerine. Now there's a smell in house, and the water is murky. How long should it take to clear up. When will it be safe to drink ? (Mar 7, 2015) bob

Reply: safe to drink when no more bleach odor is in the water and it passes a well potability test

Bob, shocking the well does not address suspended solids or murkiness. I'd have the water tested to see what's going on.

The purpose of shock disinfection of a well system is to destroy bacterial contamination present in the well system at the time of disinfection and is not intended to kill bacteria that might be introduced at a later time.

Our photo shows an owner who has lifted the loose, poorly-sealed well piping and cap right off of the steel well casing. This well needed repairs and it needed to be sterilized using the well chlorination procedure we discuss here.

Therefore it is vital that the well be constructed so that no new contamination may enter the well following completion of the shock disinfection.

In order to achieve a satisfactory disinfection of the system, the bacteria must be brought in contact with a chlorine solution of sufficient strength and remain in contact with that solution for a sufficient time to achieve a complete kill of all bacteria and other microorganisms.

 

We have thick orange water after shocking well - rust? mud?

I just shocked my 400ft deep well with a litre of bleach and thick orange water came out in the toilet for 3 days. It was enough to clogg the filters so I bypassed them. The water is slowly getting clearer. Could this be rust. There is very low iron content on my water before. (July 21, 2015) John

Reply:

I agree that sounds odd. Could the shocking procedure have distrubed rust on the casing interior or on or in building piping or water tanks? Or was so much water run to flush out the bleach that we ran the water level so low in the well that we picked up debris and silt?

Also: the 400 ft depth is not the important number - what's important is the actual volume of water in the well - the static head. That's how you determine the proper amount of bleach to use.

 

We have foamy water after shocking / chlorinating the well

Every time we chlorinate our well, upon running out the treated water we get foamy water, for days.

Fill a sink, get inches of foam that looks just like soap suds.

Turn off water, you can hear the fizz of bubbles popping, but still lots of small bubbles on surface even after 10 minutes.

Running an outside faucet into a bucket, foam built up like something alive , cascaded over side of bucket onto ground and held its shape till water turned off. What is this? (Nov 13, 2015) tracy

Reply:

I don't know, though detergents can cause foaming; most-likely but you are describing a chemical reaction, perhaps between lime deposits - hard water - and an acid, perhaps formed as you treat the water.

Try having the water tested for hardness, minerals, pH

Lost water then water color is yellow, is running the yellow water for 5 minutes sufficient to make it safe?

I live in a development with 33 other homes sharing the same well. Last week we lost power for 4 hours but when it came back on we had no water. We were without water for 14 hours. The water is yellow and I was told to run my water for 5 minutes and it should clear up. I did that, but it did not help.

So,my question is as follows
"By me running my water for 5 minutes how will it help when we all share the same well?" (June 18, 2014) Anonymous

Reply:

Anon, I think the person giving the advice you cite figures that when a water supply stops flowing, sits, then re-starts, sometimes the process stirs up debris in the system tanks, ping, or in the well itself. If the debris is just a temporary anomaly it should be flushed out by use. More tha 5 minutes may be needed.

On a community water system of your size, regular water quality testing is required. You might ask to see the results.

Certainly if flushing the system of yellow water for 5 minutes leaves you still seeing yellow water then flushing was not a cure for anything.