When the owners try to acquire a personal source of water supply in their own country house for lack of a central water supply system, the first question is whether there is any water under the site and how to raise it to the surface. On the taste qualities begin to think only after the well is drilled. After all, you never know what can get into the aquifer: effluents of enterprises or farms, heavy metals, etc. Therefore, before using the source, it is necessary to analyze the water from the well. And only after waiting for the conclusions of the sanitary and epidemiological station, they decide whether this water needs any additional treatment system.
Sample water delivery: how to get the right results?
The final test result will depend on the correct sampling. You can’t just pick up liquid from a pipe or tap and transfer it to the appropriate institution. It’s good if the employees of the sanitary and epidemiological station ask how you got the water and send you recommendations for a new portion. But it may happen that your container will be accepted without question and based on this they will conduct a complete analysis. Not only will it not be true, but you will also begin to deal with non-existent pollution problems. Although the main problem is in the wrong sampling. To avoid such incidents, adhere to the following water intake rules:
- It is impossible to take metal flasks for a container. Only glass and food grade plastic are allowed.
- Bottles can be used ear, but only from mineral water. Containers are not suitable for drinks, because in their production they use stable dyes and preservatives that can settle on the inner walls and cannot be washed off even after rinsing with boiling water.
- The maximum volume of containers is not more than one and a half liters.
- The bottle is pre-rinsed several times with hot water (glass-boiled water), and the last time it is washed with tap water, which you will take for analysis. In this case, it is forbidden to use any chemical cleaners, even soda, because they can not be washed and change the result of the samples.
- Before taking the sample, let the water drain for 20 minutes. Thus, you eliminate possible stagnation in the pipes and at the same time get rid of metal particles (if you have an iron pipeline).
- To prevent excess oxygen from causing water to enter the bottle, causing adverse chemical reactions, turn on the tap very weakly. Let the liquid drain as slowly as possible, in a thin stream.
- The container is filled "under the throat." When you close the cork, it is necessary that the water even poured out a little. Thus, you will get rid of the rest of the air inside.
- The prepared bottle is tightly wrapped in a bag that is impervious to light and taken for delivery within the next three hours. If you are in the country, and today was a day off, then in the same package, the container should be hidden in the refrigerator and kept there until delivery, but no more than two days.
The owners of a freshly dug well must pass such an analysis of water, and those who already use the source, once every 2 g. But if you notice that the well has begun to supply muddy water or there are extraneous flavors, be sure to send the fluid for analysis, regardless of Moreover, two years have passed or not. Sewerage or industrial discharges entering groundwater can cause poisoning.
Even clear-looking water can be unsafe for health, because it absorbs everything that enters the soil or is contained in the layers of the earth
Signs of poor-quality water and methods for their elimination
Deterioration in water quality can be seen by external signs. It is they who should alert the owners, and even at the first appearance of "troubles" one should not drink raw water. Based on a visual inspection, you can find out what is to blame for the deterioration of water quality, and take some steps to clean it.
Here is a list of the most common signs of pollution:
- The smell of spoiled eggs is clearly audible in the water. The reason is the penetration of hydrogen sulfide into the well. Such a liquid is hazardous to health!
- In transparent dishes or white ceramics, the yellowness of water is noticeable. Sinks and a toilet bowl quickly become covered in places of a stack by a raid of rust. The reason is the presence of a large amount of iron in the aquifer. Such water is suitable for drinking, but after boiling. True, the taste of metal will be felt in it.
- A cloudy precipitate gradually settling to the bottom of the dishes. The reason is that the walls of the well are silted up or the strainer is clogged. It happens that the vibration-type pump, which lifts the liquid to the surface, is also to blame for the turbidity. It is not recommended to be used, because during vibration, the casing walls are destroyed. Another reason - washed gravel dump.
Consider how you can purify water from a well, depending on the cause of contamination.
Struggle with iron: we put special filters
Iron may be present in the well in five different compounds. The task of water deferrization is to cause such oxidative reactions, during which the metal will precipitate as a solid precipitate and can be filtered out of the system.
Excess iron stains water yellow, and if the liquid stays in the dishes, traces of rust will form on the walls
Nothing can be done inside the well. Therefore, special filters are placed at the inlet of the pipeline into the house, the inner walls of which are coated with an oxidizing composition. When water passes through the filter, the iron reacts, turns into solid particles and precipitates there. Naturally, such filters require frequent cleaning and replacement, otherwise the cleaning level will be worse every time.
Installation for iron removal of water is placed in the utility rooms immediately at the inlet of the pipeline into the house and requires a systematic cleaning of the filter from sediment
Removing rotten egg odor: neutralizing hydrogen sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide can form in the casing for several reasons. Sulfur bacteria can secrete it as a result of vital activity. The reason may be rock (sulphide ore), in which a well is punched, and particles of which penetrate through the sealed joints of the casing pipes. And the third option - such a smell can give compounds of manganese present in water. Only after laboratory research should you decide how to get rid of the problem. Carbon filters are best suited to eliminate sulfur bacteria at home. They will adsorb all impurities and neutralize toxic compounds harmful to humans. If the reason is the depressurization of the joints, then it will be necessary to reconstruct the well.
The main adsorbent in charcoal filters for water treatment is charcoal, known for its ability to absorb impurities contained in liquids
Organic water contamination: well disinfection methods
If bacteria are brought into the well caused by organic matter entering the column, then complete disinfection is required first, and then water purification from the well is required. Most often disinfected with chlorine. But you need to be careful with it, because chlorine in large doses causes poisoning. It is better to invite a specialist of the sanitary and epidemiological station who knows exactly how many grams of the drug is required for your volume of water in the well. After chlorination, the water is pumped out several times until the smell disappears. A safer option for sterilization is with active oxygen or ultraviolet light. Active oxygen is often used in public pools, because it is harmless to swimmers. You can find it in stores offering equipment and tools for swimming pool care. UV cleaning is based on the ability of these rays to kill organic impurities.
Solving all pollution problems in one fell swoop
A more profitable (but also expensive!) Option is to install a system called reverse osmosis. It is able to purify water from all types of contaminants except hydrogen sulfide. The kit includes several filters and a protective membrane, on which all debris settles out of the passing fluid. Dirt is discharged into the sewer, and potable water is supplied to the tap.
Reverse osmosis includes several filter elements, each of which eliminates specific impurities, and a membrane that retains everything that is larger than a water molecule
By the way, if your aquifer supplies water with a high content of salts or nitrates, then reverse osmosis is the only way to solve this problem.
Important! Some experts do not recommend drinking water purified by reverse osmosis daily, as it is devoid of not only harmful, but also all useful substances, i.e. sterile. They recommend solving the water problems pointwise by installing filters that neutralize a particular pollution: bacteria, iron, salts, etc. Such systems purposefully filter, without "picking up useful microelements along the way."
Maintaining water quality is also facilitated by regular cleaning of the well itself. Do not allow it to rinse with sand and silt, and try to regularly update the water in the pipes whenever possible. If you live in the country only in the summer, then at least once a month, come to release the stagnant liquid.
