Water Well Maintenance - How To Care For Your Water Well System

• Disinfect your water system when you install a water well. Disinfect again when you have a pump installed or at any point in time wherein you had your system opened up for repairs. Should you not need to add anything or do repairs from the first time your water system was installed, schedule for disinfection twice a year. Always follow your disinfection treatments with a water test to guarantee the success of the process.

• If you have a flowing well, cap it so you don't waste water. Not to mention that water flowing means your water well is working. Much like anything, an overworking water well may lead to more wear-and-tear than it should have. And more wear-and-tear means more well water maintenance work for you. Practice other forms of water conservation as well.

• Keep contaminates that can potentially affect your water well at a safe distance of at least 30 meters or 100 feet away. Contaminates can seep through groundwater and water wells utilize groundwater so you're looking at wrecking your entire well water system should you have a contamination.

• If you're using a septic tank, make sure that you have it pumped out every three years and routinely check to see to it that it is not failing. Some of the signs of a failing septic tank you have to watch out for include slow drainage, unpleasant smells, soggy soil, lush growth where your drain field is, and sewage coming up in nearby ditches and on lawns.

• To help avoid overworking septic tanks and cause them to fail and potentially contaminate your water system, eliminate or at least reduce the use of materials that are toxic inside and outside your home, like pesticides, herbicides, and household cleansers. You can also make the switch to phosphate-free dishwashing soap or use compost as fertilizer. If you're dealing with mild cleaning, opt for natural alternatives like vinegar, baking soda, and pure soap.

How groundwater contamination happens

Part of understanding why water well maintenance is important may be to understand how the contamination of groundwater happens. Primarily, contamination happens when undesirable substances reach the groundwater at concentrations that are deemed toxic for use.

The introduction of undesirable substances into the groundwater can happen via natural occurrences but human activities are still liable for a great deal more of contamination that happen every day. Since your water well is connected as well to other water wells via the area aquifer, it is important then that you think of maintenance work as not only taking care of your concerns but those as well of your neighbors.

If your neighbors think the same way, then everyone would have taken care of each other and there is a higher chance that groundwater contamination will be avoided. You just have to deal with regular maintenance work when that happens. Harsher means of contamination include: chemical spills, road salts, leaking fuel from storage tanks, landfills, and improper disposal and storage of garden chemicals and batteries.