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Problems you might encounter with water
One of the most important things you will need in your home is a good, clean water supply.
Depending on where you are located, you may be able to connect to a mains water supply or a group water scheme. These schemes are governed by local authorities and for the most part they meet E.U. guidelines for drinking water. The only problem you are likely to encounter with these schemes is “hard water”. This is due to the fact that there is no E.U. limit on calcium in water.
However there are EU limits on most other minerals for drinking water, e.g. Iron, Manganese and of course, bacteria. If you can get connected to a mains, or a group scheme, then consider yourself lucky as you will probably only need to purchase a water softener.
If there is no mains water in your area, you will have no choice but to bore a well. After the well is bored and the pump is fitted you should sterilise it. Almost all new wells show sings of pollution, but do not be alarmed by this. This is often caused by organic matter (like vegetation) which can fall down during the drilling process.
To sterilise the well get one litre of household bleach such as parazone, mix it with 5 gallons of water and pour it down the well. Leave it there for 24 hours and then pump it off. This may take a few hours. After 10 to 14 days, take a sample and have it tested for bacteria. If the supply is being polluted from the water table below ground it will fail the test, but nine times out of ten it will pass.
At this stage it would also be advisable to take a second sample and have a full chemical analysis carried out by an independent laboratory to see if there are any other problems with the chemical make up of the water. We recommend an independent laboratory because some unscrupulous water treatment companies offer to test water for free and then find non existent problems in order to sell very expensive equipment, which is not needed in the first place. Some of these companies use the “jam jar” test which is nothing short of a scam.
Have a look at this website http://www.watertestscam.org.za/ Beware that there are people out there who have more interest in relieving you of your money than solving your problems.
When you get you test report back you should contact a reputable water treatment company, preferably with a track record to give you a quotation based on the results. You may wish to visit www.aquatreatment.ie for more information. Most problems you are likely to encounter are covered here.
Billy Gorman
Aqua Treatment
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