Drilled well damage from 2011 earthquake - murky water

[harvestmoonfarm]

I live in Louisa, VA, about 2 miles from the epicenter of the 2011 earthquake (5.8) in Mineral (we moved here 2 months ago). Many drilled wells in this area received damage due to cracked bedrock, though the house we were living in at the time (5 miles from the epicenter) had no damage to its drilled well.

We noticed when we moved here that the water was murky and contained sediment, to the point that turning on the faucet in the tub in my bathroom revealed a rush of red, muddy water and then it would clear, though the iron smell was awful. Our landlord had a whole-house filtration system installed, but the water is still dirty (not as bad, but bad enough) and we're still getting that instantaneous rush of red, muddy water when we start the bath water, though the iron smell has definitely subsided. What else can we do? Is there a different system/filter we should be using? I'm getting beyond fed up with my whites turning dingy reddish-brown when I wash them, even using bleach, and the fact that our water is obviously not safe to drink.

[goatlady]

Just because the water is discolored and has sediment in it does not equal "unsafe to drink." If you are really concerned have the water tested for contaminents by your local health department. IF there is bacterial contamination the landlord "may" have to drill a new well, depends on the landlord regulations in your state. Otherwise, y ou just have to put up with it or move elsewhere. Not what you want to hear I'm sure but that's life.

[Buffy in Dallas]

Can you set it up to have the water go from the well into a sand filter then a constructed wet land filter for it to go through before it goes into the whole house filter. That's what I would do.

[blooba]

Yea not sure what the whole house filtration system is doing but apparently its not filtering much. First thing I would check is, does the filter need changed?

Maybe its not the right kind of filtration system for what is in your water.

Is it red rust or red clay? there are 2 different treatments depending on which it is.

[harvestmoonfarm]

Originally Posted by blooba

Yea not sure what the whole house filtration system is doing but apparently its not filtering much. First thing I would check is, does the filter need changed?

Maybe its not the right kind of filtration system for what is in your water.

Is it red rust or red clay? there are 2 different treatments depending on which it is.

It's red clay.

As far as the filter being full and needing changed, it's been doing this since the day the system - with a new filter - was installed.

We still use the water for tea, making coffee, etc., but I won't drink it from the tap (not much into drinking dirt), and it's discoloring my white clothes when I wash them. I'm not sure drilling a new well would help due to the amount of damage to the bedrock in this area.

[Harry Chickpea]

Flush the water heater. There is likely sediment in the bottom of it that is contributing to the bath water problem. Also... Is there any possibility that the plumbing was partly done using galvanized gas piping? We have on tub spigot where it was used rather than the proper material.

Almost anything you are going to do will cost some money. The sand filter idea is about the cheapest. Adding a biofilter in front of that might help. What helps us is our cistern. With it being a 1100 gallon tank filled in 500 gallon charges once a week on average, the water has time to settle and the dirt drops out. Adding alum can help, but the water usually doesn't need it.

[simi-steading]

I'd send in a sample and have it tested.. .I'm betting you have more of a Ferric ron issue than a mud issue...

If you look in your toilet tank, so you see any slime? If not, is there the red stuff on the bottom? If there is, pull some out and see if it is gritty or slippery...

[fordy]

Originally Posted by harvestmoonfarm

I live in Louisa, VA, about 2 miles from the epicenter of the 2011 earthquake (5.8) in Mineral (we moved here 2 months ago). Many drilled wells in this area received damage due to cracked bedrock, though the house we were living in at the time (5 miles from the epicenter) had no damage to its drilled well.

We noticed when we moved here that the water was murky and contained sediment, to the point that turning on the faucet in the tub in my bathroom revealed a rush of red, muddy water and then it would clear, though the iron smell was awful. Our landlord had a whole-house filtration system installed, but the water is still dirty (not as bad, but bad enough) and we're still getting that instantaneous rush of red, muddy water when we start the bath water, though the iron smell has definitely subsided. What else can we do? Is there a different system/filter we should be using? I'm getting beyond fed up with my whites turning dingy reddish-brown when I wash them, even using bleach, and the fact that our water is obviously not safe to drink.

...............Check with a well man about raising the pump further up the well bore ! Can't hurt to check . , fordy

[harvestmoonfarm]

Originally Posted by simi-steading

I'd send in a sample and have it tested.. .I'm betting you have more of a Ferric ron issue than a mud issue...

If you look in your toilet tank, so you see any slime? If not, is there the red stuff on the bottom? If there is, pull some out and see if it is gritty or slippery...

The toilet tanks and bowls get a yellow/red slime.

[Darren]

If you have a rust problem, have it tested to find out if you have ferrous and/or ferric.iron. Ferrous is clear. You can have both. Something like Iron Out, which is mostly oxalic acid, can be used for non-colored laundry. Don't add bleach or put stained clothing in the dryer. A good sediment filter should take the mud out if it's mud and not rust. Get one of the big whole house filters to process the water before any other treatment if you have sediment. I like the large, clear canisters like the one shown before. You get more filter area.

[Waterwheel Farm]

A sediment filter doesn't really do much to take the cloudiness out of the water. The particles are so small that if you use a filter fine enough to catch them, it just plugs the filter. I use a filter, but just to catch the bigger stuff. It's possible the piping down inside the well it rusty and every time the pump kicks on it loosens a little up and that's what you're seeing. Replacing the old pipe (if it metal) is about the only option there. You could also have iron bacteria in the well. At my old place the water would run pretty much clear, but it sure would stain my whites, and the toilets and sinks would get rusty really quick. It's harmless, but annoying. It's pretty easy to treat basically by pouring bleach down the well casing. It depends on the depth of the well, etc to determine how much bleach to use, but my well was 165 feet deep, the water was 20 feet from the top of the casing, and I used a large size bleach jug about every 6 months. I still used iron out on my whites tho, cause no matter how clear the water looked, it still made the whites dingy. Sorry! There's all kinds of info on how to treat the well, but basically you pour bleach down the well, run a water hose from an outside spigot back to the well and circulate the water. Once you smell the chlorine smell from your water hose, cut the water off and let it sit for awhile. Open the faucets inside until you smell chlorine also. This treats the piping in the house. Not as big of ordeal as I'm making it sound. But bleach is cheap and it's worth a shot assuming your well casing isn't buried and you have access to it. Even if you don't do the circulating part of it, just pouring it in the well will help. Obviously flush the lines really good after you're done.

[harvestmoonfarm]

This is the first filter and has been in less than a month, just to show you what we're dealing with.

You'll have to get the water tested & spend some money to properly filter it .

[harvestmoonfarm]

Originally Posted by WV Hillbilly

You'll have to get the water tested & spend some money to properly filter it .

We'll have to talk to the landlord; he's the one who'll be spending money

[Zephaniah]

Have a read at

http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/e...nbacteria.html

[agmantoo]

On a very deep well (780 ft) for the area I live in I had a similar occurrence following a tremor. I pumped off the well for 24 hours and the problem subsided significantly. Then overtime the well reverted to being OK again. In you situation it appears to me that the well casing has lost its seal and that water is entering the well by running from outside the casing to the base of the casing and then entering into the well water. If the casing is metal a well driller can possibly drive the casing deeper and seal off entrance of the undesirable water from entering into you water source. PS....does your casing already have a seal, grout/concrete, around the casing near the surface?

[arabian knight]

Originally Posted by harvestmoonfarm

This is the first filter and has been in less than a month, just to show you what we're dealing with.

A paper filter like that is not going to remove iron. You said it gets like that very quickly.
I had a house that had "iron forming bacteria" and had TWO IRON TANKS I rented from a water softener company.
They were something like this.


This one is chemical free I had chemicals inside that one on the right. Potassium Permanganate Took out most of the iron still had some iron get through but a lot better then without such a system

[fishhead]

I would try the bleach and let it sit overnight. If it doesn't clear up after pumping enough to get the bleach smell out I would get someone with a large air compressor to clean the screen. That's done by pushing large amounts of air deep into the well and then turning the air on and off so that the water lifts out of the well when the air is on and then drops back down when the air is cut off. They have to pull the pump and pipe out of the well to do this.

[Darren]

We get the same suggestions every time someone has a problem with the water qualiy from a well. I'll repeat: There are two types of iron plus the possibility of having bacteria that likes iron and makes the problem worse.Adding bleach will do nothing about ferric or ferrous iron.
It will cause ferrous (clear water iron) to precipiate out. Without a test you have no way of knowing what to do. You might as well dunp your money down the well. If all you have is sediment one of the filters with the smallest micron size should take care of that. The picture of the filter doesn't prove anything for sure except something is in the water. Get it tested

[bruce2288]

Agmantoo, may be correct.. Their is also the possibility that the well caseing in cracked or rusted through.