Using well water can be a great option when municipal water is unavailable or cost-prohibitive, but safely using a well requires proper treatment and testing. The best choice for treating a well will vary based on your specific water conditions, but chlorination is a standard method for disinfection. When used in proper doses, chlorine kills most pathogens while remaining safe for drinking.
The CDC recommends a maximum safe chlorine level of 4 parts per million (4ppm), but this does not help to tell you the minimum concentration required to disinfect your water. To accurately determine this, you must test your well water to determine your water's chlorine demand.
How Chlorine Interacts With Water
Chlorine will react with a wide range of substances in your water, including metals and harmless microorganisms. When you add chlorine to your water, a certain amount of the chlorine will be bound up in this way, reducing the amount of chlorine available to disinfect the water continuously. The chlorine concentration left behind after these interactions are known as free chlorine.
Conversely, chlorine demand is how much chlorine your water "uses" before only free chlorine remains. You can think of the chlorine demand as the amount of chlorine that your water soaks up. To properly disinfect your water, you must add enough chlorine to meet the chlorine demand and leave additional free chlorine available for disinfection.
Why Testing Matters for Well Water Treatment
Water treatment is not a one-size-fits-all solution. To safely treat your well water, you should always have the water tested by a professional lab. A lab test will check for the presence of bacteria, iron, manganese, and hydrogen sulfide, all of which can react with your chlorine disinfectant. From these values, you can establish a rough estimate of your water's chlorine demand.
This initial demand estimate acts as a baseline for your water chlorination system. Note that the pH of your water can also impact the effectiveness of chlorine as a disinfectant, so it may be necessary to alter your chlorination level based on how acidic/basic your water happens to be. Once you have established a treatment baseline, you can adjust your chlorine levels by using a free chlorine test.
Safely treating your well water can improve its appearance and taste while also ensuring that it is safe to drink. Taking the time to test your water both before and after establishing your chlorination system will guarantee that your chlorine levels are adequate to disinfect your water thoroughly.
To learn more about home water treatment, reach out to a local water system company.
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