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PRIVATE WELL DISINFECTION
& WATER SAMPLING
General
Information
You do not want the water you drink, cook with, and wash dishes in to
be contaminated with microorganisms that cause disease. Unsafe water can spread
a number of diseases known as "waterborne" infections - typhoid, cholera and
dysentery, to name a few. All of these illnesses are caused by microorganisms
in the intestines of infected people and animals, who may not always appear to
be sick. Water supplies can be contaminated when the feces (bodily wastes) from
infected individuals are not properly disposed of, and instead seep into
underground water or run off into surface water supplies.
Unfortunately, disease-producing microorganisms are difficult to
detect in water samples - fortunately, coliform bacteria are not hard
to detect.
"Coliforms" are a group of micro-organisms that do not cause disease,
but which are found in the lower intestinal tract of human beings and other
warm-blooded animals. Millions of coliforms are expelled each time a person or
animal defecates. So when coliform organisms are found in a water sample, they
indicate that feces may have contaminated the water and that immediate action
should be taken to stop the contaminations.
When well water shows coliforms, disinfection procedures should be
followed. If a doctor suggests that gastric cramps or chronic diarrhea may have
been caused by contaminated water, well disinfection should be performed
immediately and water samples should be submitted for analysis. In addition,
recently constructed or recently repaired wells must be disinfected to prevent
bacterial growth in the well and in the plumbing system. Well disinfection
procedures are described later.
For some water sources, continuous disinfection equipment should be
installed:
Information about continuous disinfection equipment may be obtained
from local well drillers and plumbing
suppliers.
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