Turbidity in well water?

[bgaidan]

Selling my old house and the buyers had the well tested. Cam back high in iron - .3ppm over the limit, and turbidity - 13.5 ntu and the limit is 1 ntu.

Now the kicker is, they tested the house bib outside....which doesn't run through the sediment filter or water softener. They're supposed to be coming back to take another sample inside.

I'm fairly sure the softener will take care of the iron as it's well within the treatable range, but I'm not really sure if the sediment filter and/or softener will reduce the turbidity enough. I've always run a 35 micron "yarn" filter in it, but can drop in a 5 micron charcoal cartridge if it'd help.


Anyone dealt with it lately? Will a typical cartridge filter reduce turbidity that much?

 

[Sceep]

Had to look it up.
""Turbidity is the measure of relative clarity of a liquid. It is an optical characteristic of water and is a measurement of the amount of light that is scattered by material in the water when a light is shined through the water sample. The higher the intensity of scattered light, the higher the turbidity."

You wouldn't likely find a well in NM that would pass any type of clarification test.

My parents house original well that I grew up on looked like 2% milk.

WGAF, I know.

 

[rugger]

A cartridge filter will definitely help. It won't matter if it's charcoal or not. You can take it down to 5 micron or even 1 micron. I'd probably put in a 5 and hope for the best.

 

[bgaidan]

A cartridge filter will definitely help. It won't matter if it's charcoal or not. You can take it down to 5 micron or even 1 micron. I'd probably put in a 5 and hope for the best.

I think that's the plan. I don't think a 1 micron would last very long, but a 5 has a chance. I'm even going to be extra nice and just ordered a spin down filter so the high dollar 5 micron filters will last longer.

 

[bgaidan]

Had to look it up.
""Turbidity is the measure of relative clarity of a liquid. It is an optical characteristic of water and is a measurement of the amount of light that is scattered by material in the water when a light is shined through the water sample. The higher the intensity of scattered light, the higher the turbidity."

You wouldn't likely find a well in NM that would pass any type of clarification test.

My parents house original well that I grew up on looked like 2% milk.

WGAF, I know.

That's what funny, there's no noticeable cloudiness or anything in the house so maybe the filter IS working fine.

 

[[486]]

in before they find out they can come back at you for the next decade if the septic becomes a "failing system"
around here it's something like 8 yrs that that one can bite you for

 

[det107]

Drinkable Iron?? Don't the Russians consume it at home

 

[bgaidan]

;n321764]in before they find out they can come back at you for the next decade if the septic becomes a "failing system"
around here it's something like 8 yrs that that one can bite you for

Not in NC. It's not even required to be inspected here.


I didn't have the ones at my new place inspected because I knew the seller wasn't going to drop the price and I didn't want to know!

 

[Tiha]

Turbidity can be caused by air in the water.

as mentioned a 1 micron filter is best for drinking water, but will not handle the whole house.

And yes softener should take care of all that. Make sure your softner doesn't regen right before the sample. If it has a couple days on it that will help filter better.

 

[Clb]

Cartridge filters are gunna need to be HUGE to last....
Think 20" kuno big blue ch x4 a yr. Minimum.
What depth filter ya using?
Softener will handle but so much iron before the media bed dies.

Try a super chlorine dose and big flush a week prior?
Not a big help on the problem but will clean the existing deposits out so there is room for the shit to settle into hiding some of it....

 

[aquad00d]

Any whole-house filter unit should take care if it. 13.5 ntu is relatively high. What is the water level in your well? You may have an issue with runoff which is causing this, but can be fixed.

 

[DozerDan82]

;n321764]in before they find out they can come back at you for the next decade if the septic becomes a "failing system"
around here it's something like 8 yrs that that one can bite you for

That is crazy- I could see a year or 18m, but 8 years. Hell who knows what the 'new' owners are doing to it in that time.

 

[Muckin_Slusher]

Selling my old house and the buyers had the well tested. Cam back high in iron - .3ppm over the limit, and turbidity - 13.5 ntu and the limit is 1 ntu.

Now the kicker is, they tested the house bib outside....which doesn't run through the sediment filter or water softener. They're supposed to be coming back to take another sample inside.

I'm fairly sure the softener will take care of the iron as it's well within the treatable range, but I'm not really sure if the sediment filter and/or softener will reduce the turbidity enough. I've always run a 35 micron "yarn" filter in it, but can drop in a 5 micron charcoal cartridge if it'd help.


Anyone dealt with it lately? Will a typical cartridge filter reduce turbidity that much?

???

Yeah, of course they tested at the bib outside. If you're testing the water from a well, you're testing the water from THE WELL. Who gives a shit what the water is like after filtering, UV conditioning and reverse-osmosising.

 

[Lilyota]

13+


I would make em check calibration on their turbidameter.

 

[Archer]

???

Yeah, of course they tested at the bib outside. If you're testing the water from a well, you're testing the water from THE WELL. Who gives a shit what the water is like after filtering, UV conditioning and reverse-osmosising.

Because if you can only accept raw water that falls within all the parameters you won't be selling many houses. An inspection of the entire system including water treatment equipment is usually performed at the same time as water samples are taken. If the raw water falls above any of the acceptable levels it's gonna need treatment, if it already exists why wouldn't you test after the equipment?

 

[Ransil]

I run 50 micron,everything else plugs up fast.
put a 1 in there and back flush the softener before they show up.

 

[M92PV4U]

So is the issue the water turning orange because of the iron content after the sample sits for a while?

 

[aczlan]

Some information re NC's water treatment facilities that may or may not be useful:

Specific performance goals for NC’s surface water treatment facilities are:
Sedimentation/Clarification• Settled water turbidity of less than 2 NTU 95 percent of the time where average annual raw water turbidity is greater than 10 NTU.
Settled water turbidity of less than 1 NTU 95 percent of the time where average annual raw water turbidity is less than or equal to 10 NTU.

I would be inclined to open up the outside faucet and let it run for 10 mins before they come back (to make sure there isn't anything that has settled there over time). I would also force a cycle of the softener 1-2 days before they come back so anything loosened by the backwash has time to settle.

Aaron Z

 

[Muckin_Slusher]

Because if you can only accept raw water that falls within all the parameters you won't be selling many houses. An inspection of the entire system including water treatment equipment is usually performed at the same time as water samples are taken. If the raw water falls above any of the acceptable levels it's gonna need treatment, if it already exists why wouldn't you test after the equipment?

Well, I would be testing both I suppose.

Personally I am a lot more interested in the quality of the water coming out of the ground as that would dictate what my future expenses will be making that water potable. Testing the water after would tell me if the water treatment stuff is currently working. A test solely of the treated water, without a test of the raw water wouldn't tell me the raw water quality, or the effectiveness of the treatment equipment.

 

[aczlan]

Well, I would be testing both I suppose.

Personally I am a lot more interested in the quality of the water coming out of the ground as that would dictate what my future expenses will be making that water potable. Testing the water after would tell me if the water treatment stuff is currently working. A test solely of the treated water, without a test of the raw water wouldn't tell me the raw water quality, or the effectiveness of the treatment equipment.

Exactly, one would want to know if the water coming out of the ground was treatable and if the treatment system is working properly.
However, applying treated water standards (ie: 1 NTU of turbidity) to untreated well water is asking for it to fail (especially when its known to be bad enough to need treatment).

Aaron Z

 

[bgaidan]

Turbidity can be caused by air in the water.

as mentioned a 1 micron filter is best for drinking water, but will not handle the whole house.

And yes softener should take care of all that. Make sure your softner doesn't regen right before the sample. If it has a couple days on it that will help filter better.

I wouldn't think air would hang around long enough to show up in a lab test.


I regen'd the softener over the weekend because it was pretty much out of salt. I went by today and threw in a 5 micron filter and ran the faucet for about a half hour. Hopefully that'll be enough.

Any whole-house filter unit should take care if it. 13.5 ntu is relatively high. What is the water level in your well? You may have an issue with runoff which is causing this, but can be fixed.

I can't remember the levels. Wells are relatively deep in the general area. I think it's like 380' and the static level wasn't super high. But this has been a ridiculously wet year and now you have me wondering the level has raised and it's washing in some shit.

I've always had moderate sediment since I've owned it. The filter would have a good inch of green granite sand in the bowl after about 3 months....which was about when I notice the flow was getting low and it was time to change the filter.

???

Yeah, of course they tested at the bib outside. If you're testing the water from a well, you're testing the water from THE WELL. Who gives a shit what the water is like after filtering, UV conditioning and reverse-osmosising.

Yer dum.

So is the issue the water turning orange because of the iron content after the sample sits for a while?

That's the thing, I've never seen any signs of iron. No staining or anything. It's only .61ppm, which really isn't high.

The only signs I've seen are a little hard water or calcium on the shower head and glass door.

13+


I would make em check calibration on their turbidameter.

Fuckin' A. Guess what I have sitting on the shelf in my shop? Can't even remember where I got this. Probably bought it at work for a job and obviously never used it - still has the original unopened batteries under it and calibration bottles!

Time to RTFM and figure out how to use it. I actually pulled a sample from the faucet and hose bib today. Neither had any visible signs, but we're about to find out.

 

[Muckin_Slusher]

Yer dum.

Sure am.

Educate me.

I've never had to deal with wells, and know nothing about them.

 

[bgaidan]

Sure am.

Educate me.

I've never had to deal with wells, and know nothing about them.

If you're on city water and wanted to test the quality of the water coming in to your house would you test it at the tap or would you drive out to the reservoir and sample it there?

 

[billdacat]

I run 50 micron,everything else plugs up fast.
put a 1 in there and back flush the softener before they show up.

How often do you need to back-flush your filter. I am on "city" water; but it is full of dust/mud. Shit shows up heavy in my undercabinet filters within a month. I am getting ready to install a water softener, with a 50micron filter to catch the crap before it hits the softener. Tossed out an undercabinet RO filter over a year ago because of the shit water.

 

[bgaidan]

Well this is interesting. The first one is the one I labeled as "inside" and the second is "hose bib".

I'm hoping I got my labels backwards.

Of course the calibration standards in the box were unopened, but also expired in 2016, so....meh?

 

[bgaidan]

How often do you need to back-flush your filter. I am on "city" water; but it is full of dust/mud. Shit shows up heavy in my undercabinet filters within a month. I am getting ready to install a water softener, with a 50micron filter to catch the crap before it hits the softener. Tossed out an undercabinet RO filter over a year ago because of the shit water.

50 micron is pretty big. I just ordered a 50 micron spin down filter to try to catch the big stuff and prolong the life of the sediment filter. My new place has a pair of spin downs in series an they seem to catch the heavier sand fairly well. Just blast them in to a little bucket ever few weeks...no changing filters.

 

[Archer]

Well, I would be testing both I suppose.

Personally I am a lot more interested in the quality of the water coming out of the ground as that would dictate what my future expenses will be making that water potable. Testing the water after would tell me if the water treatment stuff is currently working. A test solely of the treated water, without a test of the raw water wouldn't tell me the raw water quality, or the effectiveness of the treatment equipment.

Not saying I don't agree and if I was purchasing the home I would test both but that is on the buyer and, atleast in Pa., is not required.

 

[bgaidan]

Not saying I don't agree and if I was purchasing the home I would test both but that is on the buyer and, atleast in Pa., is not required.

They are welcome to test wherever they want, but my problem is they were demanding that I address the "problems" and provide them with a passing test. I demanded that they provide a valid test so we know where we're starting. They're pulling a new sample tomorrow.

 

[Clb]

502 anyone?

 

[M92PV4U]

Can we just see pictures of the samples? I've never seen this done before, I would like to know if the water has a noticeably different.