Over 2.5 million Florida residents use a water well as their main household water source. While water wells are an invaluable resource for families looking for cheaper, purified water, well water does not come without its risks. Contaminants can leach into your water source from old pipes and nearby groundwater or leaks, resulting in non-potable water that may have an unsightly color or smell. Well water is considered private property and must be maintained as such; the city does not mandate any regulations or treatments for private well water.

North Florida Water Systems Inc knows how important safe drinking water is to your family. We offer regular water testing services that will ensure your well water is safe to drink and stays that way. Read more to learn about our professional tips regarding water well testing and what the results mean for your family.

Schedule Professional Testing Regularly

Your well water must be tested regularly in order to minimize health risks associated with drinking contaminated water. Our well repair company recommends testing your water at least once a year, depending on the location and condition of your well. Regular testing ensures that any contaminants in your water will be removed before permanent damage is done to your health, pipes, or appliances.

Water testing is not something to skip out on – while commercial tests may be able to detect water hardness and lead levels with accuracy, only professional water testing laboratories are able to detect if there are harmful levels of bacteria infiltrating your water source. Hiring a well water maintenance company to test your water regularly is the best way to ensure that your well only produces the highest caliber of drinking water. North Florida Water Systems Inc incorporates water testing into your regularly scheduled preventative maintenance visits, making this process simple—and taking action even simpler.

Understand Your Test Results

Understanding the results of a well water test can be a challenge. Results that at first glance seem concerning, such as hard water or high levels of coliform bacteria, are often harmless. Coliform levels are used as a potential indicator of larger issues with your water source, but that does not always mean that more serious contaminants will be present. Presence of coliform bacteria, while not harmful on its own, can be a sign that more harmful types of bacteria such as E. coli may be present. Similarly, hard water is not considered unsafe to drink, but it can damage your pipes and stain your appliances over time.

Water with high levels of total dissolved solids (TDS) can present a health risk, depending on the types of minerals that are present in your water. A high TDS merely means that there are a lot of inorganic salts and organic matter dissolved in your water; it does not specify what materials are actually present in your well. A high TDS count will prompt further testing to discover what exactly is building up in your well water.

If further testing reveals that your water has high levels of nitrates, lead, mercury, or pesticides, your water is not safe to drink until you take reparative action. These materials, when consumed in large quantities, pose significant health risks to your entire family.

Take Immediate Action

If there is anything in your well water testing results that concerns you, immediately contact a water treatment company in your area to resolve the problem before any permanent damage is incurred. Over time, hard water can damage your pipes, allowing harmful chemicals to leach into your water supply and resulting in costly repair costs. High levels of TDS—even those that do not pose a threat to your health—can damage and stain appliances over time, leaving a thick, white film on your bathtubs and toilets that can be difficult and expensive to remove.

Hard water and high levels of harmful TDS can often be resolved by pipe replacement or repair, or through the installation of a high quality water purification system. If you are concerned about the quality of your water in the North Florida area, contact North Florida Water Systems Inc to learn more about our water and well system inspections today.