ee ERE ITHomeowners Hi ‘Se | ia Shock Chlorination Of Water Wells: What You Need To Know (NAPSA)—“Shock chlorination” is a term loosely applied to using relatively high concentration of chlorine to disinfect a water well system. It may comeas a shock tolearn that the National Ground Water Association (NGWA) does not recommend household well owners attempt to disinfect their own well systems. Rather, NGWAsuggests well owners use a water well system professional familiar with proper well disinfection procedures to do the job. There are multiple steps to properly disinfecting a well, and for a person untrained init, there are multiple opportunities to make a mistake that could not only render the process ineffective but create additional problems. Shocking Information Here are some of the things you should know aboutshock chlorination: Household chlorine bleach is not designed for use in drinking water. Although household bleach is widely recommended for disinfecting drinking water wells, it’s not designed for that and may cause problems. First, the disinfectant properties of household bleach deteriorate over time, affecting its reliability as a disinfection agent. Second, bleach may contain perchlorate. Research has shown that perchlorate can present a health risk at certain levels and affect iodine uptake by the human thyroid to inhibit thyroidal hormoneproduction. Fortunately, there are alternative dis- infectants, chemicals certified as safe for use in drinking water by independent productsafety laboratories. At too high a concentration, bleach can create disinfection by-products harmful to health. When organic mat- ter in groundwater encounters certain chemicals, such as chlorine, a reaction can occur that creates a cancer-causing agent knownastrihalomethane. Also, at too high a concentra- tion, bleach can corrode well system pipes and other components. This was demonstrated in Flint, Michigan, where corrosive water coming out of the pub- lic water system was sufficient to in- duce corrosion in galvanizedsteel pipe, causing therelease of toxic lead into the drinking water. There are other problems that may result from attempting to disinfect your ownwell. For instance, removing the well cap alone could expose the open well to bacterial contamination from the out- When a well needs to be disinfected, it’s a goodidea to get a professional to do it rather than trying to add household bleach yourself. side. Great care must be taken to disinfect not only the inside of the well system but also the well cap beforeit’s put back. Furthermore, if the disinfectant is not at the proper concentration for the volume of water in the well system—or if the contact time betweenthedisinfectant and the system is not sufficiently long—the disinfection process may not work. For these reasons, NGWAadvisesthat whenever possible, well owners should use a water well system professional who knows proper disinfection procedure to disinfect their well. That said, there may be circumstances in which a well owner cannot get a water well professional to disin- fect the well; for instance, someone in a remote area where service is not readily available. In such instances, the well owner should consult with some- one qualified in well disinfection for instruction. Disinfection is an important proce- dure to perform any time a water well is opened or serviced, or if water test results indicate the presence of bacteria. When the presence of bacteria is per- sistent, it should be determined whether there is a breach in the well system al- lowing bacteria to enter the well. If so, the breach should be repaired. Learn More For further information about well systems, water quality, and groundwater protection,visit www. WellOwner.org.
