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Scott G
Member
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# Posted: 10 Aug 2016 09:35am
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Drilled a well and it tested positive for Arsenic. Acceptable level is .01 and we are .03. 50' well, 20' of casing. Legal well.
Any off grid solutions to deal with that? I bought a Berkey but what about livestock water? Even when canning we need a lot of water...a drip filter is rather slow.
Thanks. Ugh.
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sparky30_06
Member
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# Posted: 10 Aug 2016 09:55am
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what about reverse osmosis filter system???
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groingo
Member
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# Posted: 10 Aug 2016 10:47am
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First thing would be to have it re tested and see if it stays the same.
Next I would speak to any neighbors to see if the have same issue and how
they dealt with it.
If neighbors don't have it you may want to find out what may be causing
it on your site or if your atea has a history of Arsenic.
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Scott G
Member
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# Posted: 10 Aug 2016 01:31pm
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Been reading up on RO treatment. Going to have it retested for sure. To my knowledge the neighbors don't have this problem. Very rural area though and we are on shale.
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bldginsp
Member
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# Posted: 10 Aug 2016 02:06pm - Edited by: bldginsp
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Can arsenic be pulled out with a carbon filter or is it dissolved in the water? Local health dept should be able to help.
There's a copper mine near my place, people there have arsenic in the water. Don't know what they do about it.
Found a good article-
http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/massdep/water/drinking/arsenic-in-private-well-water -faqs.html
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Scott G
Member
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# Posted: 10 Aug 2016 06:23pm - Edited by: Scott G
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Not that I'm aware of. From that link (thanks) and other sources:
...Adsorptive filter media are used in both point-of-use and whole house treatment systems. There are several varieties of adsorptive media available including activated alumina (AA) ...
I believe the Berkey system does just that.
I'm going to test the well again - pray - and also test the output of the Berkey.
As far as livestock...more bad news. According to pdf linked below - and this is an older document when .025 was considered acceptable - the acceptable amount is equal for both humans and livestock.
http://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/10/pdf/Agriculture/01700014-e.pdf
Not thrilling news to say the least. Man - this sure shows me how much I take clean drinking water for granted.
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Scott G
Member
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# Posted: 10 Aug 2016 06:29pm
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Well another opinion - again Canadian Gov.
http://www5.agr.gc.ca/resources/prod/doc/terr/pdf/lwq_guide_e.pdf
Page 46 -
...Arsenic in some forms has a high inherent potential to cause toxicity, but because it is present in water at very low levels, the risk of adverse health effects in farm animals is
generally very low. If one excludes accidental poisoning and industrial pollution, the risk of health hazard to livestock associated with arsenic in drinking water per se can be
considered as extremely low...
Yeah - low.
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Atlincabin
Member
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# Posted: 10 Aug 2016 09:50pm
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Reverse osmosis won't cure this problem. I would definitely have the water re-analyzed after pumping the well for a while. Arsenic is highly soluble (relatively speaking) and if water sits in a well for a significant time, if there is arsenic in the rock, it can increase in the (stagnant) water. If you are flowing the well on a regular basis, it may be much less on average.
My two cents as a geochemist. There are a lot of other potential factors to consider in terms of solubility of arsenic as well.
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Scott G
Member
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# Posted: 10 Aug 2016 10:06pm - Edited by: Scott G
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I certainly welcome a geochemist to the conversation. Thanks. A glimmer of hope.
We roll into the camp Friday at 5 and leave Sunday's. Over that interval we typically pump 2 gallons for dishes on Sunday afternoon and lately I've filled 150 gallons, 3 drums, to then water the garden by hand. That's it.
And I did my initial test after a 30 minute run out of a garden hose that spent weeks on the ground. Tested positive for Total Coliform also.
Rookie.
I shocked the well - I know that won't rid arsenic - and made sure I smelled javex 12 at both hand pump inside and piston pump outside. Prep for next testing.
Also, my current setup- Have hand pump via pitless adaptor into camp underground. Old Piston pump outside and plumbed into well 20' plastic pipe. Well cap is off to allow access, covered with garbage bag n zip ties.
Did I mention rookie?
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Atlincabin
Member
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# Posted: 11 Aug 2016 12:42am
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For some reason I'm getting an error when I reply to this again. Will try again later.
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Atlincabin
Member
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# Posted: 11 Aug 2016 12:45am - Edited by: Atlincabin
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Reply problem has to do with a link I was trying to include. So, just google: USGS arsenic map
and try any of the first few links and that should get you to the pages on arsenic in groundwater in the US. I'm going to cut out the link below so maybe this will post.
So, my suggestion is still to do a couple more analyses after the well has been used a bit more. If you can get a sample from a neighbor or two to test, that would be helpful also for comparison, though it will partly depend on where they are geologically relative to the rock underlying your place. If you're someplace in the midwest, for example, most of the rock there is likely to be very similar from place to place within a few hundred feet (or possibly much more). If you're in the rockies or other western areas, the geology is much more complex and could vary a lot over just a few tens of feet.
(link cut out here)
Quite broad for your purposes, but will give you some ideas of where in the country arsenic might be high in groundwater. If you browse around a bit through that page and its links, you might find something more relevant.
I would be happy to provide what advice I can via private email, if you would prefer that. I think you can send me a message through this website via PM. (I've temporarily changed my profile to allow the email to display - will change it back in a day or so to avoid the robospam that often accompanies an open email address on forums)
Hope that helps.
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Scott G
Member
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# Posted: 11 Aug 2016 08:13am
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Thanks, will do.
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Scott G
Member
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# Posted: 11 Aug 2016 10:01am - Edited by: Scott G
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To summarise for anyone reading. I'm going to pump the heck outta the well and retest.
I'll post results in a couple of weeks as I get them.
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ILFE
Member
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# Posted: 9 Sep 2016 11:11pm
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Scott G, update yet?
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KinAlberta
Member
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# Posted: 10 Sep 2016 02:20pm - Edited by: KinAlberta
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Saskatchewan lentils may combat arsenic poisoning
Dr. Judit Smits travels to Bangladesh to conduct a clinical trial using Saskatchewan lentils to counteract arsenic-tainted well water.
Saskatchewan lentils may combat arsenic poisoning
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Scott G
Member
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# Posted: 12 Sep 2016 03:43pm
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Sorry, no update yet. I've been running the well a couple of hours/day every time I'm at the place - weekends and the odd weekday. Just trying to 'use' it alot before getting it tested again.
And I bought a Big Berkey with the arsenic filters.
I will keep this thread posted though.
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Scott G
Member
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# Posted: 19 Jun 2017 10:10am
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Revisiting this old thread - I've since had the casing pulled from the bad well and the driller filled the well with cement - bye bye $4000. Ugh.
I've had another driller come in and is going to drill a new well. He's done others in the area and hit good water at 80' / 60' of casing. I hope and pray that the next well will be good and clear.
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ColdFlame
Member
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# Posted: 19 Jun 2017 02:02pm
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Sorry to hear that - very unfortunate  The next one will be better!
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bldginsp
Member
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# Posted: 20 Jun 2017 01:04am
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Well drillers can isolate the source water in a well, if they have the equipment. It's possible to put a plug around the casing at a given depth to prevent water from above seeping into the well, thereby ensuring that the water drawn is only from a lower layer. Of course, you need to know that the lower water is clean before you decide to do this, and the driller may not be willing to keep his rig there idle while you do tests.
I had my water tested, but the lab was only capable of testing down to 40 parts per billion, an old standard. Now they want it no more than 10ppb, and they say even that can be harmful. I got a little testing kit that is sensitive down to 1ppb, and I didn't see anything register at all. The kits are cheap and supposedly accurate.
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groingo
Member
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# Posted: 20 Jun 2017 10:43am
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The question I'd have is the arsenic naturally occuring or is their a source like an old mining operation or even an old wood mill or industrial source....new or old.
Maybe getting multiple well site samples could help.
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Scott G
Member
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# Posted: 20 Jun 2017 04:29pm - Edited by: Scott G
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Thanks for the comments guys. I know it's a 'poor me' post. Just very frustrating putting that much of the 'cabin cash' into something that fails. And we really need water up there, of course.
The original well is now full of Betonite so no re-anything going to happen there.
As for our area, it's all old farmland. No old mills, industry. I'm reasonably close to a gravel pit, but just a farm scale size pit not a big quarry.
I'll keep you posted. New driller and new well in the next week or so.
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DaveBell
Moderator
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# Posted: 20 Jun 2017 05:08pm
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Some areas of New Brunswick have a greater potential for elevated arsenic levels in drinking water. Arsenic is likely to be found in well water throughout New Brunswick.
https://www.gnb.ca/0051/promos/arsenic/drop-e.asp
Instead of risking another $4000 flush......
You have 6 months of above freezing weather and plenty of rainfall. I would put that money into a roof rain catch system and buried cistern.
http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=716092&cityname=Sussex-New-Brunswic k-Canada
10 gallons per day x 365 = 3,650 gallons.
Without replenishment.
Considering 6 months of no water and 6 months of replenishment, 2,000 gallon ribbed tank is about 2,500 US.
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Atlincabin
Member
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# Posted: 21 Jun 2017 09:57am
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bldginsp - I would not trust a do-it-yourself test kit for arsenic at the ppb level. Better to send a sample to a reputable lab. I'm not aware of any "home" technology that will accurately measure at those levels, rather, it requires some expensive laboratory equipment to do so.
My professional opinion as a geochemist.
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Scott G
Member
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# Posted: 26 Jun 2017 10:30am
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I intend to have the water tested at the gov lab.
Rain water collection is an option too although I'm not aware of anyone around here setup like that.
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Scott G
Member
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# Posted: 11 Jul 2017 11:13am
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So...new well drilled. 120' with 80' of casing. He got down through a good layer of clay. I have yet to test the water but it doesn't smell and is clear - unlike the first well.
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NorthRick
Member
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# Posted: 11 Jul 2017 11:31am
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That's encouraging.
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bldginsp
Member
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# Posted: 12 Jul 2017 12:08am
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Quoting: Atlincabin I'm not aware of any "home" technology that will accurately measure at those levels
I got this test kit-
https://www.amazon.com/Industrial-Test-Systems-481303-5-Arsenic/dp/B00DIJ04IS/ref=sr_ 1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1499831594&sr=8-2&keywords=arsenic+test+kit
And you'll see in the reviews that several people compared the kit test results to lab results, and came close. I'm no expert, but it looks to me like these kits are accurate enough to show you if you have a problem, if so, lab results will get it more precisely.
It's interesting how the test works- you mix a couple chemicals in your water sample, at which point the mixture begins to off-gas. You load a piece of test paper in a special cap on the container, and the off-gasses are forced through the paper. The reaction, if arsenic is present, occurs on the paper where the gas passed through. Of course this doesn't prove it's accuracy, but it is fun home chemistry, unless you get the result you don't want.
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Scott G
Member
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# Posted: 12 Jul 2017 02:13pm
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Yes, very encouraging. I have to get a pump on it asap so I can test it and pump it out a bit.
That kit looks cool. Might look into that further.
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bldginsp
Member
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# Posted: 12 Jul 2017 03:29pm
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There are several different test kits by the same manufacturer which, so they say, will test for arsenic to different level ranges. The one I got supposedly tests as low as 1ppb, others go lower or higher. I think the accuracy of each is best within a certain range. Look up the manufacturer's site info. Good luck.
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