Where does groundwater come from? Can you say, ‘Hydrologic Cycle?’

This USGS diagram shows the Hydrologic Cycle. If you want to know where the groundwater in McHenry comes from,
look here.

Where does groundwater come from? The obvious answer is ‘from the ground.’ But, where does the ground get it? That well out behind your Bull Valley home extends down into the ground and pumps groundwater up so you and your family can use it. It would be nice to know where the groundwater comes from, wouldn’t it?

The first thing to know is that the groundwater is there as part of the hydrologic cycle. Assuming you haven’t remembered all the particulars from your 5th-grade lesson, that cycle works like this:

THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE

1. Evaporation: the water in lakes, rivers, oceans and on the surface of the ground is evaporated into the air …
2. Where it condenses to form clouds.
3. While trapped in the clouds, it moves with the wind.
4. Then, the moisture returns to the earth in the form of precipitation: rain, sleet, snow
5. A portion of the water runs off back into lakes, rivers, and oceans – another portion seeps into the ground. Through gravity, much of this water goes lower and lower until it reaches an area that is resting on an impervious surface.
6. When that area is saturated, your well has the ability to gather portions of the water and pump them back to the surface and through the pipes into your home.

Keep in mind that water can also move in the ground through aquifers. Governments have come to recognize the importance of aquifers. You can even look up a map of aquifers in the area called the “McHenry County Sensitive Aquifer Recharge Areas.”

This map shows areas in two shades of green where aquifers are considered sensitive. On that map, you’ll find that much of Bull Valley is covered by dark green – the most sensitive areas of the map.

This means that groundwater is moving under your feet. Your well’s job is to catch portions of the groundwater and pump them up into your Bull Valley home.

What are you putting down your McHenry County drain?

Consultant raises the alarm about contaminants in our drinking water supply

What is in the well water you drink? The number of
potential contaminants are alarming.

Recently, John Matthesius attended an event for well-maintenance technicians in Nashville. What he heard at one of the break-out sessions was alarming. It has to do with the quality of the water we drink, including the water we drink here in McHenry County.

The presentation was given by Peter S. Cartwright of Cartwright Consulting from Minneapolis, MN, who points out that an almost limitless number of contaminants are going into our water supply – into the water we drink.

As Cartwright points out, “Every time water goes down the drain, whether to a sewer, a septic system, a storm drain, or wherever, it carries contaminants with it, which usually end up in someone’s drinking water.”

He said the list of contaminants in our drinking water include “unmetabolized pharmaceuticals” and other chemicals. When we wash our hands, the soap and dirt, or whatever was on our hands, goes down the drain. He said there are more than 85,000 chemicals that make their way into our water supply.

He described how “the average adult uses nine products per day containing 126 different chemicals.” In the farms, they add fertilizer to the soil that then makes its way into our water supply. Whatever we put down the drain tends to make its way to our water supply.

Manufacturing contributes to the toxic recipe in our drinking water. For instance, plastic, with 300-million tons of plastic manufactured each year, is a major contributor to toxins in our drinking water.

Cartwright sites a 2008 Canadian study that found that, in 20 industrialized nations, birthrates for boys has dropped, as a result, for each of the last 30 years, there has been a 200-percent increase in abnormalities to male sex organs, sperm count among North American college students has dropped by 50 percent over the course of the last 50 years, 85 percent of sperm in healthy males has damaged DNA and testicular cancer is up 300 percent in that same 50-year period.

The address the concerns, Cartwright recommends legislative activity and water treatment technologies. But, he also says that individuals can make a difference. He refers to personal stewardship where people are more conscious of what they are putting down the drain in their homes and workplace. In that regard, education is essential (Cartwright’s thesis is available in its entirety by following this link or visiting the McHenry Water Well & Pump blog page).

The Next Drinking Water Contamination Issue: By Peter S Cartwright, PE

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Have you shown your Spring Grove well a little appreciation with some timely well maintenance?

It's not the snowman who is standing sentry; it's your
Spring Grove water well that is dutifully waiting for your
call and responding with the flow of water you request.
Thank your water well for its
dedication with some maintenance.

Looking out the back window into your Spring Grove backyard it’s hard to imagine that, under that blanket of snow is a champion working tirelessly on your behalf. Patiently, he waits for your call. No matter how many times you beckon him for help, he responds.

Reliable. Uncomplaining. Industrious. These are all words that aptly describe this hero hiding beneath the snow. When the need arises, he jumps to your aid. He is your well pump only visible by the wellhead that extends less than a foot above the ground. But, even that is invisible when he is buried beneath the snow.

The cold, the snow, even rain and blowing winds – none of these deter him as he steadfastly meets your need to access fresh water. When you wash your hands, fill a pot to cook some dinner, wash the dishes, the clothes, yourself: his commitment is equal to the task.

Few in Spring Grove, or beyond, are nearly as loyal. But, in return, you hardly ever think of him. Even when you turn on the water to give your baby a bath, you don’t spare him a thought. The only way you’ll ever think of him is if he fails in his task.

If he doesn’t follow through meeting your demands, you’ll curse him. But, will you thank him for his dedication over the years – year after year, month after month, day after day and from one minute to the next. When the water flowed, he was quietly ignored for his trouble.

To show your appreciation, you would call out a qualified well technician before he ever needs your help. Take care of him and he’ll almost assuredly continue to care for you. If you perform timely well maintenance, you’ll have even greater reason to continue to trust him to provide water from your Spring Grove well whenever you need it. Ignore him and, one day, though it won’t be his fault, he’s liable to let you down.

Button up your Wonder Lake house for winter, but don’t forget your well water

There's a well cap under that snow somewhere. All goes to
show that winter is no time to find out that your well, well
pump or other parts of your Wonder Lake well system
need servicing.

It’s time to button down the house. Another Wonder Lake winter is coming. Time to take down the screens and put up the storms, drain the hoses and outside faucets, check the furnace and change the furnace filter, check if you need some caulking to keep the cold at bay. Make sure your gutters are clear so icy water doesn’t back up under your shingles. But don’t forget your well outside, either.

You want to eliminate the leakage of warm air to the outside while the cold air has a chance to get in. You want the furnace to keep you warm on cold winter nights. And you want the water to run when you turn on a faucet; you want the water it dispenses to be safe and pure.

Why worry about your well water now? The answer comes in layers – layers of ice and snow.

If something goes wrong with your well or well water, you’ll probably want a qualified well technician to come out and put things right. But, if your well cap is under a couple of feet of water, well, the first thing they need to do is to locate the well cap.

How much of your yard will they have to shovel clear to find the well cap? Will ice make it difficult to open the well cap? These issues can delay the process when the water is off, or when the water isn’t safe.

Well, actually, if the water isn’t safe, you’re liable not to know it. You’ll bathe in the water without knowing your well water has dangerous bacteria or viruses. You’ll wash your dishes and clothes without knowing that the well water can make you sick. You’ll drink the water and, if you knew it was bad, the mere thought would make you sick.

So, get out the storm windows on the house (Northern Illinois Windows can clean and install those storms for you and give you a clear view out the window to see the fresh-fallen snow, and they can also clean your gutters). Clean the gutters. Check the furnace. Caulk those leaks. Put the outside hoses away. But, don’t, don’t, don’t forget to check your Wonder Lake water well.

Little monsters aren’t Trick-or-Treating – they’re microbes you may find in your Spring Grove well water

These little monsters are kind of cute but you wouldn't like
the microscopic monsters you might find in your Spring
Grove well water.

It’s almost Halloween and check out these little monsters. The monsters? No, these aren’t the adorable little monsters you’re accustomed to Trick-or-Treating at your Spring Grove door. One looks like a hairy jelly bean – no eyes, ears or mouth but it does have tendrils dangling from its bottom. Some look like short gummy worms. Some look like ameba and others like funky squid. What they all have in common is that they’re really, really small – microscopic, in fact, and, Oh, you’re liable to find these little monsters in your well water.

Actually, you won’t find them unless you take the time to look. And, keep in mind, these microbes are so small that there’s no way you can look at your water and see them. Don’t bother filling a glass and holding it up to the light; you still won’t see them. These are bacteria and other types of microorganisms that you may be drinking when you drink your well water.

The short gummy worms are Coliform Bacteria, or they could be Fecal Coliform Bacteria. The prior is naturally present in the environment and, by themselves, are not dangerous. But, many of the others, including Fecal Coliform Bacteria, are distinctly not good to consume. The level of Coliform Bacteria, that good bacteria, can help to indicate the presence of other microorganisms you’d rather not find in your Spring Grove well water.

It’s not hard to figure out where the Fecal Coliform Bacteria come from. The answer is in their name and there’s nothing pleasant about that, including the results if you drink water with Fecal Coliform Bacteria in it, as is the case with the hairy jelly beans (E. Coli Bacteria). Digestive problems are all but assured. In the worst cases, drinking water laced with Fecal Coliform Bacteria or E. Coli Bacteria can be fatal.

The ameba- and funky-squid-like microbes are protozoa, a pathogenic organism that can cause typhoid, dysentery, cholera and other types of gastroenteritis. Other pathogenic organisms that you may find in well water are viruses.

Viruses, viewed at a microscopic level, can look like spiders, spores, balls of broccoli and others like ribbed gummy worms. Some are like long worms and some look like castanets. Whatever they look like, they’re very bad in your stomach. These little buggers are trouble in your stomach.

All this talk about monster microbes is frightening. But, you don’t have to worry, just as long as you’ve had your Spring Grove well water tested and chlorinated. Do that, and you’ll keep the monsters away – at least you’ll keep the bad, little monsters away. The only little monsters you’ll have to worry about are those coming to your door for candy.

Why does my Wonder Lake well water smell?

If your Wonder Lake well water smells bad, the well may need
some maintenance.

All this warm weather makes it nice to be outdoors. You can take a walk through your Wonder Lake neighborhood, place some hoops, place with the kids. Whatever you do, you’re liable to want a nice cool drink of water. Is this the part where you get a bottle of water out of the fridge because, well, the water from the faucet, that comes from the well outside, just smells a bit funny.

That bottled water isn’t too expensive, is it? Of course, you have to load it into a shopping cart and bring it home, store it and refrigerate it. Wouldn’t it be easier just to get your water from the well outside – let the well pump carry the water in from your Wonder Lake well?

You may have assumed that the smell of your water is a universal problem here in Wonder Lake. If you have made that assumption, you’re mistaken. Most homes in Wonder Lake have well water that really has no odor. If the water does smell, the problem is, most likely, with the individual well.

When your well water smells, it usually smells like rotten eggs. This is caused by hydrogen sulfide in the water. The water may smell like oil or asphalt. This may be caused by magnesium from the magnesium rod in an old water heater that is used to retard corrosion. But that isn’t as common.

If your well water smells, you should have your water tested. Even if your water doesn’t smell, you should have it tested each year. You should also have your well chlorinated annually. For that matter, your annual well maintenance should include checking the pressure in your well tank, checking the connections on your electronics and otherwise looking you well system over. This is a great way to ensure that, even if your water doesn’t smell, you’ll have water on demand from your well all year long.

Though hydrogen sulfide isn’t usually a health risk. It’s unpleasant and can also include a discoloration of the water. But, if the well water does smell, it could indicate other problems, as well, and some of these could be more serious.

For instance, you could have bacteria in your water that is unhealthy. In this way, water that smells could work as a convenient warning system that something else may be wrong with your water. The problem is that, even if the water from your Wonder Lake well doesn’t smell, you could have bacteria or other problems with your water. Either way, chlorinating and testing your well, as part of an annual well-maintenance procedure, is a great idea.