The McHenry County Health Department concurs – you should have your private well water tested annually

If you check out the McHenry County Health Department
Website, you'll see they agree; you should have your well
water tested annually.

In this blog site, we’ve tried to warn about the importance of maintaining your well. Private well maintenance is important because, as a private well, you can’t count on a city or village public works department to take care of your well. It’s your well and it’s your problem.

If you don’t take care of your private well the well equipment – the well pump, the well motor, the well tank – these and other parts of the equipment can breakdown and leave you without access to fresh water. Additionally, without private well maintenance, you may find that you and your family, and your children, are drinking and bathing in unhealthy water.

Well, we’re not the only ones passing along these warnings. The McHenry County Health Department’s (MCHD) website echoes our warnings. The website points out that you should “Have your water tested annually.”

The MCHD warns about checking that your well cap is tightly secured and sealed to avoid contaminants, such as “surface water, vermin …, fertilizers, herbicides, pets.”

As the MCHD points out, “Contaminated drinking water many not always look, taste or smell differently than safe drinking water.” And, as the website continues, if your private well is contaminated, a cleanup is not an easy, or inexpensive, proposition.

Though contaminated water doesn’t always smell, taste or look bad, when water has a strange odor, taste or appearance, that is a sign that there might be a problem with your well water. If you see “particles in water,” have it checked. But, really, you shouldn’t wait until a problem is apparent.

The best bet is to have your water checked, as mentioned above and in the MCHD website, annually.

Testing your well water will look for bacteria, nitrates, and inorganic and organic materials in the water. As the MCHD website states in its “DO’S AND DON’TS …’ section, “DON’T assume your well water is safe to drink.”

There are laboratories that will test your private well water at reasonable prices. The MCHD will also test your water. You can contact the following government offices in McHenry County where you can bring samples of your private well water for testing:

• Algonquin Township Office, 3702 Route 14, Crystal Lake (847) 639-2329
• Door Township Office, 1039 Lake Street, Woodstock (815) 338-0125
• McHenry County Dept of Health, 2200 N Seminary Ave, Woodstock (815) 334-4585
• McHenry County Dept of Health, 100 N Virginia St, Crystal Lake (815) 459-5151
• McHenry Township Office, 3703 Richmond Road, McHenry (815) 385-5605
• Nunda Township Office, 3703 Richmond Road, McHenry (815) 459-4011
• City of Marengo, City Hall, 134 E. Prairie Street, Marengo (815) 568-7112
• Harvard Police Department, 201 W Front Street, Harvard (815) 943-4431
• Richmond Township Office, 7812 South Route 31, Richmond (815) 678-0077
• Grafton Township Office, 10109 Vine Street, Huntley (847) 669-3328
• McHenry Analytical Water Laboratory, 4314 W Crystal Lake Rd A, McHenry (815) 344-4044

The MCHD website is located at: https://www.co.mchenry.il.us/county-government/departments-a-i/health-department/environmental-health/private-water-supply

Why does her Johnsburg well water taste metallic?

It looks clear but the water from that Johnsburg water tastes metallic.

The water at Heidi’s house in Johnsburg tastes great. She’s occasionally bragged about that to friends who live where they have city water. Heidi’s water comes from a private well out back. So, when she brags, she usually says something along the line of, “Our Johnsburg water tastes wonderful and, the best part is, we don’t have to pay a water bill every month.” But, lately, Heidi’s water has tasted a little funny.

In fact, if you pressed Heidi, her husband or the children about it, they’d probably say that the water has kind of a metallic taste to it.

What would make the water from Heidi’s well taste metallic? One likely culprit is iron. That may explain why, when she uses the water to make tea or coffee, the metallic flavor overpowers the beverage and gives it a kind of inky appearance.

Her water could also have a metallic taste because it has low pH (potential Hydrogen) levels.

The good news about the prior potential problem is that iron is not necessarily bad for your health. As humans, we actually require some iron in our bodies to maintain our health. The EPA guideline is 0.3 milligrams of iron per liter of water but that’s only a guideline. Even with more, you’re probably okay. But, too much iron in your water can cause problems, such as:

• Buildup of iron can lead to clogged water pipes
• Too much iron in the water can stain dishes, sinks, laundry and other household items that come into regular contact with the water
• Along with an offensive metallic flavor in water, it can also present an unappetizing dark appearance to food

The question, of course, is how did the iron get there?

One way contaminated water may get into the well is through seepage. A key component to prevent seepage is the well cap. This is the part at the top of the well you see in your backyard. If sealed properly, the well cap keeps ground water out of the well. A particular threat is melting snow that can build up around the well cap. But, if the well cap is good the melting snow won’t get into the well.

If the well cap is bad, seepage isn’t the only potential problem. For instance, with a bad seal, a well cap can allow bugs, such as earwigs, to make themselves at home in your well. And who wants to drink a glass of water that served as a swimming pool, and more, for a colony of earwigs?

Another way for iron to get into the well is through corrosion. Frankly, in this case, the well is susceptible to rust. The pipes are exposed to air and water and that makes them rust. Over time, the rust begins to build up and flake off. Falling into the well water, the rust dissolves and is carried into your home as tiny metallic molecules in your water.

What can you do about iron in your well water? The most common solution is a water softener. A water softener removes minerals, including iron, from the water. If operating correctly, a water softener can eliminate your problem with metallic-tasting water.

Chlorinating your well can also remove the iron bacteria from your water. This is one reason you should chlorinate your well each year. But, iron bacteria in the water is only one reason to chlorinate your well; you also want to chlorinate your well to remove other bacteria and micro-organisms from your well water.

If the pH levels of your Johnsburg well water are low, there are also treatments that will neutralize this problem.

Protect the savings of your Bull Valley private well with timely maintenance

You can avoid the monthly payments for city water when
you have a private well for your Bull Valley home. But, if
you don't maintain it, you could spend more in the long run.

That private well in your Bull Valley backyard quietly provides clean water on demand day and night, 365 days a year. It’s dependable. It’s cost efficient. It’s a marvel of modern science that generally goes unappreciated. However, if it isn’t cared for with proper maintenance, a Bull Valley homeowner can find themselves surprisingly jealous of someone connected to city water in Woodstock next door.

When a home is connected to city water there are connection fees to bring the water supply into the home. Then, each month, there is a water bill. According to The Hamilton Project, the average monthly water bill for someone in a large U.S. city, in 2010, was about $70. Though the price varies from location to location, even at $70 per monthly, that’s $840 per year that someone with a private well saves.

That’s $840 someone can spend to go out for dinner 21 times at $40 per dinner. Or, they could use that to fly to Germany or Asia. They could use the money they save on a city water bill to buy presents for friends and family. But, all those savings are easily lost if you don’t do a good job of maintaining your private well.

Maintaining your private well in Bull Valley breaks down into two categories: 1. Maintaining the mechanical operation of the well and, 2. Maintaining the quality of the water.

Maintaining a Bull Valley private well’s mechanical operation

Maintaining the mechanical operation of the well involves an annual inspection to ensure that the wire connections running to the electrical well equipment are not corroded. It involves checking the operation of the well pump, the well cap and the well tank.

Testing the well tank is critical. Maintenance of the well tank goes beyond checking it; it includes adjusting the pressure in the tank. If the pressure is set wrong, the rubber bladder inside can rip. Once the bladder rips, the well motor will constantly cycle turning on and off as it demands water from the pump trying to keep the unquenchable well tank at its proper pressure. Eventually, the well motor will burn out.

Maintaining the well cap involves checking the seal and to ensure that insects haven’t gotten inside and setup housekeeping. The well cap is also crucial since it helps to ensure that surface water doesn’t contaminate the well.

Maintaining a Bull Valley private well’s water quality

A private well should provide clean, clear and safe water that you can safely use to wash, cook and drink. However, you can’t assume that’s it’s safe. Bacteria is one of the primary culprits when a private well no longer provides water that is safe to use and drink. There are other contaminants, too.

An annual check of water quality is highly advised. Since it’s also a good idea to check the mechanical operation of the well annually, it makes sense to do both of these maintenance checks at the same time.

You can send a sample of the well water to a laboratory for testing. They’ll let you know if there is anything in the water that is troubling. You should also chlorinate the well annually.

Chlorinating the well seems like such a simple process that many people try to do this themselves. Unfortunately, if not done properly, when the chlorine is added, it can cause expensive damage to mechanical parts of the well.

The solution is to hire a qualified well technician to maintain the mechanical operation of your Bull Valley private well and, while they’re at it, to take a sample to send to a laboratory and to chlorinate the well.

Johnsburg resident pays high price for improperly chlorinating his private well

This is a pitless adapter. Improperly chlorinate your well
and you could spend a lot of money replacing the pitless
adapter in your private Johnsburg well.

Bob pulls in the driveway of his Johnsburg home hops out of the car and goes inside. The kids are running and screaming and his youngest, 3-year-old Alyssa, catches him from the side tugging on his jacket. As he tries to make sense of the adolescent mayhem, Alyssa keeps saying, “Daddy. Daddy. Daddy.” Trying to get his attention.

Finally, accepting the idea that there’s just no chance of the house coming under control, he looked down at his daughter and said, “Yes, sweetie? What’s up?”

“The water broke, Daddy,” she said.

One thing Bob knew for sure was that his wife definitely was not expecting; Alyssa’s statement just didn’t make any sense. He looked Brenda, his wife, with a puzzled expression.

“We don’t have any water,” she said with a frown.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

Brenda walked to the sink and lifted the handle on the faucet. Nothing happened. “I’ve already called the well guy. He’s out back looking at the well now.”

Almost as though on signal, there was a knock on the door. Bob opened the door and came face to face with another frown, this one from the well technician Bob’s wife had called. “We’ve got a problem,” the well technician said. “Your well pump is bad and it’s going to take some work to get it out of your well.”

“Why is that?” said Bob, a suspicious tone in his voice.

Sensing Bob’s suspicion, the well technician asked a probing question: “Have you chlorinated your own well?”

“Yeah,” barked Bob, as though that was a ridiculous question. He was rather proud of the money he had saved doing it himself and that he had taken the time to do it at all – a lot of homeowners with private wells didn’t seem to bother.

“I’m guessing you just opened the well and poured the chlorine in, right?” asked the well technician.

“Of course,” said Bob with exasperation creeping into his voice. “What’s wrong with that?’

“Let me show you something,” the well technician indicating that Bob should follow him outside. He led Bob to the back of his truck where he pulled a crusty old pipe fitting out from under a rack of tools and equipment.

“I keep this to show people when I service their wells,” said the well technician. “I try to show them before they need to replace their well pump. Unfortunately, I’ve never been out here before.”

“What’s this?” asked Bob looking at the pipe fitting in the well technician’s hands.

“This is a pitless adapter I removed from another customer’s house here in Johnsburg a couple years ago,” said the well technician. “I keep it around to show people what happens when they don’t chlorinate their wells properly. See all this corrosion around the thread?”

Bob nodded.

“This is what happens when you simply pour the chlorine into the well. It doesn’t play well with the threads on the pitless adapter,” the well technician said. “It took me quite a bit longer to pull the pump out because of that corrosion. I have to thread a pipe into the pitless adapter to pull the pump out. And, when the threads are all messed up, it cost the customer quite a bit more for me to get the pump out. It can cost $2,000 to replace the pitless adapter.

“It’s good that you chlorinated the well,” the well technician said. “Unfortunately, they didn’t warn you about this before you chlorinated your well.”

There’s no such thing as a maintenance-free private well - in Wonder Lake or anywhere else

A maintenance free well? The water just doesn't flow that way. There is no such
thing as a 'maintenance free well.'

We all know that we have to maintain our cars if we want them to keep running while keeping their value. At least, we should know that. But, there are more people who think that their private well in Wonder Lake is maintenance free.

Why would they think otherwise? Time after time, they turn on a faucet and water comes out on demand. If it works again and again why would it one day stop?

Actually, there is a very real potential that your private well in Wonder Lake would stop working leaving you and your home or office dry. And there is another concern; just because the water comes out when you turn on the faucet doesn’t mean that the water is safe.

Why would the water stop running?

The water comes out of the faucet on demand because your private well is connected to the house by pipes and mechanisms that move the water from the well, through your plumbing pipes and out of the spigot. Those mechanisms include a pump, a pump motor, a pressure tank, wiring and electronics. If any of these breaks you’re out of water.

Why would they break? Your well pump could break because it includes moving parts that pump the water up through the pipes. Moving parts create friction against other parts and that causes wear. Eventually, the wear is too much for the parts and breakage occurs. This isn’t a question of maybe – it’s a question of when.

Fortunately, well pumps are well made. They can generally operate efficiently for years. But, if the well pump doesn’t break, the well pump motor can break. It’s a motor and motors break over time.

The pressure tank can breakdown because it’s more than just a container that holds water; it’s actually a container that holds water and air. Other than the oxygen that’s in the water, the air in the pressure tank is separated from the water by a rubber bladder. If setup properly, the bladder helps the air to keep an appropriate amount of pressure on the water. But, if the bladder doesn’t have the correct pressure the tank won’t work properly.

If the pressure tank has the wrong pressure it can cause wear and tear on other parts, such as the pump and motor. Without the right pressure, the pump may cycle, kicking on and off repeatedly. As we said, the normal operation of a pump causes wear. If it operates repeatedly, not only is there the normal wear but there is also the risk that the mechanism will heat and wear excessively.

Of course, the bladder in the pressure tank can also rip. This is a more frequent problem when the air pressure is set wrong. At that point, the bladder is more susceptible to tearing.

As for the electronics, corrosion is an ever-present risk.

All of these risks are mitigated by proper maintenance – making sure the well has a pump, motor, tank and electronics that are operating correctly.

As for the quality of the water, an annual chlorination is a must to help keep away bacteria and other foreign contaminants and pests that would make the water less than healthy to drink.

This is a substantial list of potential problems with a private well and we didn’t even mention the troubles you could have if the well cap doesn’t seal properly (bugs can make a home in the bottom of the well cap and the well). The lesson is that, if you take care of your private well it will take care of you.

The reality is, whether you live in Wonder Lake or not, there is no such thing as a maintenance free well.

There’s no such thing as a maintenance-free private well

If you don't maintain your private well, you can't take a clean,
fresh water supply for granted. There's no such thing as a
maintenance-free private well.

We all know that we have to maintain our cars if we want them to keep running while keeping their value. At least, we should know that. But, there are more people who think that their private well is maintenance free.

Why would they think otherwise? Time after time, they turn on a faucet and water comes out on demand. If it works again and again why would it one day stop?

Actually, there is a very real potential that your private well would stop working leaving you and your home or office dry. And there is another concern; just because the water comes out when you turn on the faucet doesn’t mean that the water is safe.

Why would the water stop running?

The water comes out of the faucet on demand because your private well is connected to the house by pipes and mechanisms that move the water from the well, through your plumbing pipes and out of the spigot. Those mechanisms include a pump, a pump motor, a pressure tank, wiring and electronics. If any of these breaks you’re out of water.

Why would they break? Your well pump could break because it includes moving parts that pump the water up through the pipes. Moving parts create friction against other parts and that causes wear. Eventually, the wear is too much for the parts and breakage occurs. This isn’t a question of maybe – it’s a question of when.

Fortunately, well pumps are well made. They can generally operate efficiently for years. But, if the well pump doesn’t break, the well pump motor can break. It’s a motor and motors break over time.

The pressure tank can breakdown because it’s more than just a container that holds water; it’s actually a container that holds water and air. Other than the oxygen that’s in the water, the air in the pressure tank is separated from the water by a rubber bladder. If setup properly, the bladder helps the air to keep an appropriate amount of pressure on the water. But, if the bladder doesn’t have the correct pressure the tank won’t work properly.

If the pressure tank has the wrong pressure it can cause wear and tear on other parts, such as the pump and motor. Without the right pressure, the pump may cycle, kicking on and off repeatedly. As we said, the normal operation of a pump causes wear. If it operates repeatedly, not only is there the normal wear but there is also the risk that the mechanism will heat and wear excessively.

Of course, the bladder in the pressure tank can also rip. This is a more frequent problem when the air pressure is set wrong. At that point, the bladder is more susceptible to tearing.

As for the electronics, corrosion is an ever-present risk.

All of these risks are mitigated by proper maintenance – making sure the well has a pump, motor, tank and electronics that are operating correctly.

As for the quality of the water, an annual chlorination is a must to help keep away bacteria and other foreign contaminants and pests that would make the water less than healthy to drink.

This is a substantial list of potential problems with a private well and we didn’t even mention the troubles you could have if the well cap doesn’t seal properly (bugs can make a home in the bottom of the well cap and the well). The lesson is that, if you take care of your private well it will take care of you.

There is something wrong with your private Spring Grove well

Without proper care and maintenance, your private Spring
Grove well could stop providing the flow of water you
take for granted.

We have come to take it for granted. You go in the kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, or even to the water spigot outside. You turn the faucet on and water comes flowing on demand. But, what if you turn the water on and nothing happens? What is wrong with your private Spring Grove well?

The operative word there is ‘private.’ It means that it’s your well. It’s not Spring Grove’s well. The Spring Grove Public Words Department isn’t going to rush over and get the water flowing again. You can call them but they’ll politely explain that it’s a private well and it’s your responsibility.

Now that we’ve established whose responsibility it is, what are you going to do when you discover there is something wrong with your private Spring Grove well?

Few people are sufficiently knowledgeable about maintenance and repairs to their private wells. That’s certainly the case in Spring Grove, too. Therefore, the next thing we’ve established is that you’ll probably need to bring someone in with the expertise to fix the problem.

You’ll want to choose someone who is qualified and reputable. One of the best ways to find such a well technician is to ask around. Chances are, if you have a private well, the other homeowners and businesses in your Spring Grove neighborhood, also have private wells. Certainly, some of them can steer you towards a viable candidate. You can also check for comments about a well company online.

When the well technician arrives, the first thing they’re going to want to do is to determine what is wrong with your private Spring Grove well. You can help with this process by fully and accurately describing the problem.

If the water simply doesn’t flow anymore, that’s easy to describe. However, the problem could be a little more complex. For instance, you may have noticed that the water pressure isn’t as strong as it was before. You may have noticed the water has a funny odor or discoloration. You may notice that it doesn’t taste the same anymore.

Whatever the problem is, your well technician will quickly track down the problem and will tell you what is wrong with your private Spring Grove well. In the process, they’ll probably put your mind at ease, too. For instance, they may tell you, “No, your well hasn’t gone dry. You just need a new well pump motor.” Or, “We just need to chlorinate the well.” Or, “We can send the water out for testing to make sure it’s safe.”