The Wyoming Water Quality Division of DEQ has a designated day, March 13th, known as “Know your well day.” Amazing facts about water wells in Wyoming, according to the State Water Quality Division.
- Over 75% of the states’ population, in rural areas, rely on groundwater for all, or part of their drinking water.
- There are approximately 90,000 private wells in Wyoming.
While those are just two facts about the private wells in Wyoming, there are things to consider if you are about to drill a well for your own purposes or have an already existing well. It is important to know several things regarding the maintenance and quality of the water a well produces. In Wyoming there is no agency to regulate private water wells; it is the owner’s discretion to have clean healthy water.
Items to know and have on hand when maintaining a well:
- The materials used to construct the well and well casing.
- Total depth of the well and the depth of the pump.
- The static water level of the well.
- Well water quality and potential contaminates
- Well capacity and pump capacity.
Many things can impact the quality of the water, especially in the spring or after a considerable weather event. The depth of the well is crucial on determining the impact of the bacteria stirred up by the snow run off, the shallower the well, the more it can be affected.
Let’s look at the regular spring season and how that may influence the ground water. As snow melts and runs across the land, it can fill groundwater with coliform bacteria. Coliforms are a broad class of bacteria found in our environment, including the feces of livestock and other warm-blooded animals. The presence of coliform bacteria in drinking water may indicate a possible presence of harmful, disease-causing organisms.
Private well owners are solely responsible for the maintenance of their well and quality of water from it. Spring time is a great time to check the condition of a well and correct any issues that may happen to be lurking in the well.
.Many indications of water problems in a well are:
- Odor- does it smell?
- Taste- did the taste of it change?
- Look- is it yellow or cloudy
- General health- do you have stomach problems, even flu like symptoms? Health changes can indicate there is something wrong with the water source.
There are ways to prevent and correct the problems that can occur periodically.
- Keep the well casing protected and the well capped.
- Test the well. Testing for bacteria by a State certified lab can be a front line defense in staying healthy. Wyoming DEQ recommends sampling annually for bacteria and nitrates, and every 5 years for a comprehensive list of constituents. Testing is also recommended if there are chemical spills in the area, unexplained illness in the household or changes in the water.
- Sanitize the well if the testing indicates it is needed. There are items on the market that can help with the sanitization of your well. Here at Water Products and Solutions, we carry Well Safe to assist in the issues that can cause problems with well water.
- Gather info on your well at the Wyoming State Engineers Office’s website http://seo.wyo.gov/ground-water
To find out more information regarding drinking water wells, common contaminants, water well testing, and other resources pertaining to groundwater, please visit the DEQ’s “Know Your Well” website at www.knowyourwell.org.
For more information on water treatment click on the following links or send us an email at waterproducts@actaccess.net.