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trobertson
May 28, 2008, 09:27 AM
Help! I'm not quite sure my analysis was correct. I went back and disconnected the line coming from the well and turned the pump on to get a sample of water straight from the well. It was black as oil and stunk like rotten eggs. So that told me my problem is coming from the well . The well pipe is a iron 6" pipe that I was told runs approximately 250 feet deep with the actual pump sitting somewhere around 120'-150'ft. I was also informed that this line when drilled had to go through some limestone to get to the aquifier.
Questions : 1. is the black I get in the water a sulpher bacteria or an iron bacteria. An initial test for iron shows none or low levels.
I have tried to instahl a household filter (cartridge) (5 microbial) and that seems to clear it up for 5-7 days until the filter gets clogged. When I take the filter out its is completely black and slimy . The black stains everything. After a couple of hours it turns all rusty brown and still slimy.. would acid cleaning the iron well pipe help ? Would a resign based filter for iron sulpher and mangnese help or would it just clog up as well... any suggestions. Just trying to help out a fellow man who is disabled and on a fixed income.

Thanks again
Tim robertson

wildandblue
May 29, 2008, 02:57 PM
Seriously get that stuff tested. At 150 bucks a barrel maybe you've got an oil well in the backyard and you can buy all the bottled water you'd ever want. You might be dealing with something called a legacy deposit down underground perhaps there is a layer of SOMETHING down there like a past owner had the outdoor privy located where you drilled or even an old unregistered landfill. If you have limestone you might have coal down below too and there is a bad smelling sulphurous product that stains water black that is associated with coal mine drainage. I'm thinking the cast iron pipe would cause orange (rust) colored water but you could put a smaller diameter plastic casing inside the iron or just replace it with plastic. If it was me I'd pay for a new well in a different spot but I understand budget is tight.