Between Ritchot and Niverville, there remain many residents who derive their water from private wells. In Ritchot, this includes mostly rural properties since the majority of households in its four communities are tied into the municipal water treatment system.
In Niverville, it is estimated that 700 households in the older sections of town still use private wells for drinking water instead of treated water.
While recommendations are occasionally issued for well water testing to ensure that it’s safe for consumption, it’s also safe to assume that few householders bother to test when there are no apparent issues with the water coming from their taps.
When people think about water testing, most think about trace elements such as arsenic, barium, boron, fluoride, uranium, and manganese. Or there could be high levels of common minerals such as iron, manganese, chloride, sodium, and sulphate.
In some cases, these can be detected through the water’s smell or feel on the skin, or by hardwater residues left behind on appliances. In many cases, these minerals require the use of a water softener.
Unfortunately, Manitoba well water is also susceptible to bacterial contamination which can’t be detected by any means other than water sample testing at specific provincial laboratories. These labs test for the presence of bacteria known as coliform and E. coli, a very specific strain of coliform. These bacteria leave no smell, taste, feel, or visual trace.
High levels of coliform or E. coli often indicate the presence of other harmful microbes which can be responsible for a laundry list of health issues ranging from mild to severe, including gastrointestinal illness; infections of the skin, ear, or eye; and respiratory and neurologic symptoms. As well, people may experience stomach cramps, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, and low-grade fever. More seriously, some cite incidents of intestinal infections, pneumonia, and meningitis.
The provincial standard for safe coliform levels in water is nine or fewer units of coliform per 100 millilitres. For E. coli, the tolerance level is zero units per 100 millilitres.
An annual test is recommended.
Water Testing and Home Purchases
In recent months, William and Kelly-Lynn Denslow of Île-des-Chênes were helping their grown sons shop for a house. They found what they were looking for in Niverville.
Since the house was on a shared well system with three other homeowners, the Denslows’ realtor recommended that a bacterial water test be done, making the purchase of the sale contingent on the tests results.
According to their realtor, almost all banking institutions require the test before providing financing for a house purchase. The Denslows found this to be true when they called numerous banking institutions to inquire.
Their realtor offered to take the water sample herself, since the province has very strict guidelines on how to do it right. The provincial site also recommends conducting the test twice at two separate intervals to ensure its accuracy.
Both of the Denslows’ tests came back as a fail.
“They tested for coliform and E. coli,” Kelly-Lynn says. “We had no coliform, but there were five [parts per million] of E. coli. You’re allowed a few coliform and they don’t get too alarmed, but E. coli? Zero.”
The Denslows weren’t unfamiliar with well ownership. They shared a well with their neighbours in the years prior to Ritchot’s integration to a municipal system.
Back in the day, they say, there was little information provided on well water safety and maintenance. The only warning Kelly-Lynn can recall was the one they got when having their water checked because they were bringing home their first baby.
“Blue Baby Syndrome is [the result of] nitrates in the water, which you can get in areas where there is lots of fertilizer used and animal runoff,” Kelly-Lynn says. “The nitrates turn into nitrites which can interfere with oxygen/carbon dioxide exchange in bottle-fed babies whose formula is mixed with contaminated well water.”
Having been armed with this new knowledge of bacterial testing, though, Kelly-Lynn feels a real level of concern. After all, she spent her entire career in the healthcare field and is very aware of the ramifications of certain bacteria like E. coli on the human body.
So the Denslows began to research options for cleaning up bacteria in a well system. They were referred to MBM Plumbing.
Solution for Bacteria Removal
MBM Plumbing, owned by John Muller, is located close to Oakbank. He’s been in the plumbing business for 34 years, and his specialty now is residential and commercial well systems.
Muller says he’s heard of many situations where homebuyers find themselves unable to secure a mortgage due to failed bacterial water tests. Coliform bacteria in Manitoba wells, he says, is pretty common.
Where that bacteria originates, Muller adds, is typically in the aquifer from which a well draws its water.
“Coliform bacteria can come from 25 or 50 miles away from your house,” Muller says. “It’s a fecal bacteria from some source. When you’ve got it in your well, your neighbours probably have the same thing also.”
One of the most common practices in dealing with waterborne bacteria is a chlorine bleach treatment called shocking. While this treatment may be effective in the short-term on the water contained within the well itself, it does nothing to purify the water at its source.
“I have people that phone me and say, ‘I’ve shocked my well four times and I just can’t get rid of the bacteria,’” says Muller. “There are real estate agents that are sitting on an offer and they can’t sell because of the bacteria in the well. It’s frustrating.”
According to Muller, there is only one really effective way to prevent coliform or other nasty bacteria from getting into a household’s usable water source: a UV light filtration system.
“The water comes in through a five-micron prefilter which stops much of the bacteria that’s hiding within particles,” Muller says. “It goes through a UV reactor [after that], and that doses the bacteria and kills it before it gets to the point of use.”
The UV light system has been around for quite some time and Muller is surprised that more homeowners aren’t aware of it. Through the course of his work, he’s seen household water tests come back revealing bacteria numbers as high as 2,000 units per millilitre.
“When you think about the water that you drink every day, you cook with it, brush your teeth with it, wash your lettuce… you’re going to come in contact with coliform,” Muller says. “You don’t have to have a lot in your system for it to upset your stomach.”
Installing a UV system in the home runs approximately $2,000 for the average household.
Ongoing maintenance includes filter replacement twice annually at a cost of about $32 per filter. The UV light also needs to be replaced once annually at around $90. Maintenance needs are dependent, of course, on the family’s annual water usage.
“To have quality drinking water, people spend more money when they buy bottled water,” Muller reasons. “That’s expensive also.”
As for reverse osmosis filtration systems, Muller says they are great to have, especially when the home uses a water softener, but they aren’t a replacement for a UV light system.
Reverse osmosis systems remove softener salt from drinking water as well as herbicides and pesticides contained in the water, but they do nothing when it comes to harmful bacteria.
“With a UV light and an RO system, you’ll have better drinking water than most bottled water,” Muller concludes.
The Right Well System for Your Home
For anyone on a well system, Muller says regular maintenance should be done every three or four years to ensure that the system’s components, like the well pump, don’t blow prematurely.
A quick inspection by someone like himself can also indicate whether the home is outfitted with the right well for the appliances being used. Not all well systems, he says, are created equally.
“I think people should have it explained to them. Sometimes people go for the lowest price and the lowest price isn’t always the best for today’s appliances. The lowest price will get you a very basic system with a half horse pump. Only after do [homeowners] find out that they can’t run the shower and do the laundry at the same time. It doesn’t keep up with the demand.”
As well, he adds, modern household appliances like the washing machine, dishwasher, and water softener, run on computerized cycling systems.
“[The computer] tells [the machine] to fill for, say, 15 seconds at 50 psi,” he says. “So if you don’t have a constant pressure well system, sometimes you’re not getting a full wash or rinse on the washing machine because your system won’t fill it with the proper amount of water.”
Many people assume that a poor wash cycle is the fault of the appliance and not a low-grade well system. Ensuring that you have a constant pressure well system means that you’ll have a constant 60 psi without fluctuation.
Getting your well system upgraded to match your appliances doesn’t have to mean replacing the entire system, Muller adds. Oftentimes only certain components need to be upgraded.
