The Earth's Hydrologic Water Cycle
The Hydrologic Cycle, or Water Cycle, is a fundamental process that sustains life on Earth. Solar radiation drives this continuous cycle, which involves the movement of water between the atmosphere, land, and oceans. Water transitions between different states — solid (ice), liquid (water), and gas (water vapor) — as it circulates through processes like evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and runoff. This cyclical movement distributes water across different regions of the planet, playing a crucial role in regulating climate patterns and supporting ecosystems.
The hydrologic water cycle has the physical processes of Evaporation and/or Evapotranspiration, Condensation, Precipitation, and then soil Infiltration. Once rain, snow, or ice precipitation falls to earth, it takes the form of Runoff, Percolation, and then Groundwater, creating the Water Table. This water finds its way by gravity to streams, lakes, and oceans — or into your home by means of an electric submersible pump or jet pump if you're on a private well system.
The State of Maryland and the surrounding areas of West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Virginia have some of the most diverse water problems found in the United States. From the mountainous western areas to the piedmont and coastal beaches, you'll find nearly every water problem known. Below is a rundown of the well water problems we encounter most often and the best treatment methods to solve them.
Groundwater's extended residence time in underground aquifers allows it to interact with various geological formations, which can lead to the dissolution of minerals, gases, and other substances. While many of these natural contaminants may not pose direct health risks, they can still have adverse effects on plumbing systems, leading to issues like scale buildup or corrosion.
The presence of man-made contaminants from industrial activities, agricultural practices, leaking septic systems, and underground storage tanks adds another layer of concern for private well owners. These pollutants can include heavy metals, pesticides, fertilizers, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), PFOS, PFOA, and petroleum products, among others. Depending on concentration and toxicity, these contaminants can pose serious health risks if they enter your drinking water supply.
It's essential for private well owners to regularly test their water for a broad range of contaminants and implement the right treatment measures to ensure safe, quality drinking water. Regular maintenance and monitoring of your well system also helps mitigate the risks tied to both natural and man-made contaminants.
Common Well Water Problems
Hard Water
What's commonly called "hard water" is naturally occurring calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate. Water containing these minerals was originally termed "hard" because washing clothes and bathing in it is difficult — it creates soap curd residue and little if any soapy lather. Skin also becomes dry and itchy from the residue, and untreated hard water can exacerbate skin conditions like psoriasis and eczema. Once modern plumbing developed, hard water became a nuisance by clogging pipes, filling water heaters with scale deposits, and destroying other water-using appliances. Nice glass shower doors eventually become etched and cloudy from mineral deposits. Hard water doesn't taste bad, for the most part. Water that tests above 7 grains per gallon (119.7 ppm/mg-l) contains enough calcium and magnesium to require a water softener.
Treatment options: Water Softeners or Patented Sulfur & Iron Removal.
Irony Well Water (Iron)
Iron water, or "irony water," is one of the most common aesthetic and bothersome water quality problems to remedy without the proper filtration equipment. There are five types of iron found in groundwater: clear water iron (ferrous), red water iron (ferric — the oxidized form), bacterial iron (Crenothrix, Leptothrix, Gallionella), organic iron (tannin, heme, complexed, pink), and colloidal iron. The most common forms found in Maryland and the surrounding areas are clear and red water iron. The taste of irony well water is unmistakable — like chewing on a rusty nail. Water containing only 0.3 ppm/mg-l of iron is enough to permanently stain household fixtures, appliances, ruin laundry, and make hot water smell terrible.
Treatment options: Water Softeners or Patented Sulfur & Iron Removal.
Sediment in Well Water
High sediment is mostly found in well water systems. It ranges from sand or grit you can visibly see sinking to the bottom of a glass in seconds, to silt or mud that stays suspended for hours, to turbid water (sub-micron turbidity) that stays cloudy and never settles out. This can also be caused by a failing well system or a well pump set too close to the bottom. Water high in sediment is very abrasive — the grit prematurely wears out water treatment equipment and creates leaks in o-rings and seals in appliances and plumbing fixtures, and it will clog pipes and water heaters.
Treatment options: Sediment Filters, Water Softeners, or Patented Sulfur & Iron Removal.
Manganese in Well Water
Manganese is a difficult water quality problem because it takes only a very small amount to cause stains — it turns everything it touches dark brown or black. Just 0.05 ppm/mg-l of this damaging element is noticeable and will stain toilets, sinks, bathtubs, and other plumbing fixtures. Because manganese forms a sticky coating on everything it contacts, it clumps together and puts black spots on white laundry. Manganese will also stink up a water heater and fill it with sludge in no time, creating a sulfur (rotten egg) smell similar to irony well water.
Treatment options: Water Softeners or Patented Sulfur & Iron Removal.
Acidic Well Water
Acidic well water is undoubtedly the most damaging but also the most overlooked water problem a homeowner can face. Often, homeowners don't realize there's a serious water problem until they see pinhole leaks spraying water from copper pipes, mold growing in walls and ceilings from slow leaks, or blue-green stains on sinks and bathroom fixtures. Drinking water from a brass faucet or copper plumbing will have a distinct metallic taste. If your house was built before about 1985, you may also have a potential lead contamination problem — that's when lead solder for copper plumbing connections was outlawed. Most Maryland counties now require a "first draw" lead test (water that has sat in pipes untouched for 12+ hours) before a house can be sold. Homes with acidic well water and plastic plumbing like PVC aren't immune either — water heaters, kitchen faucets, shower valves, and toilet components made of metal or brass will corrode and get eaten away. Acidic well water by itself is harmless and is simply water with a pH below 7.0 — high carbon dioxide content is also a major factor in how aggressive the water is. It's the heavy metals like copper and lead dissolved by this "hungry water" that can be a serious health concern.
Best treatment: Acid Neutralizers.
Sulfur Water (Hydrogen Sulfide)
Sulfur water is well water that smells like "rotten eggs" in higher concentrations and has a noticeable musty odor in lower concentrations. A colorless dissolved gas called hydrogen sulfide is responsible for the smell — produced by natural sulfate-reducing bacteria in groundwater feeding on sulfate minerals or decaying vegetation. The human nose is very sensitive to sulfur, and it can be repulsive to a homeowner. It comes and goes for no particular reason and is usually worst after water sits unused for a while (like in the morning shower), and it's usually strongest on the top floor bathroom because the gas slowly percolates upward through the plumbing system. Sulfur water — although just a smelly nuisance in small concentrations in a household setting — can also be toxic to humans and explosive in very high concentrations, like in a coal mine. A variety of treatment methods are available including chlorine feed pumps, aeration, and specialty catalyst materials — an aeration system is by far the best option for most situations. Sulfur water is often mistaken for iron bacteria (Gallionella and Leptothrix), since both smell nearly the same in hot water. This requires an experienced water conditioning professional to tell one from the other and recommend the right equipment.
Best treatment: Patented Sulfur & Iron Removal.
Not sure which of these you're dealing with? Send us a few photos and a description of what's going on and we'll help you figure it out.