Whether living in a subdivision with a central water system or on a 5-acre parcel, everyone in eastern El Paso County relies on well water to drink, bathe, cook and irrigate.The water reports from the Woodmen Hills Metropolitan District and the Cherokee Metropolitan District indicate that the Woodmen Hills district relies on 10 local wells from the Cherokee district. The report also states that Cherokee gets its water from 17 alluvial wells near Ellicott, and both districts routinely test their water for contaminants and treat them accordingly.Private well owners are not required to test their wells, according to the El Paso County Department of Health and Environment Web site. The Health Department provides testing and advises private well owners to have their water tested annually for coliform and E. coli bacteria.To get valid results on the bacteria test, the sample must be taken carefully.Mark Birkelow, crew chief and licensed contractor for Barnhart Pump, a Falcon-based well installation and service company, said he sees “a fair amount of false positives from the health department” because of poor sample taking.If coliform or E. coli are found, the well can be chlorinated by a professional or the well owner.Septic systems or farm animals can be the sources of coliform or E. coli contamination, Bikelow said. “You want to be careful about your wellhead. It is your water source.”The county and state require a minimum lineal distance of 100 feet between a wellhead and a septic system, Bikelow said, but “the farther the better.”Proper placement of the septic system in relation to the well can prevent future problems. “Putting your well on the uphill side of your house and your septic on the downhill side will prevent run-off and any alluvial water that may be moving right underneath the ground from introducing a contaminant,” Bikelow said.Bikelow also noted that iron, which occurs naturally in local well water, is responsible for corroding pipes and pumps. “Iron plugs things up and slow things down,” he said.Hydrogeologist Julia Murphy said high manganese levels are normal for the Falcon area. “It’s a nuisance mineral,” Murphy said. “It causes red staining in the toilets and clothes. It may give a funny taste, but it’s not something that is a significant health risk.”The balance between acidity and alkalinity also is a problem for private well owners with houses that have copper water piping, Murphy said. When water is too acidic, the acid leaches copper out of the pipes.A blue stain on sinks and tubs is the telltale sign of copper leaching. Over time, enough copper is leached that the pipes start to leak.Installing a water softener solves iron and manganese problem, and installing a pH neutralizing system takes care of the copper-leaching problem, Murphy said.Well water may also contain nitrates, which may be the result of contamination from septic systems or agricultural run-off, Murphy said.According to the Colorado State University Extension Web site, high levels of nitrates can cause blue-baby syndrome, also known as methemoglobinemia, in which nitrates reduce the carrying capacity of oxygen in the blood of infants less than 6 months of age.The Web site also advises that pregnant women, adults with reduced stomach acidity, people deficient in the enzyme that changes methemoglobin into normal hemoglobin and cattle, horses and sheep are susceptible to methemoglobinemia.According to the Web site, common symptoms of methemoglobinemia include a bluish color of the skin, particularly around the eyes and mouth; headache, dizziness, weak or difficult breathing, abdominal pain, diarrhea, muscular weakness and poor coordination.Affected animals have blood that is a chocolate-brown color. Pregnant animals may abort within a few days. If diagnosed in time, patients can expect a complete recovery.Murphy sited old wells that are not properly abandoned as conduits for contamination. “If they are not abandoned properly, you’ve basically got a giant straw that acts as a tube from the surface down.”The same is true of a well that is in use. “There’s never a perfect seal when you put in a well. If a well is constructed poorly, there is a potential for contamination and migration to occur along the well,” Murphy said.The CSU Extension Web site notes that charcoal filters and water softeners do not adequately remove nitrates from water and that boiling water actually concentrates nitrates.Instead, the Web site recommends treating nitrate-contaminated water by distillation, a reverse osmosis system, or an ion exchange system.Mike Finch of Affordable Water Services Inc. in Colorado Springs said reverse osmosis systems remove 92 to 95 percent of nitrates. Some people object to reverse osmosis systems, because they take all the minerals out of the water, Finch said. “Actually, they take a majority of good and bad minerals out of the water. I’m on a well and have two RO systems, and I would rather take a one-a-day vitamin and have control over what I consume,” he said.Nitrate is tasteless, colorless and odorless, so it can only be detected by chemical analysis. The CSU Extension Web site advises that “if you drink water from a private well, get a qualified laboratory to test it yearly.”Contact the Colorado State University Extension office in Colorado Springs at (719) 636-8920 for the names of qualified laboratories.For more information on methemoglobinemia, visit www.ext.colostate.edu/PUBS/crops/00517.html.For information on the county’s bacteria test, visit http://www.elpasocountyhealth.org/pdf/waterpotabilitytest6_29_06.pdf.To review the 2007 water analysis report for Woodmen Hill Metro District, visit www.woodmenhills.info//2007_Water_Rpt.pdf.Cherokee’s report is available at their Web site, www.cherokeemetro.org.
