On this episode of “Know Your Well,” we’re discussing water testing. What goes into testing your water? How often should you do it? Why is it important?
Today’s guest is Mike Ekberg, the manager of water resource monitoring at the Miami Conservancy District in Dayton, Ohio.
“Know Your Well” is a production of the National Ground Water Association. This podcast was created and edited by NGWA’s Abby Valencic. and hosted by Ben Frech.
WellOwner.org is supported by the Rural Community Assistance Partnership, as part of the USEPA funded program “Improving Water Quality through Training and Technical Assistance to Private Well Owners.” To learn more about the Rural Community Assistance Partnership, go to RCAP.org.
Episode Transcript
Ben Frech:
Welcome to Know Your Well, presented by WellOwner.org and the National Ground Water Association. On each episode of Know Your Well, we explore different topics that impact private well owners across the country from water quality to everyday water well maintenance. My name is Ben Frech and I will be your host as we explore the wide world of water wells. On this episode of Know Your Well, we’re discussing water testing. What goes into testing your water? How often should you do it and why is it so important? Answering these questions and many more today is Mike Ekberg, who’s the manager of Water Resource Monitoring at the Miami Conservancy District in Dayton, Ohio. Mike, welcome to the show.
Mike Ekberg:
Oh, thanks for having me, Ben. It’s good to be here.
Ben Frech:
Tell us a little bit first about what the Miami Conservancy District does in Ohio, here in Dayton, Ohio.
Mike Ekberg:
Sure. The Miami Conservancy District originated as an organization to help solve recurring flooding problems in Southwest Ohio. The Miami Conservancy District kind of arose in the aftermath of the 1913 flood, which was the flood of record in our region. It was a devastating flood. Out of that, the citizens in Southwest Ohio decided that they needed a longterm solution, so Miami Conservancy District was created. We built a flood protection system that has five dams and about 55 miles of levy that protect the communities along the Great Miami River from flooding. Flood protection is a big part of our mission, but we’re also very focused on water quality. Our region has very productive sand and gravel aquifers, and probably over 95% of the people that live in our region get their drinking water from groundwater.
Ben Frech:
Yeah.
Mike Ekberg:
A good many of those people have a private water system. So talking about getting your water tested is very timely, because it’s something that we really want to encourage owners of private water systems to do.
Ben Frech:
Yeah, it’s so important. I want to come back to that a little bit later about how flooding and water testing will oftentimes go hand-in-hand, especially with some groundwater issues. That’s interesting you’re talking about the 1913 flood. I think I remember living in and around Cincinnati seeing a lot of markers on bridges and statues and things by the river showing markers of where the 1913 flood was, or was hitting. It was always very interesting to see.
Mike Ekberg:
Yeah, if you ever come into Downtown Dayton, or even if you come to our headquarters building, we have a marker right in our front door that shows the level that the floodwaters reached during that flood and it’s really amazing.
Ben Frech:
Yeah. So let’s get into water testing, why we’re talking today. Could you tell us just in basic terms, I mean, what does water testing mean? Is it as simple as grabbing a test tube and running some tests? I mean, when you say water testing, is that basically a catch-all for any kind of tests you can do or what, I mean, what kind of water testing are you most concerned with?
Mike Ekberg:
Yeah. The angle I’m going to approach it from today when we talk about water testing, and I’m really kind of focused on owners of private water systems today, it’s testing your water or having it analyzed to see whether or not there are contaminants in the water and are they at levels that potentially impact the safety of the drinking water.
Ben Frech:
Right. Right. I mean, let’s get in, before we get into what can be in there, let’s talk about what people probably want to know right off the bat, can people test their own water wells? Is that advisable?
Mike Ekberg:
Yeah. Generally people can’t test their own water. There are a few simple tests out there, but generally speaking, you’re going to need a professional and you’re probably going to need to work with a laboratory to have a thorough analysis of your drinking water.
Ben Frech:
Yeah. We always, obviously here, we always like to promote our WellOwner.org contractor lookup tool, which we’ll put well owners into contact with contractors who can test their water. Who work with a lot of laboratories and local health departments to do that. Once you have a contractor out there, you’re working with a laboratory to test your water, what are these people looking for? Is there any way to know if you need to test your water, or should it just be something you do annually, like changing a furnace filter?
Mike Ekberg:
Generally, I would recommend that a private well owner, assuming that there’s no change in the taste or odor of the water, or there’s no reason to suspect contamination, that you get it tested once a year. If there is a reason to think that there’s a potential for, there’s some kind of change, maybe the water suddenly clouds up or tastes different, maybe the well was flooded. On occasions like that the well owner probably ought to have it tested immediately after an event like that or potentially more frequently.
Ben Frech:
Right. Let’s talk a little bit more about that. As far as people thinking potentially their water could be contaminated. If there are people who maybe move to a new house or maybe there was recently a new manufacturer or something built close to them, or is there any really kind of regionality that may drive people wanting to test their water more? Or any kind of impacts on their landscape that would, people would want to potentially get their water tested more than one year or maybe one year something happens with the weather that would prove useful to have it tested.
Mike Ekberg:
Yeah. I think if there are a lot of land use changes going on, that’s probably a good thing to get a test. I think certainly, again, I’ll go back to a change in taste or odor of the water or the appearance of the water. That would be a good reason to have it tested. The other thing is just, there are some wells that are just kind of in more vulnerable locations. If the well is subjected to, maybe it’s on the bank of a creek or near a river and can periodically be flooded. That might be a situation where the homeowner might want to look at more frequent testing. I would encourage, though, any homeowner that is in a situation like that to talk with a water well professional, maybe their local or state health departments and get some information. They may have information on other wells in that area. They might be able to give the well owner some tips and some useful information in making those kinds of decisions.
Ben Frech:
Let’s get back to that a little bit what you were just talking about, so going into the flooding aspect of this. How does actual, how does a water well become contaminated? You were saying if it’s by a creek or a river bed, how, if a water well is not contaminated one day, but becomes contaminated, how does that usually happen? How’s that connected to flooding?
Mike Ekberg:
Well, generally one of the most common ways that a well can become contaminated is if it is in an, either due to the construction of the well or the location of the well, it’s exposed to surface water, which can rapidly infiltrate into the ground, bringing potential contaminants with it to the well, or potentially, if the wells a little too close to a septic system. Situations like that can make a well more vulnerable. The aquifer type. Again, I think these are things that most private owners might not be aware of. I think if you talk with water professionals and your local health department, you can get some clues as to what the situation and what kinds of vulnerabilities wells in your region might have.
Ben Frech:
Before we start talking about what things can usually cost, let’s say somebody does get their water tested. It comes back as there’s some contamination issues with it. Tell me a little bit about how those get kind of remediated and if they can be fixed at all without having to replace their well, or if they can usually just get these treated, for the most part.
Mike Ekberg:
Well, depending upon the type of contaminant, sometimes it’s as simple as, and again, when you get the results back, it’s good to have and to consult with a water professional to assist you in interpreting those results. Solutions to contaminants can be anything from perhaps the well needs to be maintained properly. Maybe the well has a broken casing that’s allowing surface water to get in and it might need some attention. Other things can just be that there are point of use water treatment systems that are out there on the market. There are whole house treatment systems that are available, and they come with different costs and different levels of complexity. I don’t want to jump too far ahead, but I think, again, the first thing is when you get results from a water analysis is I would encourage any private well owner to sit down with a professional and go over those results. Then review options.
Ben Frech:
Right. Oftentimes the person, would the person be testing your system, also be the person offering options to remediate the issue? Will they usually be the same contractor, or can they be the same contractor usually?
Mike Ekberg:
They can be, but sometimes, there’s everything from people at the laboratory can assist sometimes in interpreting results. Certainly a drilling or a water system professional. Again, people that work at a state health department, or perhaps a state environmental protection agency can help with that. There’s a lot of people you can consult. There’s some good websites. The National Groundwater Association has some excellent information on its private well owner site. Ohio State University, Penn State University also have some. There’s a lot of good information out there. It’s just important that any well owner consult some of that information and some of that expertise.
Ben Frech:
That’s excellent. Let’s talk about, I mean, I know that you, the market obviously changes, but what could a homeowner, as far as you know right now, expect to spend just getting a general water test on their well?
Mike Ekberg:
Well, again, that’ll be dependent on what that homeowner wants to test for.
Ben Frech:
Right.
Mike Ekberg:
Generally, at the very basic level, a homeowner probably wants to test for bacteria, something like a total coliform of bacteria, which is an indicator of whether or not surface water’s getting down into the well. That’s not a very expensive test. That could run someone maybe 20 to $30.
Ben Frech:
Okay.
Mike Ekberg:
If you want to get more complex and analyze for a lot of different contaminants, you can quickly get up over a thousand dollars.
Ben Frech:
Oh. Wow.
Mike Ekberg:
Most people don’t need to do that level of testing.
Ben Frech:
What are the most common contaminants found in your average private water well system at this point in time?
Mike Ekberg:
Well, I can speak for the region that I’m-
Ben Frech:
Yeah.
Mike Ekberg:
I’m in the Dayton, Ohio area. Southwest Ohio. Generally, what I would recommend for any private water system owner, first and foremost, get it tested for bacteria. If nothing else, do total coliform, maybe do E. Coli On top of that. Total coliform will tell you whether your wells vulnerable to surface water contaminants. E. Coli will tell you if there is coliform bacteria, and it tells you, “Hey, it’s coming from a fecal source.” On top of that I’d probably encourage nitrate. Nitrates can come from fertilizers. They can be, if you have nitrate in your drinking water at high enough level, it can be harmful to infants. To people, infants under the age of say, six months. It can interfere with their blood’s ability to bind with and transport oxygen through the body.
Ben Frech:
Right. Right.
Mike Ekberg:
Certainly bacteria and nitrate.
Ben Frech:
That would especially be important to parents who are formula feeding their babies and using a lot of water in doing that prior to that six months.
Mike Ekberg:
Yeah, and again, I think the National Groundwater Association has some excellent guidance on their website, on what to test for. What I’m saying is pretty consistent with the information I think that’s on that site. If you’re a homeowner and you’re wanting to get your water tested, I’d certainly recommend looking over the information that’s available on that site.
Ben Frech:
Excellent. Excellent. Well, anything else you’d like to bring up today as far as people listening right now, wanting some basic information on water testing?
Mike Ekberg:
I think I would just reemphasize, if you’re an owner of a private water system, it’s a good idea to at least, at a minimum, get that water tested once a year. I’d encourage you to do it. It’s not that hard to do. There’s information available out there and professionals that are available out there that can walk you through the steps and help you interpret the results.
Ben Frech:
Excellent. Excellent. Mike, where can people find out more about what you guys do and the work you do around Ohio?
Mike Ekberg:
Well, you can certainly come to our website. If you come to www.mcdwater.org. We’re also involved with, we do a number of test your well events.
Ben Frech:
Oh. Great.
Mike Ekberg:
In our region. We do a number of counties, a once a year event, where people can bring in a sample of water. We’ll do some field screening on site, and then they can get sample bottles, we’ll usually work with a lab, and they can go more in depth with the lab if they want to. I mean, this year with the pandemic going on, some of those events might not be happening, but once we get through this, I’m sure we’ll continue on with those kinds of things.
Ben Frech:
Be back at it. Well, thank you very, very much for your time today. Again, if you do own a private well, we encourage you to get your water tested every year. Wellowner.org has a great contractor look up tool. You can find certified water contractors in your area who help you with that testing, for remediating any problem they may find. Mike, thank you so much for joining us again. Go Flyers. This has been an episode of Know Your Well. Know Your Well is a production of the National Groundwater Association. This podcast was created and edited by NGWAs Abby [inaudible 00:17:37]. I’m your host, Ben Frech, telling you what you need to know to make the well water flow. Thank you everybody and have a great afternoon.
