Our well water tastes good – no chlorine or metallic after taste. Generally, it is crystal clear. We have two wells, one for the house and another for outside. We have not had any issues with our well water until recently.
Texas has been in a drought for a few years and 2022 is looking even worse with little rain this spring. Water is not only essential for us humans but for our dogs, alpacas, and chicks. Not to mention the produce that I am trying to grow.
We set up a drip system with old hoses for our fruit trees. I had been using a sprinkler to water the vegetable garden until I noticed that the sprinkler was not maintaining pressure. Sometimes the water decreases after 30 minutes and sometimes after only 10. Part of the issue is sediment blocking the screen on the sprinkler but that is not always the case. We worried that the loss in pressure could mean our well was running low on water. I asked our neighbors if they noticed any issues with their water and they said no. Now I am in the garden every morning watering with the hose and nozzle. There does not seem to be a problem with pressure when I water this way and I can target where water is most needed but it is time consuming. Setting up a drip system will be added to the list of future projects.
On Sunday, I filled a glass from the tap for a drink and the water was a cloudy white. Looking online for possible causes, I read that cloudy white water is generally harmless and could be the result of air bubbles and that they would go away. I left the water sitting on the counter overnight. The next morning, it was still cloudy. Further research seemed more ominous. Perhaps sediment seeped in after recent thunderstorm. Sediment may be due to low water level. A heavy rainfall replenishes the groundwater supply, and the water level begins to rise, and carries more contaminants with it. If the water level is low and there is a heavy rain increasing the ground water supply, more sediment can get through.
High levels of manganese and iron could be another issue if the water is cloudy and an orange ring is found in the toilet tank. Fortunately, I do no think this is an issue as we do not have orange commodes.
After a few days, the cloudiness disappeared. Somehow sediment got into the water supply, perhaps after the rain we had last week. We will have to call a well expert to take a look at our wells and see if there are any screens that need to be replaced or other causes. In the meantime, we will need to at least get a filter for under the sink.
For now, I think we dodged a bullet.
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