As winter turns to spring and our snow melts two things happen to the water. Some of it evaporates up but the majority of it  seeps down into the ground. The surface water picks up dirt and debris and flows into culverts and rivers but some seeps into the ground and will wend up in your well!

The part that evaporates is not a problem but the water that goes into the ground can take with it bacteria and minerals. This brings changes to the ground water that may not have been there a month or even a week ago. The ground water ends up trickling into our wells and all of a sudden you may notice a smell that was not present before or residue left in a sink or toilet you had not seen before.

The spring is the time we are most likely to notice changes to our water, although it can happen at any time,  especially in a season when there is an abnormal amount of rain.

Water testing of your well water, at least two times a year is a good practice to get into. Most municipalities have a public health unit that provides water bottles with instructions on where to draw water from in your home for testing and where to take it or drop it off for testing. This type of testing is for water safety or potability, it determines there if there are any harmful bacteria in the water. It doesn’t test for mineral content or odour. However if the water is too turbid (cloudy) it will not be tested.

If you have strong colour in your water and even strong and unpleasant flavour you very likely have unwanted minerals or organic materials. Iron and Tannin are very common in Muskoka, calcium is common in some areas.

Water filtration products can eliminate a lot of different types of minerals and organics and correct turbid water conditions. For bacterial removal for safe drinking water a disinfecting system such as ultra violet, hydrogen peroxide or chlorine treatment is generally necessary. It is important to note that, if you have high tannin levels making you water “tea colour”, a UV system may not be 100% effective at removing bacteria. A Muskoka Clean Water we will test your water for UV transmittance levels to verify that you UV will be effective if you would like. Bring us a sample, it is a free service!

Remember your treatment devises will need servicing, so when you spring clean and do your water potability test consider changing your UV lamp and sediment filters or call us and we will come and do it for you.