Milky well water

[Patrick Greenlee]

Our recent water bill from the rural water district was sharply up (5-6 times usual) so I investigated and found the 2 inch supply line from the meter to our house (about 700 feet) leaks after 15 years of leak free service. I walked the route where it is buried and saw no surface wetting area so the dirt where the leak is must perk nicely. I shut off the water coming into the meter and connected the house to our well (a one minute job as house is set up to accommodate switching between the two sources.)

I can take my time fixing the leak.

Now for the "meat" of this post: The well water looks milky when filling a glass. It is air. Let the glass of water stand for a while and the tiny bubblers float to the top leaving the water nice and clear. I got a lot of air in the line when switching between sources (rural water district and well) and thought that was maybe the problem but over 2 weeks later water is still filled with little bubbles. 15 years ago this well fed another house and there was never any milky look. In the interim the well only fed water to a stock watering trough and never noticed it looking milky. The pipe from the well to the house is about a quarter mile long.

Anyway, I'm soliciting opinions on what could be causing the air in the well water.

[Paul F Franklin]

What kind of well pump, submersible or jet, shallow or deep?

[Patrick Greenlee]

Pump is submersible at the bottom of the pipe going near the bottom of the well. We are not using water anywhere near as fast as the well can supply so pump is definitely fully submerged and not sucking air. There is a bladder tank in the well house to stop short cycling of the pump. I have the pressure switch set to cut off the pump at 60 PSI and turn on at about 50 PSI (IIRC)

[Peter Kelly]

How do you know the bubbles are air? If the well is real deep, this could be caused by any number of dissolved gasses including C02, methane, radon or H2S. As the water rises from the well, the difference in atmospheric pressures or temperatures when it reaches the surface will cause a dissolved gas to turn into bubbles and evaporate.

If you live somewhere that has experienced a drought recently and the water level in the well is low, it could also be that your pump is "drawing down" and sucking in some air as it tries to pull water up. 1/4 mile is pretty far and not enough water could burn the pump out.

[Lee Schierer]

I'm surprised that your water supplier allows you to have your well connected to the rural water district system.

I would drain the bladder tank completely and then restart the pump. If it is air in the water it should clear up after a short time. In our area wells sometimes yield cloudy water when the well hasn't been used for a while when the recent activity stirs up shale sediment. If it is sediment it should settle out over night and be evident as gray matter in the bottom of the glass.

If you have doubts, take a sample to your local water test agency.

[Patrick Greenlee]

No sediment. No taste. No smell. When well is used to feed an RO filter nothing unusual except a crackly noise as bubbles are removed by the prefilter and or RO membrane. Well was not out of service. It was providing water to a stock watering tank. If the pump outruns the well we get some sand and clay but it hasn't happened for several years when using the well to prefill a septic tank.

[Peter Kelly]

C02, Radon, Methane don’t have any smell. As Lee suggested, you may want to get a test done before drinking.

[Patrick Greenlee]

Interconnecting your well to the rural water system is not permitted. I plumbed our house such that you can have one or the other one at a time but not at same time. We are going on 3 weeks on the well with the rural system shut off at the entry point to the meter. I understand about dissolved gasses coming out of solution as pressure is reduced or temp is raised. We have been using this well for over 20 years and never had this happen before.

[Jim Koepke]

Interconnecting your well to the rural water system is not permitted. I plumbed our house such that you can have one or the other one at a time but not at same time. We are going on 3 weeks on the well with the rural system shut off at the entry point to the meter. I understand about dissolved gasses coming out of solution as pressure is reduced or temp is raised. We have been using this well for over 20 years and never had this happen before.

Howdy Patrick and welcome to the Creek.

Some questions:

One, have you checked your service meter to make sure it isn't still showing flow?

Two, since your location isn't listed Google can't tell if there is any fracking in your area. Is there local fracking?

Do you know if anyone else locally has a well and if they have experienced this?

Finally, how the line runs could be a factor in this. If there is a small leak between the house service and where the line branches between the water trough line and the house line, air could be sucked into the line when the trough is demanding water and then come out when a house tap is used.

jtk

[Stan Calow]

Patrick, it is all about the temperature of the ground the pipes run through, and as you noted, cold water coming into a warm house causes the air to come out of solution. The air is likely dissolving into the cold water in the well (which is not under pressure). Then pumped under pressure though the pipes in the cold ground. Once the pressure is released at the tap, the air comes out. You're concerned because you think it should be going away by now?

[Tom Bender]

Methane (unscented natural gas) comes from the ground.

[Jim Koepke]

Methane (unscented natural gas) comes from the ground.

Test for that by holding a match over a glass of the bubbly water .

jtk

[Von Bickley]

If the check valve is leaking you can have milky water. If the check valve is leaking, the pump will cycle on & off when you are not using water.

[Myk Rian]

Test for that by holding a match over a glass of the bubbly water .
You do realize someone will say; and blow the house up?