Denisemomof4 Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Has anyone encountered this? What did you do? Many people in our town have the reverse osmosis system but I'm not interested in it as drinking de mineralized water also isn't ideal. I'm ashamed to say we haven't rechecked our well water in well over a decade. Surprisingly, nobody I know checks theirs either. Lesson learned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraidycat Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 (edited) I've never dealt with this, so am unsure of costs/viability, but could you put in reverse osmosis or distillation system for most uses, then re-mineralize water for drinking, using Concentrace Mineral drops? Edited March 11, 2016 by fraidycat 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted March 11, 2016 Author Share Posted March 11, 2016 Well aren't you brilliant. I never even thought of remineralizing! Definitely something to consider. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuga Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 It's pretty common where I live, though I don't know if more common than in other areas. I share your concern with demineralization--we drink straight from the tap--but I think if you have a well that has issues, you're better off de-and-re mineralizing, as suggested above. Good luck to you! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Governess Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 (edited) I believe there are even RO systems that will remineralize the water for you! Edited March 11, 2016 by lovelearnandlive 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted March 11, 2016 Author Share Posted March 11, 2016 Really lovelearnandlive? That would be even better! Tsuga, I saw a map where concentrations were higher in the US. It's a bigger issue than I ever realized. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto10blessings Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 How do you know it's contaminated? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 (edited) We had this and installed a fairly complicated whole house softener/purifier. It is not reverse osmosis. I couldn't tell you the name because it was done by a water filtration company, which also services it. I test the water at an indipendent lab at least yearly now (because I don't trust anyone!) Eta that naturally occurring arsenic is common here. Nothing to do with pollution or mines, i understand it's just the way the rock formation is. As is crazy amounts of iron in the water. The joys of rural life. Edited March 12, 2016 by madteaparty 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonbon Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 There's been talk of this in my area too due to the drought and what's happening with water levels/movement below the surface in relation to abandoned mines. Many wells went dry last summer and there has been concern over what might be in the water when it's at that low point (more turbidity and contaminants the lower you go in the well.) Does anyone have experience with the Big Berkey water filters? I've thought about getting one, as we don't have any sort of filter on our well, but I'm a bit skeptical: http://www.bigberkeywaterfilters.com/ They sell arsenic removal filters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonbon Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 I did talk to a water expert (tester) who said that some arsenic in water is actually normal. I don't know if that is true or not. Obviously, too much arsenic is not a good thing. I don't know anything about what would be considered a safe level. When I looked into it, I found quite a bit of info online (EPA, .gov sites, etc.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 There's been talk of this in my area too due to the drought and what's happening with water levels/movement below the surface in relation to abandoned mines. Many wells went dry last summer and there has been concern over what might be in the water when it's at that low point (more turbidity and contaminants the lower you go in the well.) Does anyone have experience with the Big Berkey water filters? I've thought about getting one, as we don't have any sort of filter on our well, but I'm a bit skeptical: http://www.bigberkeywaterfilters.com/ They sell arsenic removal filters. I don't have one, but my sister lives in a very rural area, and she swears by them. I've considered one, being on a public system impacted by local waterway discharge. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 There's been talk of this in my area too due to the drought and what's happening with water levels/movement below the surface in relation to abandoned mines. Many wells went dry last summer and there has been concern over what might be in the water when it's at that low point (more turbidity and contaminants the lower you go in the well.) Does anyone have experience with the Big Berkey water filters? I've thought about getting one, as we don't have any sort of filter on our well, but I'm a bit skeptical: http://www.bigberkeywaterfilters.com/ They sell arsenic removal filters. I don't have one, but my sister lives in a very rural area, and she swears by them. I've considered one, being on a public system impacted by local waterway discharge. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 (edited) I did talk to a water expert (tester) who said that some arsenic in water is actually normal. I don't know if that is true or not. Obviously, too much arsenic is not a good thing. I don't know anything about what would be considered a safe level. When I looked into it, I found quite a bit of info online (EPA, .gov sites, etc.)Yes and according to my water guys the EPA recently changed the allowable amount for arsenic level in drinking water which caused problems for water municipalities. Ours is definitely the "natural" kind...my water guys also said that most our neighbors (we don't have many) just live with it. Which I can't imagine, myself. Edited March 12, 2016 by madteaparty 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted March 13, 2016 Author Share Posted March 13, 2016 The standards were changed ..... Was it 13 years ago? "Safe" levels used to be much higher. In NH, tons of ledge is the culprit for the levels. I read that levels change depending on water levels. We used an independent water lab to have our water analyzed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 There's been talk of this in my area too due to the drought and what's happening with water levels/movement below the surface in relation to abandoned mines. Many wells went dry last summer and there has been concern over what might be in the water when it's at that low point (more turbidity and contaminants the lower you go in the well.) Does anyone have experience with the Big Berkey water filters? I've thought about getting one, as we don't have any sort of filter on our well, but I'm a bit skeptical: http://www.bigberkeywaterfilters.com/ They sell arsenic removal filters. I have the Big Berkey and we are very happy with it. Very easy, portable if or when one moves, in the lower to mid price range as water purifiers go. You fill the top chamber and water filters through two solid carbon filters. The only disadvantage is that it is not a whole house filter, of course and the shower and other taps still have unfiltered water unless you install an additional filter system on the outside or at the point where water enters the house system. We had one of those at our old house and it was fine but we just wanted to generally filter - no arsenic in appreciable amounts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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