Yuck! You just turned on the faucet to pour yourself a glass of water—and then you noticed the water had a brownish coloration. Definitely not drinking that…
Unfortunately, if your well water looks brown, that’s a sign of contamination.
This is especially common after a significant rainfall, as heavy rain often causes surface rainwater to enter your well through the wellhead. While your well normally pumps clean groundwater into your taps, it’s now pumping mysterious surface runoff. The biggest risk here is that you don’t know what the surface runoff has already come in contact with—meaning there’s a possibility it’s been contaminated by something like a nearby septic tank. You just don’t know.
But don’t fret. In today’s post, we’ll explain what you should do when you notice this kind of cloudy, brown coloration of your well water.
What to Do About Brown Well Water
First things first: Your instincts telling you not to drink the water were correct. In fact, whenever you notice anything different about your well water—whether it’s a discoloration, unusual smell, or off taste—you should err on the side of caution and refrain from drinking it until you’ve had it professionally tested for contaminants.
And that brings us to our second point: Have a local professional test your brown well water right away. Having a well water expert take a look at your system will let you know what it’s contaminated with, and therefore what kind of treatment or filtration system your well requires.
If you’re located anywhere in the Capital District, southern Columbia County, or the Berkshires, you can rely on Goold Wells & Pumps for the thorough well water testing services you need. We’ll inspect your well, take some samples of your brown well water, and report back to you with the detailed findings. Then, if it turns out there’s a serious contamination, we’ll help you implement an effective solution for treatment or filtration. You’ll have safe, clean drinking water again in no time!