Your water supply is an essential part of living in the country or a cottage setting. The difference from city living is the property owner is responsible for it.
Drawing water from a well, lake, river, stream, spring, or pond is considered to be surface water as such is ripe for contamination from a variety of different sources. If it’s open to the atmosphere, environment, run-off, etc, it will require more treatment than deep wells because it will likely contain micro-organisms such as bacteria, viruses, and parasites that can cause illness.
That’s why at a minimum, all surface water should be treated with a filter system that includes a sediment filter and a UV (ultraviolet) light to kill bacteria. It should also be tested regularly.
The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) and the Public Health Ontario Laboratory in Orillia provide water sample collection kits which can be picked up and dropped at either location. The testing is free of charge for owners of private drinking water systems. Water is tested for bacteria (E. coli and total coliforms).
More advanced testing for contaminants, chemicals, etc. is not included. However, licensed laboratories can provide this service for a fee. Costs vary between laboratories so it’s best to shop around.
Why test for anything else? Perhaps your water doesn’t look very good. Instead of being clear, it could be dirty looking, or flow out in unappetizing colours such as red. It could also taste funny, or be salty even if you don’t use a water softener. Sometimes it can even smell.
All of these issues can be treated but first, you need to know what’s in it and what your water source is.
To determine what contaminants may be in your water (chemicals, lead, etc.) a sample will need to be tested at a private licensed laboratory.
Treatment options vary for well water and water that is drawn from lakes and rivers. The amount of treatment for wells depends on whether it’s a drilled well, dug well, or well point. Of them, a drilled well will likely have a lower risk of contamination because of its depth but it also leaves it more vulnerable to deep aquifer contaminants such as salt and poorer natural water quality.
That’s why, if you own a private well, you should consider testing your water for sodium. It can occur naturally or be the result of run-off from road salt.
Water will need to be disinfected if the well is contaminated after a flood, when a new well is installed, or when the well’s pump is serviced.
Dug wells and sand point wells have a higher risk of contamination because they are drawn from a shallow water table. Also, bacteria, parasites, and viruses can be higher after rain storms or during spring snowmelt.
For rural homes and cottages that have to provide their own water, treatment options start with adding a carbon filter to the filter system that includes a sediment filter and a UV light. It can improve taste and smell by removing some pollutants.
Reverse osmosis can remove minerals and other substances from water but the hardness (minerals such as calcium and magnesium) needs to be removed another way such as with a water softener. Also, RO does not disinfect or treat bacteria.
Some types of bacteria will affect health while others are more aesthetic affecting colour, staining, and odour. Testing and/or removing them will require special treatment.
Hydrogen sulfide, for example, has a rotten egg smell. More commonly found in well water, it has to be tested on-site.
The presence of iron in the water can also smell. It can change from dirty coloured water to red depending on the type of iron and how high the level is.
