Do you think my well could be contaminating my neighbors wells?

Question

I live with my mom. We have  a 12-15 ft hand dug well. 6 years ago, our septic started flooding the yard, so my mom had it pumped. There is a big green patch of grass abive the septic, snd the leach field. There are. Couple other places like that around the house, so it may have nothing to do with the septic, but idk. We had the well tested recently, and it has coliform in it. Im afraid our well is contaminating the water table, and contaminating our neighbors water. I told my emediate neighbors, but idk how serious this is. Would pumping the septic fix whatever problem there may be?

Answer 1

Your well isn't contaminating your neighbor's wells. Your septic system could be contaminating them. Whatever the source is, the only way your well is the source is if you are pouring contaminants into the well.

Answer 2

Septic is suppose to be x amount of feet from any well. If it overflowed and contaminated the ground close enough to the well, then it could have contaminated it. That contaminated well could certainly contaminate the underground water system that the neighbors also tap into. Again, your well and the neighbors are suppose to be x feet away to mitigate these sort of issues. There are ways, you can find them online, to sterilize, treat your well. By doing so you'll be able to tell if it just your well that is contaminated or if the water has been also. This also may not be directly linked to your well or your septic issues. So treat you well, retest, see what happens, and take it from there. There are also filtering systems and sterilizers that can be added to your own water system, to make your supply safe.

Answer 3

There has been raw sewage soaking into the entire property ever since the first resident dug outdoor toilets.  Any and all and every drop of water from both properties is full of e-coli, dog ****, bird crap, dead mice and God know what else.  You need to have an osmosis system installed.  Call an engineer.  btw  Where do you live?  Even the poorest places in America have all had piped in water since 1980.

Answer 4

Well Well Well Well Well Well Well Well 

Answer 5

No, pumping isn't going to solve your problem. What you need to do is get an engineer out there to see what can be done. Most likely you will have to re-dig, then replace the entire system--it's very likely not to code now and wasn't ever. 

Answer 6

no an at 12-15 foot deep well its probably gonna stay contaminated.   That close to the surface its not gonna take much to contaminate it.  With a well that shallow you should definitely treat the water the contamination Could be from animals an other run off at that depth. 



The best fix would be to drill a deeper well if possible. 

Answer 7

fix the problem?  nope.  it takes years to clean up a contaminated water table.  you need a proper evaluation by a licensed civil engineer ... and the leech field needs to be detected to figure out if it is working properly [service company can do this by pumping the tank and then inserting a camera probe into the leech field entryway].  -- grampa  btw:  you need to boil all water used from that well for ANY purpose -- and may need a professionally drilled new one [which costs thousands -- and UP].

Answer 8

A hand dug well with an open top will certain contaminate the other wells. But it is not only your well.  If there are farm animals, their fecal matter is carried down into the acquifer as well. In other words, the top aquifer of groundwater in most places in the world is contaminated and been contaminated for thousands of years.  Finding coliform in it is to be expected. You well is not contaminating the water table.  The water table is contaminating your well.   You should not be drinking water from a hand dug well, if you have a better water source.

Answer 9

You will have to repair the septic system so it is leaching the waste water away from the well. You may never get pure water again from such a shallow well.

Answer 10

If the septic is flooding the yard, the problem is likely the drainfield.    That doesn't mean that after six years the tank doesn't need to be pumped too, but if water is rising up in the yard it's because the drainfield isn't absorbing it properly.



If your septic system is malfunctioning and your waste is contaminating the drinking water of nearby homes, you have  HUGE problem.