Once well drilling is complete, there are numerous maintenance steps necessary to keep your drinking water healthy, including routine inspections and grading the soil around the water source to avoid contamination from fertilizer, motor oil, and other pollutants. It also requires regular water testing to check the pH level, or acidity. Here, learn more about water pH and when to schedule testing to avoid health issues.

What You Need to Know About Your Water Well’s pH Level

Ideal Range

The amount of dissolved minerals and salts in the water determines its pH level. The pH scale goes from zero to 14, with acidic water lower than 7. Alkaline water, or water on the other end of the pH spectrum, is 8 or above. Water with a pH below 6.5 is considered “soft,” while water above 8.5 has a large amount of minerals and is deemed “hard.”

Water with a pH level of 7 is considered ideal because it is “neutral” and subsequently features neither excessively acidic or alkaline properties.

Acidic & Alkaline Water Problems

When your water is too acidic or basic, it can cause numerous issues. Acidic or soft water with a pH rating of 6.5 or lower is corrosive, which can rust plumbing pipes and cause leaching problems if the pipes are made of zinc, copper, or lead. Fixtures and pipes may look bluish-green if they are copper and reddish if they are made of galvanized iron. If heavy metals leach into well water because of corrosion issues, they can cause severe health problems depending on the type of metal, including brain and kidney damage.

Alkaline or hard water allows mineral scale to build up within pipes and fixtures, causing problems such as low water pressure, cloudy glassware and dishware, dull skin, hair, and clothes, and poor-tasting water.

Solutions

In addition to routine testing, maintaining neutral drinking water after well drilling typically involves using filters, ionizers, and softeners as needed. If the water has a low pH and is therefore acidic, for example, a neutralizing filter featuring ground limestone, magnesium oxide, or calcite balances the pH.

If the well water features a high pH and is therefore too alkaline, it should filter through a reservoir containing acetic or citric acid. Residential water system experts provide the testing and treatment your well needs to produce healthy, fresh-tasting water. 

Schedule testing with Luisier Drilling, the well drilling company serving the Greater Oconto Falls region of Wisconsin since 1936. Call the family-owned company with a reputation for customer service excellence today at (920) 848-5239 to make an appointment or learn more about well drilling and inspection services online.