Today, well water is still the main source of drinking water in many parts of the countryside. The older generation feels that well water is very clean and safe to drink. But is well water safe to drink? is well water good for drinking? Or is well water ok to drink? Not always yes. It varies in many different situations. Well water originates from groundwater, which has been very polluted in recent decades with the rapid development of industry and the impact of surface activity and weather. The long-term use of this well water as daily drinking water will bring great potential dangers to human health and even cause cancer. Let’s learn more about whether the well water is safe to drink.
1. Is Shallow Well Water Safe to Drink?
Shallow wells are fed mainly shallow groundwater. Is shallow well water safe to drink? Actually, it is not safe. Wells built by ordinary farmers are basically shallow well water, and the water quality is relatively easy to be affected. Groundwater is generally divided into shallow groundwater (groundwater in the geological structure located in the first permeable layer and above the first aquifer. ) Formed by atmospheric precipitation and surface runoff permeability, it is buried shallowly, updated quickly, and the water quality is poor, and are affected by precipitation and runoff. At the same time, there are many microorganisms in the water of shallow wells, and after drinking, they will bring bacteria to the human body. So it is not safe to drink water from shallow wells.
2. Is Deep Well Water Safe to Drink?
If the shallow well water is not safe, so what about the deep well water? Is deep well water safe to drink? From the perspective of depth alone, the quality of deep water is relatively better than shallow wells. In deep wells, the water source is mainly pressurized water, generally through drilling rig mining, the water quality is stable, but also better than shallow groundwater quality. The deeper the well water, the more layers are filtered, the cleaner the well water is, and the less pollution there is on this surface. But well water cannot be used as directly drinking water. Although the groundwater quality is generally good, and some well water looks quite clear, the ammonia nitrogen index in the deep well water exceeds the standard and there are also invisible viruses and bacteria. This is truly unsafe to drink deep well water even for deep groundwater below 100 meters.
3. Is Cloudy Yellow Well Water Safe to Drink?
How about drinking the yellow or cloudy well water? Is cloudy yellow well water safe to drink? No, you’d better don’t drink that water. Being yellow or cloudy indicates that there are pollutants in the well water, such as sediment, rust, and groundwater pollution caused by chemical or other reasons. The well water is easily contaminated by surface water conditions, this kind of yellow or cloudy well water can no longer be drunk. Bacteria in outdoor well water breed fast, and if not boiled or heated, it is easy to damage the digestive system, causing diarrhea. If you want to drink well water, you need to filter and deeply purify water before drinking. Or test the water quality by the relevant departments until there are no harmful ingredients, then it is safe to drink well water.
4. Is Well Water Safe to Drink While Pregnant?
Someone also has the question of is it safe to drink well water while pregnant? No, well water is not suggested for the pregnant. But if you can purify the well water, it is safe to drink the well water for the pregnant. Just don't drink the water outside without purification. If you want to drink the well water, be sure to drink boiled water and purify the water deeply. During pregnancy, minerals are indispensable in addition to supplementing the mother with nutrients such as protein, fat, carbohydrates, and vitamins. In general, the well water that rural residents drink is rich in minerals such as calcium and magnesium. Calcium is the main component of human bones and teeth. It promotes the activity of certain enzymes in the human body, participates in the coagulation process, and maintains acid-base balance in the body. The nerve conduction, muscle activity, and beating of the heart in our human body are inseparable from calcium. Therefore, you can drink well water during pregnancy, provided that it must be boiled and filtered.
5. Is Well Water Safer Than Tap Water?
Many people also drink tap water, so what’s the better choice? Is well water safer than tap water? It depends on. Well water without pollution is better than any tap water. Because the natural well water is weakly alkaline, while the tap water is more acidic. Human cells have very strict requirements on the pH of body fluids, and in a weakly alkaline humoral environment, cells can work normally and maintain the vitality of life. When the body fluid acid-base is lower than 7.35, the human body is likely to be in a sub-healthy state. Because the tap water has been treated with chlorine by the waterworks, although the pollution is simply treated, the residual chlorine residue will have a carcinogenic risk. Well water is rainwater that penetrates into the ground, through the natural filtration of soil, sand, and gravel, and finally reaches your well. So well water without pollution is safer than tap water.
6. If You Boil Well Water Is It Safe to Drink?
Above we have concluded that well water needs to be boiled and filtered before we drink it. So if you boil well water is it safe to drink? Boiling the well water works but you still have to filter the water. Because the well water is in the open air, it is easily contaminated by mud, bacteria, mosquitoes, flies, microorganisms, and various aquatic nematodes. Then there is the fact that well water is generally susceptible to surface environmental pollution, resulting in an increase in pollutants in the water. Boiling can remove most of the bacteria, etc., and it can be drunk, but it should be precipitated before drinking. Well water contains more mineral ions such as calcium ions, magnesium ions, etc., when boiled, combined with carbonate hydroxide to form a white precipitate, so the boiled well water is basically harmless to people because those ions are basically precipitated. At the same time, it is not recommended to drink well water for a long time, and it is recommended to have cleaning and filtration measures on the well water.
7. Is It Safe to Cook With Well Water?
Is it safe to cook with well water? Not a good idea. Using the well water to cook does some harm to our health. If you only have well water, make sure it is safe to drink (boiling and purification we have talked about above). Some areas have more nitrates in drinking water. When porridge or food is boiled with this water and left overnight in an unclean pot, the nitrate is reduced to nitrite under the action of bacteria, which may cause food poisoning. Also, bitter yellow or cloudy well water should not be used to cook porridge, especially if it is stored overnight. The boiled well water has a white substance of calcium carbonate, which must be filtered and removed before the human body can drink and cook. Deep well water generally contains more minerals and some impurities, but shallow well water contains a lot of colonies. After boiling, the suspended solids on it can be filtered and used, and it can be washed and cooked to wash vegetables safely.
8. Then Is Filtered Well Water Safe to Drink?
After so many questions about is well water safe to drink. You may have the answer to is filtered well water safe to drink. Of course. The well water is safe to drink after being filtered! Natural precipitation of the well water after boiling can also remove some of the suspended solids. But the most important thing to drink well water is disinfection. Unpasteurized water contains microorganisms and viruses that can cause diseases such as diarrhea. For example, in a water tank, after the water is put for a period of time, it will be found that there are red worms at the bottom of the tank, which indicates that there are worm eggs in the well water itself. In this case, it is necessary to use a whole house water filter system for well water filtration, and remove impurities such as bacteria, insect eggs, and pollutants in the water through the filtration of the filter element and membrane, so that the well water meets the requirements of drinking water.
In a word, is well water safe to drink? You can get a clear answer from this article. Since the popularization of tap water, the water of the old well is no longer used as drinking water by people, because it has not been purified like tap water, and it is vulnerable to environmental pollution near the wellhead. Unless the well water has been tested by the health and epidemic prevention department and meets the drinking water standards or the well water is filtered and purified, it can be safe to drink.
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