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Water
being drawn from a well was once precipitation that fell
onto Earth's surface. It seeped into the ground and, over
time, occupied the porous space in some subsurface
material. Naturally, big particles that can be found in
streams, such as leaf chunks, will not be seen in ground
water. So, yes, big particles are filtered out. But ground
water can contain other items that you can't see. Some are
naturally occurring and some are human-made substances.
Ground water can contain hydrogen sulfide or other
naturally occurring chemicals. Ground water also may
contain petroleum, organic compounds, or other chemicals
introduced by humans' activities.
Contaminated ground water can occur if the well is located
near land that is used for farming where certain kinds of
chemicals are applied to crops, or near a gas station that
has a leaking storage tank. Leakage from septic tanks
and/or waste-disposal sites also can contaminate ground
water. A septic tank can introduce bacteria to the water,
and pesticides and fertilizers that seep into farmed soil
can eventually end up in water drawn from a well. Or, a
well might have been placed in land that was once used for
something like a garbage or chemical dump site. In any
case, it is wise to have your well water tested for
contaminates. |
