In the past week or two, we’ve had several clients call our office with questions about mysterious odors in their water. These clients have all been on well systems and have had questions about the source of the odor and water safety for general use in cooking, cleaning, and so on. In these cases, a water test is often a good starting point to help rule out any major problems, but unfortunately, is not always able to identify the cause.
The first objective when water smells off is to determine the source of the odor. There are a few simple guidelines on how to determine the location of an odor in your water system. First, does the odor occur in all faucet or is it localized? If it only happens in some faucets, and it goes away after a few minutes, the cause of the odor is likely in those fixtures or pipes supplying those faucets. If the odor occurs in all faucets on the property, there are additional questions to be answered. If the odor goes away after the water is run for a few minutes, the odor is in the plumbing system itself. If the odor does not go away when you run the water, it is likely an issue with the water source (well, in this case) or a combined issue with the water source and the plumbing. For my clients last week, they checked the water at the wellhouse itself and noticed the odor there, which tells me it was an issue with the water source itself.
After you determine the odor is an issue with your water source, and not an issue in your plumbing or fixtures, we can make some inferences about it’s cause and how to treat it. There are four general classes of odors we look for. The first is bleach, chemical, or medicinal odors. In well systems, this is most often due to shock chlorination, where we intentionally add chlorine bleach to the well in order to kill harmful bacteria. The bleach smell will stop when the chlorine dissipates, typically after the system is flushed by running outside faucets until the smell is gone. The second class of odor is sulfur, decay, or sewage-like odors. In the case of odor at the water source (well), this is typically because of bacterial growth in the well itself. Bacteria may grow in the well for a few reasons- the natural groundwater chemistry may support bacterial growth, there may be leeching from a defective or improperly placed septic system, or you may have another contaminant present. We recommend a bacterial water test for those suspecting bacterial contamination of their water. You can also proactively shock chlorinate the well as mentioned above to kill any bacteria. The third common type of odor is musty, moldy, earthy, grassy, or fishy. These odors are usually harmless but may be unpleasant for household use. Typically, these odors come from pollution of well water from surface drainage pollutants, or the growth of algae and fungi in warm weather. Getting rid of these odors is typically a matter of cleaning the reservoir/pressure tank/hot water heater and shock chlorinating the well. The last type of odor is petroleum, gasoline, turpentine, fuel, or solvent-like smells. These odors are typically due to a leaking fuel tank, discharge from nearby factories or landfills, or agricultural runoff. These odors should be taken seriously and can cause significant human health issues. If you have this smell, do not use the water, report it to our health department, and contact us for further assistance.
Identifying the cause of an odor can be tricky for our well users, but it is not impossible. In most cases, shock chlorinating the well can help decontaminate the water system and ensure its safety for use. If you need help with an odor or shock chlorination procedures, please let us know at uge3181@uga.edu or 706-359-3233.
