Rusty Water (With Smells)-Filtration?

[thainet]

Have a borehole (about 50 m deep) that only has very red and smelly water. Apparently where we are has only this type of water, so don't have a chance to redrill. have tried some various type of filters but doesn't seem to work, so any ideas would be helpful. Probably many posters have had this type of problem somewhere in Thailand...thanks

[User3]

Can you be more specific about the contamination you are seeing? Red color, ok- likely iron in one form or another.

Bad smell?? Is this by any chance a 'rotten egg' smell? Did it happen as soon as the well was drilled or over time? Or after a well repair by a local contractor? Has anything changed in your vicinity since the well was drilled? How old is the well?

[thainet]

Can you be more specific about the contamination you are seeing? Red color, ok- likely iron in one form or another.

Bad smell?? Is this by any chance a 'rotten egg' smell? Did it happen as soon as the well was drilled or over time? Or after a well repair by a local contractor? Has anything changed in your vicinity since the well was drilled? How old is the well?

Iron is likely I think. Smell is not so much rotten egg, just smelly (sorry can't be more specific).

Yes water like after first drilled so not a contractor problem. Apparently the water table in this area is contaminated like this.

Well is about 2 years old. we use the water for plants etc.

[colin2]

Use a swimming pool sand filter.

[MichaelJohn]

We have two tanks, one used as a settlement tank and find that the very fine precipitate will drop out if treated with Aluminium ammonium sulphate (that's Alum rock - a nuturally occuring rock which is used water treatment and also in anti-pirspirant) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonium_aluminium_sulfate

It generally available at the shop selling chemicals to farmers as they use it on the rice fields. You only need a small piece to make the water colourless.

I would suggest that if the water table is contaminated then you should/would never use it for anything other than the garden - so does colour and smell matter?

[Joe Mamma]

I use a 3 filter system, first a pre-filter which needs weekly cleaning as a first pass system, then a carbon filter, then a special metals filter, then the resin water softener.

In our two cement towers I have a ozone generator and finally a UV tube that finishes the water for human and animal consumption. I drink lots of it here.

And the water here is slightly alkaline.

[Joe Mamma]

We have two tanks, one used as a settlement tank and find that the very fine precipitate will drop out if treated with Aluminium ammonium sulphate (that's Alum rock - a nuturally occuring rock which is used water treatment and also in anti-pirspirant) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonium_aluminium_sulfate

It generally available at the shop selling chemicals to farmers as they use it on the rice fields. You only need a small piece to make the water colourless.

I would suggest that if the water table is contaminated then you should/would never use it for anything other than the garden - so does colour and smell matter?

I heard that it causes cancer in humans from the deodorant products.

[peter267]

Sounds like iron which is quite common in groundwater, however it normally is "in solution" in the groundwater and is pumped out initially clear - when it becomes oxygenated the iron comes out of solution and turns the water brown/red coloured.

Water treatment can use a swimming pool type filter capable of being 'back washed' - with the iron is in solution then its best to introduce some oxygen before this filtration

There are small household filters (swimming pool size) that do all this & and these are available in Thailand. Specialist shops put this stuff together. Even with minimal language taking a sample bottle should illicit a response

Rotten egg smell is indicative of hydrogen.

First & essential step is to have the sample analysed to see just what is in the water - then address the treatment to remove each problem. Any good installer should be able to get analysis done

Dont know where you are what geology etc etc.

Just to highlight one issue as example arsenic can be one partner to the iron and cannot easily be removed - this very common in next door Cambodia - and a significant health risk even if used for showering. It is important to know exactly what is in your water!

Ok borehole can provide good sustainable water sources - but they have to viable. It might prove easier to invest in treatment of say a pond water that is a better prospect to treat than a bad groundwater.

[khunPer]

Have the same problem. Bad smell is quite normal for water coming from a drill (and some wells), it needs oxygen. That's why waterworks have oxygen steps, the water is running down over.

I use a filter to take the first dirt – a ceramic filter, as it takes particles down to 0.3 and most bacteria (manufacturers claims 99.9%) – then a pressure tank sand filter (swimming pool filter will do fine, there are also fiberglass tanks available for water cleaning). Remeber regular back wash, might be weekly or monthly, depending of the amount of rust/dirt. The water is actually quite clear, when it comes out, but may still include a bit color and the bad smell, so I have another ceramic 0.3 filter after the sand filter.

The benifit of the small ceramic filters is, that they are easy to clean. May be once/twice weekly or... depending of the anmount of rust/dirt in the water.

I have a storage tank under the roof, to which the water is pumped up. In the storage tank I have a normal aquarium pump running on a mechanical timer, so it runs about 30 min. each hour. The aquarium pump mix air (oxygen) into the water – the fish in an aquarium needs oxygen – and that takes out all smell, under normal conditions. Hydrogen peroxide (35% food grade) is another solution used a many waterworks since around 2008, instead of pumping oxygen into water. Hydrogen peroxide is just water with an extra oxygen atom (H2O2 = H2O + O). The oxygen also kills bacteria.

When using a water storage tank, you may also use UV-light – fx. a small circulation pump and UV-lamp. I also use that, to keep the water in the tank free of bacteria, and I have a ceramic 0.3 filter before the UV lamp, so dirt don't build up inside the glass tube.

(edit: typo)

Edited June 10, 2013 by khunPer

[Always18]

We have two tanks, one used as a settlement tank and find that the very fine precipitate will drop out if treated with Aluminium ammonium sulphate (that's Alum rock - a nuturally occuring rock which is used water treatment and also in anti-pirspirant) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonium_aluminium_sulfate

It generally available at the shop selling chemicals to farmers as they use it on the rice fields. You only need a small piece to make the water colourless.

I would suggest that if the water table is contaminated then you should/would never use it for anything other than the garden - so does colour and smell matter?

Be very careful with using this chemical -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camelford_water_pollution_incident

the after effects of this contamination are still being seen today with increased incidence of Alzheimers among the locals.

[khunPer]

We have two tanks, one used as a settlement tank and find that the very fine precipitate will drop out if treated with Aluminium ammonium sulphate (that's Alum rock - a nuturally occuring rock which is used water treatment and also in anti-pirspirant) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonium_aluminium_sulfate

It generally available at the shop selling chemicals to farmers as they use it on the rice fields. You only need a small piece to make the water colourless.

I would suggest that if the water table is contaminated then you should/would never use it for anything other than the garden - so does colour and smell matter?

Be very careful with using this chemical -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camelford_water_pollution_incident

the after effects of this contamination are still being seen today with increased incidence of Alzheimers among the locals.

Alum (aluminum sulphate) is normally used by Thais to clean water and wells, and crystals can be bought locally for about 30 baht per kilo. It is also used in swimming pools as flocculating agent (makes particles big enough to be filtered), as normal part together with chlorine and copper sulphate (kills algae) in so-called multitabs. Furthermore it is used as natural deodorants (magic crystal).

Safety may depend of the amount (correct dose) used.

See more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alum

I have tried it in a well, but it does not clean the reddish rust color. A sand filter does a pretty good job (may not take all), possibly combines with some alum (like when keeping a pool clean with sand filter).

[thainet]

Gents thanks for all the suggestions--I've learned a lot about contamination and filters.

Will start researching some of the ideas.

Thanks again...thainet