Bacteria in Well Water – Potability Tests – RI Living
Buying in RI in an area that does not have a public water supply encompasses a significant geographic area of my
RI real estate business. Anything that is considered suburban in RI may not have a town connected water supply. So two of the water tests a home buyer needs to be aware of as part of
Test your well water
their home inspection process are:
– water potability ( free of bacteria & contaminants in the well water)
– radon in the water (no current standards mandated by RI law yet)
Most home inspectors will have a water quality company test for both well water potability and radon in the water for an additional expense during home inspection. It is money well spent by any home buyer.
Just going through this with a Charlestown home for sale that has been vacant for nearly 9 months. High levels of bacteria as well as radon in the water existed. Now the listing agent (representing the Bank) had never experienced going through either process before.
I did interject myself in the process to make sure it was done properly for my buyers. In fact, the lender required that both the well water potability be free of bacteria and that the radon in the water was lowered to Connecticut standards in order to issue a final commitment letter.
Although there is a lot of water quality information on the EPA web site for a homeowner, it is not right to the point for the consumer (not surprising one might say).
Considerable couching of terms…so I go to my home inspector for better guidance. Remember this is RI living in the smaller towns in southern RI. In fact, if you do have a well you should be testing the water at least once a year, I am told, to ensure your drinking water is drinkable water. Make sure there is no bacteria in well water at your home.
The potability rejuvenation process requires putting bleach in the water lines, both hot and cold lines, and letting the bleach permeate and kill the bacteria residing there as well as in the well. Now the house has been winterized and had to be de-winterized for this bleach process to be done. The flushing of the chlorine out of the water will take place in 48 hours. You do need to be careful because it is a well that has limited water so we do not want it to go dry either. Water will then again be re-tested by the lab with another sample taken and shipped out. A process which will take about a week to get the water results back.
So signals did get crossed, the testing company told the listing agent that the potability test was done and only because I have been through it before, I knew that was not correct. Communication in a technical field of scientific language gobbleygook here. It gets resolved.
I am not getting paid for doing the listing agent’s job though (ha!) but I do make sure that my first time home buyers will be protected. They have not a clue about what to do here. They are totally dependent upon me doing what is right for them. That is why buyer agency is so important to home buyers. Remember ALWAYS to use good buyer representation with the Right real estate agent and do not go it alone when home buying.
Buying a RI home takes more than a good credit score these days. Talk to me about the necessary steps to take to buy a home, locations and additional check points to ensure your home inspection process goes well.
Call me Ginny Lacey Gorman at – 401.529.7849 – your North Kingstown real estate agent serving all of southern RI.
Bacteria in Well Water – Potability Tests – RI Living.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ginny Lacey Gorman is your go to North Kingstown agent for real estate in southern RI and beyond…knowing the geographic area, schools, happenings, important tidbits of information and businesses well.
Waterfront, oceanfront, luxury and coastal RI real estate are her specialty but all of RI is her backyard. When you are in need of a good professional for your buying and selling needs and an internet savvy marketer and agent who sells RI houses in this real estate market – call Ginny at 401.529.7849.
Hi Ginny,
In your excellent article you mentioned “lowering the radon level to Connecticut standards” in well water. Can you tell me how to reduce the radon in well water? Is there a filter available for this, or some other method?
Any and all info will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks very much,
Abby
I leave that to the experts…contact Storch Radon in MA for the latest technology is my suggestion. Fred Storch knows his business well.