Bacteria

Water may contain Microorganisms that can be harmful to our health

common bacteria in goundwater include Coliforms and E. coli

common bacteria in surface water (springs) include Coliforms, E. coli, Cryptosporidium and Giardia

We do not test for bacteria

we recommend having your water tested by a state certified laboratory if you are concerned about potential bacteria in the water.

For testing resources, please see the NC DHHS water testing faq page HERE

treatment for bacteria:

Ultraviolet (UV) Lights are effective at treating bacteria.
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‍chlorine injection systems Can Be effective at treating most types of bacteria, however, we do not recommend adding chemicals to your water unless completely necessary.

further reading

While we are still trying to determine how many types of bacteria there are in the world (estimated in the millions) there are over 43,000 known bacteria species and roughly 1,500 of them are known to be pathogenic (Harmful).

of these 1,500, the primary bacterias tested for in well water are Total coliforms, Fecal Coliforms and Escherichia coli (e. coli). Because deep water wells (>100ft) are protected from surface water, they are less likely to contain pathogenic bacteria than surface water and it is unlikely bacterial levels will change from day to day.

Because surface water (springs) can be easily contaminated, bacteria levels can change from day to day and bacterial treatment is always recommended.

A Heterotrophic Plate Count (HPC) test is a measure of of all bacterial growth (pathogenic and non-pathogenic) in a sample and the EPA has set the regulatory limit at 500 CFu/ml (colony forming units per milliliter). a HPC test is useful as an indicator for how favorable the water chemistry is for bacterial growth but does not indicate the presence of a particular bacteria. Because of this, a high HPC alone is not an indicator that bacterial treatment is needed and additional testing for pathogenic bacteria is recommended.