Western Pennsylvania Baseline Water Testing- Corry, PA - My water is black and discolored

I conducted a presentation in Corry, PA - One homeowner brought in a sample of their water.  The water was slightly discolored and had a black precipitate. In addition the water had a very slight sulfur odor.  What did I find- the testing was conducted at my cost and the data is owned by B.F. Environmental Consultants Inc.

E. Coli. Slime Bacteria Iron Bacteria	Occurrence #/ml #/ml	Absent no standard no standard	Absent 66,500 (High) 140,000 (High)
pH (field)	units	6.5 - 8.5	6.95
Conductivity (field)	uS/cm	no standard	125
Total Dissolved Solids (field – estimate)	mg/L	< 500	205
Aluminum	mg/L	< 0.2	< 0.1
Arsenic	mg/L	< 0.01	0.008
Barium	mg/L	< 2.0	< 0.3
Cadmium	mg/L	< 0.005	< 0.002
Calcium	mg/L	no standard	38.3
Chromium	mg/L	< 0.1	< 0.010
Copper	mg/L	< 1.0	0.142
Iron	mg/L	< 0.3	0.081
Lead	mg/L	< 0.015	< 0.002
Magnesium	mg/L	no standard	14.03
Manganese	mg/L	< 0.05	0.24 (High)
Mercury	mg/L	< 0.002	< 0.001
Nickel	mg/L	no standard	< 0.020
Potassium	mg/L	no standard	2.1
Selenium	mg/L	< 0.05	< 0.020
Silica	mg/L	no standard	16
Silver	mg/L	< 0.100	< 0.002
Sodium	mg/L	no standard	24
Strontium	mg/L	no standard	0.307
Uranium	mg/L	< 0.03	< 0.03
Zinc	mg/L	< 5	0.059
Alkalinity	mg CaCO3/L	no standard	160
Hardness	mg CaCO3/L	no standard	150
Total Dissolved Solids (actual)	mg/L	< 500	210
Turbidity	ntu	< 1.0	0.6
Chloride	mg/L	< 250	5.6
Fluoride	mg/L	< 4	< 0.5
Nitrate as N	mg/L	< 10	< 0.5
Nitrite as N	mg/L	< 1	< 0.5
Orthophosphate	mg/L	no standard	< 2
Sulfate	mg/L	< 250	12
Shock Disinfect			YES
Ratio TDS/ Conductivity	Ratio	no standard	0.5

The main problem

a. Nuisance bacteria - the iron related and slime bacteria are extremely high.  At this level, it is possible to have elevated levels of aluminum, iron, copper, manganese, zinc, and even lead and these organisms can cause MIC (microbiologically induced corrosion).    The level of manganese was elevated.

b.Note the level of arsenic was just below the drinking water standard.  This is one of the reasons that arsenic is recommended as part of the baseline testing.

c. Primary recommendation - shock disinfect the well and retest for bacterial contamination and iron and manganese.

d. Sulfur Odor - the sulfur odor could be related to manganese or could be caused by a bacterial group.

Testing results and data are owned by Mr. Brian Oram and B.F. Environmental Consultants Inc. The results were given to the homeowner for informational purposes only and these results can not be used as part of any legal proceeding or real estate transaction.