Water Well Maintenance Tips

If you have a water well in your home you need to take good care of it if you expect it to serve you for many years to come. Water wells are designed to serve modern homes and rural settings for many years with minimal maintenance demands. You need to check with your owner’s manual and find out what needs to be done on a daily basis in order to maintain the water well.

1.     If you are yet to install a water well, make sure the job is done by a licensed and certified contractor. Water well drilling and pump installation is not a small job. It must be handled by an expert. The system must also be serviced by a certified technician.

2.     Always make sure you invest in an annual well maintenance check. A number of things will be done during this annual maintenance including testing the area for bacteria. If the well is used to store drinking water then the bacteria test needs to be done more frequently. You also need to look out for signs of discoloration or change in taste of water.

3.     Do not store hazardous items close to your well. Things like paint, fertilizers and pesticides shouldn’t be stored anywhere near the well. They can easily spill over and pose a risk to human life. You also need to make sure the well is covered well and that the well cap is not broken or cracked. Any form of damage on the well cap needs to be repaired immediately.

4.     When choosing the ideal place to install the well, make sure you choose an area that is not so close to buildings, waste systems or facilities used for chemical storage. Wells need to be in an environment that is free from contamination. A professional contractor knows what to look out for before installing a well.

5.     Whenever you are landscaping close to your well, make sure the top of the well is at least a foot above the ground. You need to take care when you are working close to the well. Don’t start digging close to the area because rocks may damage the casing and lead to poor sanitation. Also make sure you check the casing after you finish working your landscape just to make sure it’s not damaged.

6.     Look out for any changes in your well. If you notice stagnant water or a foul smell coming from it then it’s time to call a well technician to step in and resolve the issue. Make sure your well records are in proper place so that the contractor can keep track of the water testing and system maintenance.

Maintaining a well is not hard work. Take good care of your well and pumping system and you won’t have to spend a lot of money in future dealing with costly repairs. A well maintained well will serve you for a long time to come. Work with a professional contractor to maintain proper sanitation and a reliable well system. 

Posted By: KCW Water Well   http://kcwwaterwell.com

In Home Water Tank Installation

Plumbing Rainwater Tanks

Many homeowners are having rainwater tanks plumbed into the house to decrease their environmental impact, make water available for the garden in times of water restrictions and simply to enjoy the taste of sparkling clean rainwater! Additionally, in many states it is now mandatory to have rainwater tanks plumbed into newly built houses. For those of you that are facing the task of getting the water from 'there' to 'here', we have a complete guide to your necessary preparations and the work.

Decide where you'll be plumbing it to

If you have an open rainwater tank, or live in a heavy industrial area, it is advisable to plumb the rainwater tank only to non-drinking sources inside your home. In these cases you should plumb your rainwater tank to the toilets, hot water service, taps used for the washing machine and irrigation.

Do you need a seamless automatic switching device?

If your rainwater tank was required to be installed by legislation (as in newly built homes), you'll need to have a seamless automatic switching device between the tank and the ordinary reticulated supply. This ensures that your plumbing isn't damaged (and you don't have to run out and manually move an irrigation switch) if the rainwater tank runs dry.

You'll need a licensed plumber

If your rainwater tank is required to be installed under the law, there'll usually also be a proviso about using a licensed plumber - for safety's sake. Even if you aren't legally required to install a tank, your council may require that you use a licensed plumber for the installation. Besides, who wants the headache?

Special materials must be used

If you're planning to supply your own installation materials to save a bit of cash, there are often regulations that they'll need to meet. For example:

• Materials must be Watermark Certified

• Piping must have the words 'Rain water' printed on it at 500mm or lower intervals

• Water outlets must be labelled as rain water

• Hot water service inlet pipes must be labelled as rain water

All the labelling will need to be done with approved signs... unfortunately you can't just get out the permanent marker!

Backflow prevention is a must

Due to the possibility of rainwater from a contaminated roof making it into the house, all rainwater plumbed to outlets shared with the reticulated supply must have backflow prevention devices attached. It's an extra cost, but the requirement carries pretty hefty fines if you don't meet it.

You may be able to install a non-testable backflow prevention device if you've taken other precautions

Testable devices for backflow prevention are required for buried and partly buried rainwater tanks; however if you have other protective measures installed, you may be able to use a non-testable device. Of course, there's other advantages to installing these as well... better tasting water is just one of those! They include:

• Gutter guards
• Filters
• First flush devices
• Dry inlets
• Mosquito and vermin guards

There's little 'real' work that homeowners must, or even can, do when it comes to plumbing rain water tanks Melbourne, it is always best to leave such jobs to the experts - but there is a fair bit that you'll need to know, regulations-wise.

Solarflow offer professional advice and design expertise on rain water tanks Melbourne, solar hot water and heat pumps. With summer fast approaching, do your bit to preserve our resources by installing rain water tanks Melbourne.

Posted By: KCW Water Well http://kcwwaterwell.com