By Dan Pool

 “Never, ever, ever anything — nothing” is what you’ll find that’s harmful in deep groundwater wells in Pickens County, according to County Extension Agent Rick Jasperse.

 Jasperse, the longtime county agent for Pickens, said he’s shipped “literally hundreds” of water samples to the labs at UGA and reviewed the results and he’s never seen any results come back indicating a health hazard from the water.

 “A lot of people who have moved here from the metro areas will come in wanting tests, mainly out of curiosity, but some are also concerned when they see news stories on water safety,” he said. “I love telling people that their water is safe.”

 While he gets more calls on other subjects at certain times during the year, inquiries on wells and water safety are a staple service of his office which provides information on most all subjects related to homes, gardens and agriculture.

 According to Jasperse, all Pickens groundwater is safe, but  some maintenance and common sense well management is needed and some of the water here does contain minerals lending a bad taste, smell or causing stains to household fixtures.

 The local extension office on Depot Street handles the shipment of water samples for testing at the University of Georgia. The office also offers a wide array of other tests and services conducted through labs at state research facilities and universities.

 Jasperse said the UGA water tests are among the most reliable as they are unbiased. “They aren’t looking to sell anything,” he said.

 The tests look at both mineral content in the water and for the presence of any bacteria. The labs can also conduct more detailed tests for higher prices, which are rarely needed here, according to Jasperse.

 The basic tests start at $12.50. The most comprehensive runs $110 and could find traces of pesticides or other substances, but these aren’t recommended for a general home.

 “I always tell people to save their money [on the high dollar tests],” he said. “If they are that concerned about chemicals or something causing cancer, they probably need to look more closely at the amount of junk food they are eating.”

 Minerals are, by far, the most common problem in Pickens wells and also the least harmful.

 “Minerals aren’t harmful to your health, but will give your water a bad taste,” he said.

 Manganese, iron — along with regular old mud are the usual culprits behind well problems in this area.

 “In 95 percent of the tests we perform, there is no problem at all,” he said. “The water is absolutely safe, but people are used to different tastes of water depending on the water they’ve grown up with.”

 For mineral problems, Jasperse said the options include different filters or just ignoring it.

 Mineral problems are a personal preference, he said. “One person doesn’t mind the taste and another will absolutely have to have an expensive filter.”

 Jasperse said the commercially sold filters to remove minerals usually cost more than $1,000.

 Given the expense, Jasperse said homeowners may want to consider the basic sediment filter, which can be installed by a do-it-yourselfer for about $30. His office has a diagram of a filtration system using two of the cheaper filters.

 While these are good at removing sediment which can clog appliances, they aren’t designed to address odor or taste problems, nor will they do anything for bacteria problems.

 The sediment filters also require the homeowner to regularly change filters while the more expensive models usually have a backflow feature to clean itself.

 In rare cases, Jasperse said he has seen problems where due to minerals, groundwater has an exceptionally low ph content, making it corrosive to pipes in the water system.

 Recently his office had a case where they were looking at a Burnt Mountain resident’s water which was staining everything black. The initial tests didn’t indicate any substance which would cause the staining. Jasperse said eventually a top person in the UGA labs found that the water was causing the steel pipes in the plumbing to corrode and discolor the water.

 “Sometimes it’s a bit like Sherlock Holmes,” he said.

 While mineral problems may be ignored, bacteria problems must be treated immediately as they are a health hazard, but not a reason to panic.

 Jasperse said bacteria problems are usually tied to surface water infiltrating a well, rarely a problem with properly drilled deep wells, but more common in shallow wells and springs as water sources.

 He said most wells in Pickens County are at least 300 feet deep, with quite a few going to between 600-700 feet and some even reaching 1,000 feet.

 “Shallow wells and spring wells are cheaper, have very few mineral problems and have fantastic water taste quality, but are subject to run-off surface water,” he said.

 These wells are gradually losing favor as the population grows, he said.

 Springs used to be a reliable source for water, but now there’s too little control on adjacent property to depend on their long term safety, he said.

 Anything which disturbs the ground within 300 feet of a shallow well or spring can lead to bacteria entering the water.

 If bacteria does turn up in a well, Jasperse said there are remedies. First he recommends “shocking:” treating with chlorine (his office has information on how to shock a well) and then re-testing.

 He also recommends shocking any new well. Construction of a well is not a clean procedure with large equipment, pipes that may have been laying around the site and drilling, so one initial shock is advisable, he said.

 For a bacteria-containing well, where shocking doesn’t work, there are other options including chlorinators and filters. In the worst case scenario, a second well will have to be installed with the first well suitable for landscape-use only. Switching to municipal water if it’s available is another option.

 Jasperse said, “Many people want to get by as cheap as possible, and there are times when we have to encourage them to do the right thing.”

 Once a well is established, Jasperse said, “I wouldn’t ever remove the top or do anything to it unless I had a specific reason.”

 There are some basic common sense precautions well-owners should take.

 “Respect the well and the area around it,” he said.

 Among the possible ways to contaminate your drinking water is fencing animals including dogs around the well-head; dumping used oil in the area; disturbing the land uphill from it.

 One of the more common is a homeowner disturbing the land around the well-head so rainwater puddles near the opening and seeps into the well.

 Jasperse said maintaining a good clean well for a lifetime isn’t difficult, but it’s something to not forget about either.

 “It’s really common sense,” he said. “You just need to remember your water supply is at the other end of the hole.”

 To contact the local extension service offices, call 706-253-8844.