Pacific Palisades Wildfires: Drinking Water Safety and Private Well Water Living with Nature

Because of the wildfires in California (Pacific Palisades) and other natural disasters in other areas, we have a number of website visitors and callers asking questions about their drinking water quality and for some of these individuals their water source was an on-site  private water well.  The most common question is “I need to get my water tested, but how and for what?   Because humans tend to focus on the solution and not the situation,  we sometimes have a tendency to not ask the right questions, especially during a time of stress, emergency, or fear of the unknown.

This is our effort to properly inform and assist a fellow citizen on what they should do.  Wildfires and other natural or man-made disasters can directly or indirectly impact a private water well or the quality of the local groundwater aquifer.  In some cases, this impact can create nuisance issues and problems, but in more severe cases it could cause both acute and chronic health problems.   Because groundwater is interconnected, it is possible that a private well that was not directly impacted by an event could be interconnected below ground to another private well, surface water source, or a contamination event that is off-site or even out of the directly impacted areas.    Others might suggest that the first step is to inspect the well and the water system, but for the Know Your H20 Team the first step is to take photos, learn, make the site accessible and free of hazardous debris, contact your insurance agents, and find an alternative drinking water / potable water source and then hirer a local expert.

What are some of the Hidden Problems with On-site Wells and Wildfires that the private well owner may not be aware and could be a problem?  There are many places where an on-site well could have a problem that the user can not easily see.

1. Delivery lines from the well to the home are typically some form of plastic piping, which could have been heat damaged by the wildfire or damaged by surface compaction or other disturbances. 

2. Not only might the electrical service be interrupted, but the underground and downhole electrical wiring from the home to the well motor could have been damaged.

3. Depending on the well type and location, a well located in a well pit or that has only a well seal or basic well cap may have been inundated with water or fire-retardant chemicals and since some caps are made of plastic the cap could have melted or been damaged.

4. If the well is located in a well pit, the pit could have filled with water and drained into the well, plus other debris and contaminants may have entered the well.

5. If the drilled wells had a pitless adapter, it is possible that delivery piping connecting to the pitless adapter could be thermally damaged or partially melted, the pitless adapter may be out of alignment, and the well casing could be damage.  In most cases, the well casing is made of steel which should be resistant to fire damage, but in some situations PVC casing is utilized and some wells may have steel casing that has been lined with PVC piping.

6. Because the piping carrying the produced water from the well is commonly some form of plastic, the thermal damage and stagnant water conditions may cause leaks, leaching of chemical compounds from the piping, water loss, loss of pressure, or other nuisance related problems.

7. During the fire it is likely that a significant number of chemicals were released into the environment or used to fight the fire, the licensed professional has experience dealing with many of these chemicals and is aware of the warning signs of there presence. 

On-site Water Well

Step 1:   Learn – If you have a private well, it is very likely your well as a well cap, some form of well casing (steel or PVC), a pump and motor, an electric service line, a water service line, water drop piping, pitless adapter, well cap or plug, and some form of power source .  While you are learning, it would be advisable to clean up the site and remove debris.   Here is a graphical depiction of a typical water well.  (https://www.knowyourh2o.com/indoor-3/private-water-wells-and-private-water-systems)

Step 2:  It is likely that Step 1 will be confusing and overwhelming for most citizens, therefore our next recommendation is to stop and to make every effort to find a licensed well driller or water professional in the area.  Hire them to inspect your water well and system and you should then plan on using a bottled water source.   The well drilling contractor or pump installer should be licensed, certified, and bonded and we recommend having a written contract and have them produce a written report with photos that can be shared with your insurance adjuster. 

Step 3:  After the contractor has inspected, stabilized the well, and made the well functional for emergency use, the well driller should be able to provide some general information about the well, such as the depth to water in the well, the well yield, and the specific capacity of the well (Gallons per minute (gpm) Pumped per foot of drawdown).  This information, along with the make model and other details about the well, should be included in the written report.    The services of the contractor should include the shock disinfection and initial flushing of the well and setting up an emergency power source to operate the well.  

Step 4:  Once the well has been secured, we strongly suggest the well be fitted with a lockable vented sanitary well cap and a well seal be put on the well.   The well seal provides a means of making sure that no one has vandalized the well after it has been repaired and made functional.  With respect to material usage by the contractor, it would be advisable that all repairs to the water system be made using NSF approved materials, components, and chemicals.

Step 5:  Getting ready for water testing and usage – Prior to using the water for potable water uses, we strongly recommend that the well be thoroughly purged to waste.  Because of the level of environmental impacts, we normally suggest that at least 3 to 5 wellbore volumes be purged from the well, but the well should not be over-pumped (Wellbore Calculator).  For example:  If your 6-inch well is 100 feet deep with a static water level of 50 feet this means there is 50 feet of water in the well.  For a 6 inch-well there is 1.5 gallons of water for every foot of water column, therefore, your well has 75 gallons of water.  If the well is fitted with a 5 gpm pump, this means it would take 15 minutes to purge 1 wellbore volume so to get three wellbore volumes would be 45 minutes. 

Step 6: Consider ordering an EDR Neighborhood Hazard Report for your property and the surrounding area.

Order Our Educational Booklet "Our Drinking Water"

Suggested Water Testing for a Private Well

As previously mentioned, it is critical that the well be inspected, secured, repaired, and properly purged and shock disinfected prior to getting the water tested.   The minimum water testing should include:

Bacteria – total coliform, E. coli., and heterotrophic bacteria.

General Water Quality – pH, conductivity, turbidity, oxidation reduction potential (ORP), total dissolved solids, odor, taste, and suspended solids.

Volatile Organic Compounds  Herbicides and Pesticides, and Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds (Petrochemicals, Hydrocarbons - like acetone, benzene, ethyl benzene, MTBE, methyl ethyl ketone, naphthalene, and more.) 

Salts and Nutrients – Chloride, Sodium, Alkalinity, Nitrate, Nitrite, Phosphate, Sulfate, Foaming Agents, etc

Trace Metals and Nuisance Metals, such as arsenic, aluminum, copper, lead, nickel, iron, manganese, zinc, etc)

Testing for Forever Chemicals may be advisable.

Recommended Testing Package:

For water testing, we recommend a minimum of 2 water samples.  The first water sample is a first flush from the piping after a stagnant water condition of at least 6 to 12 hours to evaluate biofilm, corrosion, and leaching of organics and then a flushed water sample (Sorry - Double the cost).

Well Water Deluxe with Surfactants and Forever Chemicals (order 2 kits)

Tap Score -Extended Well Water Test (order 2 kits)

Tap Score - Wildfire Kits for "City Water" (order 2 kits)

Free Drinking Water Diagnostic Tool 

We hope you find this resource helpful.  The following are links to other website on this and related topics.

Private Wells after a Wildfire

Wildfires can damage water systems and contaminate water resources

Wildfire Can Damage Private Water Wells

Wildfires are Contaminating Drinking Water System - Widespread Issue

Wildfire Response Map by EDR (Hidden Threats that may impact the recovery)

Stay Up to Date on the Pacific Palisades Progress ( Restoration Progress Dashboard)

Other Blog Posts

PFAS and Forever Chemicals – A New Man-Made Cycle (The PFAS Cycle) That Must be Broken

Feedback and Analysis on the Safety of Fluoride in Drinking Water

Asbestos: What Is it and How is it Dangerous?