Flooding

Disinfection of Water Supply

For many of us a water supply well represents the sole source of water for our house. The large scale flooding caused by Hurricane Frances has unfortunately flooded and contaminated many wells in our area. Flood waters contain very high loads of sediment, debris and chemical and biological contaminates. Immersion of wells can also force contaminants into the aquifer formation. If your well was flooded you need to chlorinate and disinfect it and have the water tested before drinking the water. Often multiple treatments are needed to achieve bacteria-negative results. Foreign matter in the well such as rodents, insects or bits of wood will have to be manually removed prior to chlorination. Eliminating well construction and structural faults is also necessary to insure a continuous safe supply.

The standard method of disinfection is to produce a 100 parts per million chlorine concentration in your water. Chlorination of the well, piping, and water heater are all necessary to be effective. Chlorination involves determining the volume of water in the well and plumbing system then determining the appropriate amount of calcium hypochlorite to add to the system. Printed materials and advice about disinfection are available from the Environmental Health Section your local health department. Inspectors are available between 8:30 AM and 9:30 AM. For more information please call:

Rutherford County
(828) 287-6317 or (828) 287-6106

Polk County
(828) 859-3004

McDowell County
(828) 652-2921

Additional information may be found at the following links:

Emergency Disinfection of Drinking Water from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Spanish Version also available.

Emergency Preparedness and Response Water Quality Guide from the Centers for Disease Control.
Click here to download a PDF version of the document in English or Spanish

Water Safety Precautions for Owners of Transient Public Water Systems Impacted by Flooding or Loss of System Pressure from the North Carolina Division of Environmental Health.

How to Disinfect Your Water Well - North Carolina Division of Water Quality, Ground Water Section (PDF Document)

If Your Well Has Flooded Guide from the Purdue University Extension

Well Disinfection Procedure from the Prince Edward Island Department of Environment and Energy (PDF Document)

Food and Water in an Emergency from the Federal Emergency Management Association.

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