Is it safe to drink water with iron bacteria?
There are a wide range of contaminants that can adversely affect the quality of water once they get into your water supply. Among the most harmful contaminants are various types of iron bacteria, which you’ll want to take steps to remove if these bacteria are found in your drinking water.
What causes iron reducing bacteria?
Organic material dissolved in water is often the underlying cause of an iron-oxidizing bacteria population. Groundwater may be naturally de-oxygenated by decaying vegetation in swamps. Useful mineral deposits of bog iron ore have formed where groundwater has historically emerged and been exposed to atmospheric oxygen.
What does iron-oxidizing bacteria produce?
Iron oxidising bacteria (IOB) and archaea can rapidly produce large amounts of iron oxide precipitates (Starosvetsky et al., 2001) and alter the acidity of their environment.
How do I know if I have iron bacteria in my well?
Typically, iron bacteria cause water to have an odor that resembles rotten eggs, fuel oil, cucumber, or even sewage or swamp. The smell may be noticeable only in the morning or after extended periods of non-use. The water may also taste like rotten vegetables.
What is iron reducing bacteria?
Iron reducing bacteria (IRB), for example, are heterotrophic facultative anaerobes which reduce ferric ions to ferrous ions under anaerobic conditions.
Is iron in well water harmful?
Effects on Your Health Although a low level of iron cannot harm your health, it contains bacteria. In addition to this, high iron in water content leads to an overload which can cause diabetes, hemochromatosis, stomach problems, and nausea. It can also damage the liver, pancreas, and heart.
What does iron bacteria do to your body?
Iron bacteria are not known to cause disease. However, they can create conditions where other disease-causing organisms may grow. They can also affect how much water the well produces and may cause clogging issues.
How can iron bacteria be prevented?
Prevent Iron Bacteria Only place disinfected water in a well for drilling, repair, or priming pumps. Never use water taken from a lake or pond. Make sure the well casing is capped, watertight, and extends at least 1 foot above ground. Avoid placing pumps, well pipes, and well equipment on the ground when doing repairs.
Can iron bacteria make you sick?
Iron bacteria are not known to cause disease. However, they can create conditions where other disease-causing organisms may grow. They can also affect how much water the well produces and may cause clogging issues. To be safe, test the water for nitrate and coliform bacteria.
Is sulfate reducing bacteria harmful?
Both sulfur- and sulfate-reducing bacteria are harmless to human health. They use organic sulfur compounds in decaying plant materials and sulfate in groundwater as sources of energy for their growth.
What are the effects of too much iron?
Excessive iron can be damaging to the gastrointestinal system. Symptoms of iron toxicity include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach pain. Over time, iron can accumulate in the organs, and cause fatal damage to the liver or brain.
What removes iron from well water?
Water softeners and iron filters (such as a manganese greensand filter) are effective at removing clear-water iron. Water softeners are the more common method. Manufacturers report that some water softeners can remove up to 10 mg/L. However, 2 to 5 mg/L is a more common limit.
What can iron bacteria do to the water?
The sometimes dramatic effects of iron bacteria can also be seen outdoors with reddish-brown slimy masses covering stream bottoms and lakeshores and the water having an oily sheen.
What happens if iron bacteria is left unchecked?
If left unchecked, biofouling can clog pump intakes, well screens, filters, and water pipes. The sometimes dramatic effects of iron bacteria can also be seen outdoors with reddish-brown slimy masses covering stream bottoms and lakeshores and the water having an oily sheen.
Why is iron bad for your well water?
Whenever surface water or soil enters your well, these bacteria may be able to thrive in the plumbing of your home or business. Moreover, iron bacteria contamination can create a water quality environment suitable for disease-causing (pathogenic) bacteria, viruses, and other microbes.
Are there any bacteria that reduce reactive iron?
The characterization of the form of reactive iron is complicated by the prevalence of anaerobic dissimilatory Fe (III) iron-reducing bacteria in the sediment column ( Lovley and Phillips, 1986 ). These organisms are phylogenetically diverse and appear to be spread throughout both the bacteria and archaea ( Kashefi and Lovley, 2003 ).