Diesel/Oil Leak in Well

JimboJones99

Hi,


I was wondering if anyone could give me any guidance or has had any experience of a taste and smell of diesel or oil in drinking water? It came out of nowhere over the weekend. We have our own private well and I have searched for any traces of a spillage or leakage near the well but I cant find any trace of such.


Can there be any other explanation aside from a spillage of some sort and does anybody have any idea on how to clear it?


Any help would be much appreciated?

Wearb

You should try to get a sample from the top of the well. that's where the oil will settle. You will probably need to send off a sample to get it tested. If you have oil in it, it will be very expensive to sort it out and will need to be handed over to your insurance company.

quietsailor

By any chance is it from the hot tap or even a mixer tap - where contaminated hot water fouls the tap and then even cold water tastes funny?

We had a broken heating coil within our hot water cylinder and the boiler water was getting into the hot tap water system and giving a funny taste at the kitchen tap.

Cerco

Could it be from a submersible pump ?

_Brian

Split water pipe as close to the well as possible and see is it still contaminated there, if it is it rules out anything in the house as suggested above.

Do you have an oil tank with underground pipe, or does an neighbor have one nearby ?? Underground pipe could be leaking oil.

JimboJones99

Hi,

Thanks for the replies. I have sent a sample in for testing and it has come back that there is bacteria in the water. I am still waiting on results to see if anything like diesel has also got into it. Still unsure of how it got in. There was a small leak (a constant drip) in a diesel tank next door which is relatively close to the well so more than likely that was it even if the quantity is not huge.

There is still a strong smell and taste off both taps so I think it is coming from the well. We do have an underground pipe from our oil tank. Our oil tank is still full as we filled it a while back and havent been using it so if there is a leak, again it can only be amount.

Waiting on the test results and will take it from there then. Full expecting to have the clear the well and an expensive job on my hands unfortuantely

Tom44

Rules & Regulations

"Minimum" legal distance of an oil tank to a well if 50 meters. Unless bunded.


But who followers that, or cares about a neighbor's tank dripping. :eek:



Constant drip, try it in your sink for an hour and see how much it adds up to, X 24 X 7 (and that's just one week of oil leaking)

JimboJones99

Tom44 wrote: »

Rules & Regulations

"Minimum" legal distance of an oil tank to a well if 50 meters. Unless bunded.


But who followers that, or cares about a neighbor's tank dripping. :eek:



Constant drip, try it in your sink for an hour and see how much it adds up to, X 24 X 7 (and that's just one week of oil leaking)

Thanks Tom,


not a drip, drip, drip as such but point taken none the less

agusta

A neighbour of mine had a very slight leak at his oil tank.The very slight leak could have been happening for a couple of years.He thought the smell of oil was coming off his tractors and machinery.Total fix was well over a 100k and he and his family had to stay in a rented house for 4 months.
If there is traces of oil in the well the surrounding area could also be effected.i would think it would be a job for the EPA and the insurance that covers where the leak originated

http://biologix.ie/oil-spill/what-to-do-if-you-have-a-domestic-fuel-oil-spill/