Question:
After living for years in a city and taking clean water for granted, werecently moved into our first rural home and have been struggling withproblems involving iron and yellow coloured water ever since we got here.It's esthetically very unpleasant and it stains our clothes.

Finding the source of the problem and a reasonably priced solution has beena real puzzle. We still haven't solved it.

We had a very comprehensive test done of the water in the shallow well (18feet deep and 4 feet in diameter) before we moved into the house, as well asseveral times after we moved in. Everything appeared to be within thedrinking water guidelines except for high iron and manganese levels. ThePH and tannin-lignins readings were within the guidelines, but are ofpotential concern as well.

iron 0.5, 1.4 and 1.6 mg/L measurements (at various times) - guideline is0.3 mg/L ph 6.62 tannins & Lignins 0.2 mg/L - guideline is 0.4 mg/L or less manganese 0.67 mg/L - guideline is 0.4 mg/L

After a couple of months we found a reliable soda ash (sodium carbonate)system which raised the ph to between 7.3 and 7.6 and had that installed foranother $1000. including installation.

Unfortunately, the water stayed yellow and the iron level stayed high.

We had the manganese greensand filter tested several times to make surethere wasn't a malfunction. While we couldn't see inside the unit to makecertain nothing had been improperly installed, everything seemed to beworking according to the user's manual.

Hair pulling time.

After some research on the internet, I found some sites which referred to"Brown Algae" which can grow in the dark in nutrient-rich wells. Our well,for some reason, has a high coliform content (not fecal coliform though -which is below the measurable limit, and we have a UV filter to sterilizethe water). Recently, I saw a small fibrous plant of some kind floatingjust below the surface of the well. Does that mean the yellow is caused byBrown Algae? Even if that's true, why won't the Manganese Greensand filterremove the iron? Does the algae (if it's there) somehow prevent the filterfrom working properly?That seemed to work each time when the water went clear for a day or so.Then the water returned to its normal disgusting yellow colour. The ironlevel remained high when we next measured it.

The supplier of our Manganese Greensand filter has now begun to suggest thatour problem might be caused by Tannin Lignins. After some research on theinternet, I found several websites which referred to "Heme Iron", whichapparently is iron bound up in a complex with molecules from decayedvegetation. Apparently, this can cause a yellow colour, somewhat like thecolour of weak tea.

The measured level of the tannin lignins in our water is below the drinkingwater guideline level. Does that mean that tannin lignins could not be thecause of the yellow water? Could even a small concentration of tanninlignins somehow prevent the Manganese Greensand filter from working toremove the iron?

Some other sites on the internet suggested that, over time, acidic waterwould eat away the Manganese Dioxide coating on the Manganese GreensandFilter media (i.e. on the Manganese Greensand "sand" filter media), therebyrendering it useless. Since we ran the filter for several months in waterwith a ph of 6.62 (slightly acidic), could that conceivably be the cause?

In summary, the yellow colour and high iron content in the water couldpotentially be due to a poorly installed Manganese Greensand filter, or theadverse affects of tannin lignins on the Manganese Greensand filter, or theadverse affects of brown algae on the filter, or the presence of Heme Iron,or the effects of slightly acidic water eating away the coating on theGreensand media.

More hair pulling time.

I'm tired of spending money on solutions that don't work.

Anyone have any ideas?

Answer: First, as you can see the guidelines can leave a lot to be desired soyou should test for those things are can cause the problems you have,and then remove all of the cause. And if you don't know those things,rely on water treatment folks rather than the government and/or labs.

Assuming your problems are not caused by rusting galvanized etc.plumbing and/or fittings past the water treatment equipment, and youshould know if that is where the cause is or not, the rest of what I saydisregards those possibilities.

Greensand is not in favor much anymore, other types of treatment workbetter with less expense both in purchasing and operation. Air, ozone,hydrogen peroxide and chlorine or Birm may have been a better choice.Especially with the price you paid! And then the price for the solutionfeeder! Do you have a properly sized retention tank so the soda ash hasthe correct length of time to work? Why aren't you feeding chlorine(too) to treat the tannin, bacteria and iron?

Yellow tinge color etc. can be tannins or iron. Tannins are difficult totreat successfully and the best way is with tannin specific ion exchangeresins. Iron comes in at least 4 types and heme is one but it doesn'tcause yellow water, it provides for a bloody taste. Iron, blood,hemoglobin... heme iron. Another name is organically bound, or bacteriarelated. The bugs have iron in their gut and when they die, the iron isreleased into the water; this is hard to correct if you have the wrongtype of equipment, such as a UV light on water containing IRB (ironreducing bacteria).

The well you have is marginal at best. In essence, you are using surfacewater. You should learn about well cleaning and apply all you can fromwhat you read to your well. Chlorine can not, will not, kill all thebacteria that can be found in wells and can make the situation worse ifyou cause slime formation by disturbing slime forming bacteria. But, nobacteria can withstand a combination of low pH (2) and then high pH(12), both for a few hours time. Well those protected by encrustationscan so the idea is to destroy the encrustation with the acid/caustic tobe able to get them to the bacteria. Heated water is also better thancold. I think the temp is 106f but don't hold me to that. So look intofinding someone that knows about (chemically) cleaning your well. Inyour area, or part of the world, there is a company that has beendeveloping a rehabilitation process for many years and they are verygood at it. I say all this because there's little sense in havingexpensive equipment and running very foul water through it and thenexpecting the water to be pristine. IOWs, the treatment should start inthe well. It's called well rehabilitation and/or well cleaning.

You can also have the greensand filter checked for the proper dose ofpotassium permanganate for your water quality and volume of use. Yes,the greensand can be ruined due to the low pH water run through it formonths. Personally I think the dealer should replace it free of chargedue to his/her screw up; any dealer should know the limitations of themedias they use. And what make control valve do you have on the filter?If you don['t know, call and ask the dealer for the manufacturer and themodel number. Also ask for the drain line flow control gpm and volume ofgreensand you have. Also how much PP is being dosed.

Until you get rid of the color and iron, do not rely on the UV toprovide bacteria free water. As above, it could be causing iron to bereleased into the water past it by killing IRB. That can also cause a'sulfur' odor.

Your goal has to be 0 iron, manganese, tannin and bacteria with a pH of7 to 7.5. Anything less is a failed attempt at treatment.