Well Water Testing

[Mattlill2000]

A while ago we were discussing getting water well tested and how to do it etc. Well we had our well water tested and heres how it goes. First you have to contact the local municipality where the well is located and in our case its Rautalampi. They were happy to test our well water but the sample cannot be over a day old and the office that takes the sample is only open on Monday which is a problem for us. However the guy on the phone said he would be happy to take a sample himself which is great! We gave him directions and got the results back today, two weeks after talking to him on the phone. They tested for pH, Permanganaattiluku, Nitriitti, Nitraatti, E.coli, Kolimuotoiset bakteerit. Our results proved excellent and the water is drinkable . There was no charge for all this work!!! I'm impressed.

[Karhunkoski]

That's great news Matti!

And impressive it was free too!

It's nice to sometimes hear about getting good and cheap/free service from the Finnish state! The second example I've heard today. The other was someone commenting on some of the kansalaisopsito courses, where the course fee (somwhere around 30 or 40 euros) multiplied by the number of students equated to the teacher getting paid 2 euros an hour for teaching. Obviously these courses are heavily subsidised by the Finnish government! We hear enough of people moaning about paying tax, nice to see what we get for it!

PS When's this mökki party?

[Juha H.]

Thanks for the info. I might have to do the same, because our new house will be completed in Uurainen this fall. There's a well already, but the water has never been tested. It looks fine and even tastes (tasteless).

[Karhunkoski]

Thanks for the info. I might have to do the same, because our new house will be completed in Uurainen this fall. There's a well already, but the water has never been tested. It looks fine and even tastes (tasteless).

Juha, do you know anything about the scheme where outlying areas are forced to get connected to a treated water source. Some relatives are currently grumbling about being forced into joining a pipe, costing a few k €s

[Rosamunda]

I think that is for waste water. All out-going water will have to go into proper sewers or into a proper septic tank system. This will also apply to mökkis soon.

[Rosamunda]

Thanks for the info. I might have to do the same, because our new house will be completed in Uurainen this fall. There's a well already, but the water has never been tested. It looks fine and even tastes (tasteless).

Make sure you run the water for a while BEFORE you get it tested. Well water needs to be drawn regularly. You may need to get the well pumped and cleaned out. My in-laws had theirs done in Kirkkonummi and it made a big difference to the taste of the water.

But if your well water is already running clear then that's a good sign. I guess nitrates can still be a problem though if you are in a rural area.

Matti... in the analysis they send you do they just give lots of numbers and percentages or do they actually spell out in letters that the water is drinkable straight from the tap? (...or do you need a PhD in Chemistry and Biology to understand the blabla?)

[Juha H.]

I think Penelope had the right answer to Matt's question. A so-called virallinen valvoja will make sure that everything is done according to rules. The water has been running, because a lot of water has been needed in the construction.

[Mattlill2000]

PS When's this mökki party?

Unfortunately, next spring. But I'm most likely up there in October spending my summer vacation and everybody is welcome to drop over for a few hours or for a few days. Will keep you posted.

Matti... in the analysis they send you do they just give lots of numbers and percentages or do they actually spell out in letters that the water is drinkable straight from the tap? (...or do you need a PhD in Chemistry and Biology to understand the blabla?)

They gave the numbers and then a rating. Here is the results
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[Rosamunda]

Thanks

[Mattlill2000]

So much for it being free. I just got a bill for 87,38 euros. The report was 10,00, the billing 5,00, and 56,62 for processing the sample. I would probably of saved some money for the processing if I had brought the sample in myself.

[pierrot]

So much for it being free. I just got a bill for 87,38 euros. The report was 10,00, the billing 5,00, and 56,62 for processing the sample. I would probably of saved some money for the processing if I had brought the sample in myself.

Still cheaper than in other communes. We'll have to pay a whopping 160 euros for the same work ;(
The paper looks a lot like the ones found on certain beaches (lakes and sea). Do they do the same tests for swimming areas as for drinking water?

[DMC]

> Still cheaper than in other communes. We'll have to pay a whopping 160 euros for the same work

I don't know what we paid when we had our water tested by the public lab. The Watman tests I posted about in the earlier thread on this subject cost about 35 euro, so you might consider that as an option. The tests cover similar things - not identical, but with a lot of overlap.

[RA]

I happened to be at the lab in that document, yesterday, and I asked about the price for analyses and they said it ranges between 35-175 euros depending on what analyses are done.

[Juha H.]

Well, I guess we now have to consider the other option. We have a spring within a 700 m walking distance and we might consider using that water for drinking etc. and the well water for sauna etc.

After paying all the bills for the construction of the new house we'll have to wait for any test, if it costs as much as you have said. We must also find work for the local grave digger, who may not have enough work without well testers!

[Mattlill2000]

We have a spring within a 700 m walking distance and we might consider using that water for drinking etc. and the well water for sauna etc.

We have a 74 year old neighbour who's helped his father build a water pipeline from their spring to their house. It was also about 700m's away but a little downhill. The result was that they didn't require any sort of water pump because of gravity, and the water pressure is fine. Being pure spring water, it was drinkeable and didn't require any sort of filtration. It was built about 50 years ago and still works great.