Well Water in Lehigh County: What to Test and Why

Your well water comes from old limestone and dolomite bedrock beneath Lehigh County. This carbonate rock is fractured and cracked, creating spaces where groundwater collects and flows. The rock itself holds water readily, making it a productive source for private wells.

Iron, radon, and sulfate appear naturally in this carbonate bedrock. As water moves slowly through the rock layers, it dissolves iron from the minerals and picks up sulfate from deposits in the stone. Radon gas comes from tiny amounts of uranium trapped in the bedrock and seeps into the water as it sits in the fractured rock. Chloride enters from road salt applied to highways and local roads, which soaks down into the groundwater.

Your water is extremely hard and mineral-rich, meaning scale buildup will form on faucets, showerheads, and inside pipes. Iron in the water stains sinks, toilets, and laundry orange or brown. You need a water test to know what treatment your well requires.

Your well water in Lehigh County has radon, iron, chloride, and sulfate all exceeding EPA health standards. This is a serious situation that needs attention right away. Radon is a radioactive gas that comes from natural uranium in the bedrock. The other contaminants show that your water is pulling in minerals and salt from underground rock layers.

Long-term exposure to radon in water raises your risk of lung cancer. Iron at these levels will stain your sinks, toilets, and laundry orange and reddish-brown. The extremely high sulfate and sodium levels mean your water tastes bad and leaves thick white scale on faucets and pipes. This scale damages water heaters and other appliances quickly.

You need a certified lab test right now to confirm what is in your water. A basic bacteria and nitrate screen runs fifty to one hundred dollars. A comprehensive metals and minerals panel runs two hundred to four hundred dollars and will tell you exactly what you are dealing with. A treatment system combining aeration for radon and iron removal with a water softener for hardness can address multiple problems at once.