Removing iron from borehole water

[Eugene]

I live on a residential fram Estate near Somerset West and had my borehole water tested recently. I note that the pH of my water is 5.7 but my major concern is the high iron content: 1.71 mg/l

Currently I am only using my borehole water for irrigation, but would like to have it backfed into my house for domestic use. I am concerned about the high iron content that it may stain pipes, bathrooms etc. and believe that there are automatic systems available for the removal of the iron to make it suitable for domestic use.

Believe me, I'm no technical wizz and a couple of guys suggested that I install a manganese dioxide filter and what not (all sounds space aged to me), but the quoted prices for these systems run around R30000+ for these installations. Surely there should be cheaper alternatives or am I missing the boat on this one? If anyone has knowledge of this or could direct me to someone that might assist, I would be grateful.

[Dave A]

One of my partners is a whiz on water quality management - I'll bump him to see if he has any suggestions. My thought is you might even be able to go RO for less than R30k - but I'll toss it to an expert.

[Eugene]

Thanks Dave - greatly appreciated!

[Alan]

Hi Eugene, i will forward you a pm of a chap called Marco from a company called The Waterboy, a very good friend of mine. I reckon you may be able to get away with a deionising resin here for your house use and then a reverse osmosis unit for drinking water.

[Eugene]

Thanks Alan, will give him a ring today and let you know. Much appreciated!

[Debbiedle]

Eugene, hope you got sorted....just a note for future, make sure it is unplugged, you could get a nasty shock there!

[Jason E]

Hi Eugene

Iron removal is quite a tricky thing. you can visit a site www.boreholewater.co.za. They specialize in borehole water treatment

Regards, Jason E

[Dave A]

My goodness this is an old thread - and for some reason that link doesn't resolve for me.

However, I did watch a program just yesterday on water filtration - apparently to remove the iron you first have to oxidise it by aerating the water, and then it can be filtered out. (Just what sort of filter wasn't mentioned).

[Landy]

Hi Eugene. I have the same problem except my PH is 7.5 which is fine. I also had a quote of R25 - R30 K for the iron removal. Did you resolve your iron filtration problem? If so, was it very costly? Many thanks. Landy

[IMHO]

I installed a RO (Reverse Osmosis) unit a year ago. Puriteck 300gpd @R4200. I pump the filtered water to a 5000lt JoJo tank. From there I use it for waterver I need it for. Keep in mind. 300GPD actually produce about 720lt per day. The waste is in the region of 1400lt per day. I run it 4 hours on and 2 hours off.

[AnyaSDS]

hello to all! I know this is an old post I am replying too, but BettaBore is available locally to remove iron oxide and manganese build up on pumps and borehole water. Apologies if I misunderstood the discussion

[Tarmac]

I installed a RO (Reverse Osmosis) unit a year ago. Puriteck 300gpd @R4200. I pump the filtered water to a 5000lt JoJo tank. From there I use it for waterver I need it for. Keep in mind. 300GPD actually produce about 720lt per day. The waste is in the region of 1400lt per day. I run it 4 hours on and 2 hours off.

Hi IMHO,

I'm keen on doing the same thing as you.

Did you connect the Jojo to your entire house? if so what connections did you use?

[AndyD]

I'm also looking at using my wellpoint water at least for the toilets in my house and maybe for the baths and showers also. I had the water tested a few years ago and apart from some easily filtered particulates it came back as potable. So far I've just used it for irrigation and it's always been crystal clear and doesn't leave stains on walls etc and I installed an outside tap for topping up the swimming pool. My wellpoint produces about 25-30 litres per minute with the existing setup. It's direct off the pump and controlled by a pressure switch set at 4 Bar with a 20 litre pressure tank to prevent the pump rapid cycling but no storage tank as such.

The logistics of supplying the toilets or the entire bathrooms are a bit daunting. It's a 3 storey house with the geyser in the attic. There's 4 bathrooms, 2 on the ground floor and 2 on the first floor and the only easily accessible pipework is around the geyser in the attic.

Has anyone else been through this kind of exercise? I'm open to suggestions and advice.

[BarryVP]

Borehole Water Treatment Specialists

I found these guys and for me they're the best : Equilibrium Water - www.equilibrium-water.com
Not the cheapest, but they're the few that actually look at your water and don't sell you a "fit for all" solution that break down after a month. In term of quality there is nothing bad to say about them, reliable and adaptive, I highly recommend them.

[GCE]

I have a borehole and use for it for the garden.I had it tested and the iron contain was low but when using it in the swimming pool I notice iron stains ever now and again.Chlorine drops iron out of the water so best to pump into a tank , add chlorine and then take off the water to the pool.

My brother in law is a civil engineer and specialized in water treatment plants.I sent him my test results and have pasted his comments below.

The lab has done a chemical and physical water quality analysis, but not a microbiological water analysis. Without the microbiological, you don’t know what the bacteria count in the water is, and therefore you must not drink this water, or brush teeth, etc . The water will taste salty anyway, because of its high chlorides. Even with a microbiological analysis I wouldn’t drink this water because the quality could change without you knowing it (somebody installs a septic tank)

In terms of physical water quality:
1. EC is quite high – the water will cause minor corrosion – at risk are your washing machine, taps, toilet floats, etc
2. pH is fine

In terms of chemical water quality
1. The water is very hard – you will get severe scaling of geyser elements, you will struggle to get soap to lather, and your pipes will build up a calcium “plaque”, just like cholesterol in the arteries over a few years
2. The calcium and magnesium are slightly high and this is why the water is hard
3. Iron is not too high, but the coloration effects of iron is normally considered in conjunction with manganese which wasn’t analysed, so its hard to tell but I don’t think you will get much colouration of laundry, pool tiles etc
4. Otherwise the chemical concentrations are fine

In short. This water cant be drunk without treatment. It can be used for non-potable use but the hardness will scale your geyser and pipes (over a few years), and the corrosiveness will cause minor corrosion of metallic items. You can use it on the garden and in the pool.

I think you should set up your system to feed the garden and pool at least. If you want to go a little further then also connect your bathrooms, toilets and laundry and see how it goes. If you are unhappy with anything in the house you will be able to remove the hardness with ion exchange softening, or remove the iron with simple oxidation. If you plan to use this system for a long time (a few years) then you should at least soften the water to avoid blocking the pipes. I don’t know what types of plants are available for household use, but I’m sure somebody out there will have an of-the-shelf package plant that wont cost a fortune