For the past ten years, my chlorinator worked fine. About a month ago, it stopped working. I checked it out and it was functioning fine but the smell would not go away. I called my water guy and he said something must be going on down below with the extended drought and now the rains. He suggested a new aeration/filtration system that requires no maintenance and he is sure it will work as he has installed over 150 of them in the central texas area and they always work. Well guess what? It didn't. He then suggested adding an Ozonator to it. Installed that 2 days ago. Still not working. Water stinks worse than ever. Now he is saying I might have to go to a holding tank outside of the well house to vent out the sulfide. Then you have to pump it back in to the house. Anyone have any suggestions or experience with this? If I do have to go the tank route, what am I looking at spending? This is driving me nuts. Any other suggestions?

Sounds like hydrogen sulfide. Maybe get someone to detect for it.

"Confined spaces = deadly places"

In all seriousness though, it can be EXTREMELY dangerous if it is infact H2S. Wow, O-chem fail.

[This message has been edited by OnlyForNow (edited 5/25/2012 10:06a).]

If you can smell it then it's low concentration H2S. Both dangerous and flammable when enclosed in a well house.
I have had this issue but normally if I let the water flush out the system then it goes away.
Sounds like yours might be embedded into some of the piping or water tanks.
Try isolating your water heater and running the water. If that does the trick I'd change the anode in the water heater. If that doesn't do it, then you may be out a new water heater.
It's a drag for sure.

Where are you located??

He is in Bastrop county (Smithville area)

The smell comes from a bacteria. With the drought many well water levels dropped considerably. Bacteria as a result of the hydrogen sulfate could have built up in high quantities. A shock chlorination treatment might be a good idea to clean the well itself.

I would suggest you have a chemical analysis done of the water to identify what treatment is necessary. A company i have heard good things about is nations pure. Here is their info

http://www.nationspure.com/

Grab a water sample (call the lab to get the collection bottle) and send it to a lab, have them run it on the Mass Spec for identification, also might not hurt to have them do a TOC (Total Organic Carbon) test done. Based on the lab results I can give you some guidance.

Can you smell the water at the source, or only inside? H2S is the most likely candidate, however, Chlorination and aeration should have have reacted with the H2S to form an odorless form of raw sulfer which will just result in yellow sand like particles being left behind, and the particles are usually easily dealt with by traditional filtering systems. If chlorination and ozone traetments aren't working there may be cause for concern, because chemically speaking the chlorine should absolutely work, and the ozone treatments should absolutely react to create sulfide, an odorless and tasteless form of sulfur.

Do you know if there has been any new drilling near your property, more specifically, do you know anybody that is drilling using fracing as a technique? If so, you need to have an RSK lab test done as soon as possible on the water.

If you can not smell the sulfur at the well and can only smell it in the house, you need to change your magnesium anode rod in your water heater out for a new one, preferrably with an aluminum one and/or increase the temperature in the water heater to kill the bacteria.

Definitely sounds like some type of microbiological activity. Some good ideas above already. Good luck. Bugs love to live in nice stagnant water situations where the temp is nice and warm. Cause a lot of corrosion and H2S problems in the oilfield. Probably wouldn't recommend any of the biocides we use though...

I am having same issue along with iron in water. Any suggestions on good filters or system to remove iron along with sulfur smell. Also an amount I can expect to pay.

Fracking

Let me guess.....OP has a bladder tank and not a conventional air over water?

I'll wait for response before I tell my story.

I smell it everywhere. At the well, in my water hoses, all over the house. It is worse than ever. I have to take a shower in the further most bathroom in the house, run the vent and open the windows in the bathroom so I don't stink up the house. Running the dishwasher and washing machine stinks up the house.
The aeration/filtration and ozonator isn't doing crap.
Guess I will have to pump it in to a holding tank to aerate then pump it in to the house.
Yes I have a bladder pressure tank.
I don't know of any drilling in the area and there is definitely no fracking going on in this area.
He did test my water. He sent it off to a lab in Nebraska that he uses. He said we have perfect water except for the high concentration of sulfide.


[This message has been edited by Na Zdraví 87 (edited 5/26/2012 11:20a).]

I have two wells drilled within ten feet of each other. Both drilled to the same depth.

One is on a small bladder tank and the other that feeds my house is a standard air over water pressure tank.

The bladder tank smells like sulfer. My theory is that the air tank where the air is able to dissolve in the water somehow removes or diminishes the sulfer smell because I have no trace of it in the house.

My bladder rank serves my garden and irrigation and the solution for that is to run the tank dry after I use it. The well is on a switch. So when I use it, it's pimping fresh clean water. It doesn't smell when I do it like that either.

Just FYI and maybe a clue/solution for your problem.