Good morning, Nick, and thank you for contacting us about your well water situation. First off, we would like to know why you suspect ‘contamination by gas’ in your well water? Do you smell a particular scent or detect an unusual taste?

Hydrogen sulfide gas (in very low concentrations) gives off a distinct sulfur or ‘rotten egg’ smell.

Methane, on the other hand, has no natural scent or smell to it. The smell associated with methane often resembles that of hydrogen sulfide gas because utility companies and commercial distributors of methane often mix trace amounts of hydrogen sulfide gas with the methane to aid in leak detection.

As far as testing for methane goes, the gas typically volatilizes very quickly at ambient (room) temperature and therefore testing for it in drinking water becomes extremely difficult.

Facts about Methane: http://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/eh/chemfs/fs/Methane.htm

Something else to consider: If you detect a sulfur smell ONLY when running hot water, you may have a problem with your hot water heater.

Location, location, location…

The real estate market has touted that phrase for years as one of the most important factors in determining the value of property.

With that in mind, when it comes to well water quality, the ‘value’ (quality) of well water depends greatly on the placement of the well.

We see that you hail from Texas. By any chance do you live in an area where natural gas harvesting takes place or has taken place recently? If so, or if you live in close proximity to industrial parks or other potential sources of chemicals that could leak into the ground, basic at-home water test kits will more than likely not cover all the bases and you may want to consider laboratory testing

Regarding testing options, you can either contact a local water testing laboratory (your local board of health should have a list of qualified laboratories in your area) and have them perform analyses on your water or you may want to consider using mail-in use water testing services like National Testing Laboratories.

Moral of the story?

While pretty much everyone knows we suggest a regular regimen of well water testing (at the very least annually for things like coliform bacteria, nitrates, nitrites, arsenic, heavy metals, etc.), we ALSO think it of paramount importance that people do NOT procrastinate when it comes to testing their water if/when they suspect a problem.

Taking the time to perform the testing required to effectively and efficiently diagnose a water quality problem always makes sense! Remember: It’s your water, your health, and ultimately… your LIFE!

“The bottom line is strong evidence for gas leaking into drinking water in some cases,” Robert Jackson, an environmental scientist at Duke University in Durham, N.C., told NBC News. “We think the likeliest explanation is leaky wells,” he added. ( source )

‘Leaky wells’… means what, exactly?

Fracking wells involve large amounts of concrete around metal casing that, if not poured properly, could contain small fissures and cracks where small amounts of natural gas, once liberated by the fracturing activity, could work its way through the concrete and into the surrounding ground. From there the gas could very easily find its way into local aquifers.

Does this mean we have a verdict on the safety of hydraulic fracturing?

OK, well that amounts to an open and shut case against hydraulic fracturing due to the contamination of drinking water wells with methane (and other gases), right? WRONG.

Experts in the gas industry responded to the study right away with three key points… and one of them our readers will recognize right away:

1. Naturally occurring methane is “ubiquitous” in water wells throughout the study region, Steve Everley, with the natural gas industry group Energy-in-Depth, writes in a blog post that characterizes the new study as full of flaws. Chief among them, Everley argues that methane is ubiquitous in the region, and that the Duke University research team found methane in water wells “nowhere near natural gas wells.”( source )
    
2. The Duke University researchers did not find evidence of hydraulic fracturing fluid in the water samples tested.
    
3. While the testing did come up positive for natural gas and other stray gases, no one has baseline test results of water conditions before hydraulic fracturing began so how can anyone say hydraulic fracturing resulted in the gases entering the water supply?

We’ve said it numerous times in the past and we’ll keep saying it until we keel over: Before allowing ANY activity that COULD possibly threaten a water supply to begin, get as many data points for as many water quality parameters as you can! Otherwise test results after the fact may not have as much meaning and significance as they should.