Recent drought and drought-like conditions have resulted in normal environmental sulfate levels becoming more concentrated in available water supplies due to evaporation and no replacement of the evaporates water by usual rainfalls.

Experts, who help veterinarian clinics offer telemedicine, urge ranchers to test any bodies of water that livestock drink from for sulfate levels. Such bodies include, but are not limited to, bodies of surface water, ground water, stock dam water, and well water. While the bitter taste of sulfate contaminated water may prevent animals from drinking the water under normal conditions, higher than average temperatures will make the animals a lot more likely to drink the water despite its unappealing taste.

Signs that livestock may have consumed water that contained elevated sulfate levels include reduced food intake, lethargic behavior, staring off for long periods of time for no reason, an activity called ‘head-pressing’, uneven walking patterns, falling to the ground for apparently no reason, and (of course) death.

Afflicted livestock may progress through the various stages of the illness quite rapidly if not caught in the early stages and treated with the help of a knowledgeable veterinarian.

Testing for sulfates in water

At this time we do not know of any simple dip-n-read test strips that can detect sulfate levels like the ones mentioned in the article but we DO know that sulfates typically enter the water as a salt and as such can get detected (semi-quantitatively) with the use of conductivity meters.

Devices of this nature sometimes get called ‘EC Meters’ and get used quite often in hydroponics, aquaculture and other freshwater systems to monitor amounts of dissolved nutrients, salts or impurities in the water. The more of each contaminant detected, the greater the conductivity.

So, while a conductivity meter will not tell you specifically that a body contains too many sulfates, it will give an indication that the water has a high level of dissolved items that could include unwanted levels of certain salts… like sulfates.

How about testing for sulfates in DRINKING water?

For drinking and well water testing, we carry the WaterWorks Sulfate Test Strip in our Water Test Kit Store.

Bad Taste and Foul Odor — Iron bacteria often produce nasty tastes and odors commonly reported as: “smells swampy,” “has an oily or petroleum like smell,” “smells remotely like cut cucumber,” “sewer smell” “stinks like rotten vegetation,” or “stale and musty.”

Often times the bad tastes and odors will seem noticeably stronger after a long period where the water has not run.

Note: If you smell a “rotten egg” smell, this odor most likely comes from something other than iron bacteria. You may want to test, instead, for dissolved hydrogen sulfide in your water.

Discoloration — Iron bacteria have a knack for leaving orange, brown, red or slightly yellow stains on your normally pristine white fixtures and may even cause water in toilets and toilet tanks to become discolored.

Some folks (who have lots of iron bacteria in their water) have even reported seeing rainbow-colored oily residues on surfaces exposed to their water.

Slimy Red Deposits — Should you happen to notice a sticky slime with a rust-like color — or possibly orange, brown, red, slightly yellow or even gray color — in your toilet tank, iron bacteria may have made their home in your water supply.

So… Those Simple ‘Tests’ Always Work?

Not even in a fairytale world, pal! Each of the ‘signs’ and ‘indicators’ of iron bacteria listed above could also come from drinking water contaminants such as ferrous iron, sulfate, hydrogen sulfide, manganese and/or other biological organisms frequently found in water supplies such as sulfur bacteria.

So… How Can I Know for Sure That I’ve Got Iron Bacteria?

No method other than having your water tested by a certified water testing laboratory (such as National Testing Laboratories) will tell you for certain whether or not you have iron bacteria in your water.