LesleyK

Thanks for your input(s). We are looking at just aerating without the Filox bit, as there is already filtration for iron, manganese and hard water at the pump head. Carbon filters have also been suggested but they are hellishly expensive and only last a couple of years. Still trying to get more info on just aeration as it seems that adding oxygen to the water and getting it to bubble can make the hydrogen sulphide bubble away too.

Cutting a long story short, the hydrogen sulphide gas in our water is coming from deep underground. It seems the best way to get rid of the smell is to aerate the water, ideally at the borehole pump. I'm looking for solutions/suggestions for this. Particularly I can't seem to find any prices! Also, is there a system we can use inside the house (would have to be small) to eliminate the smell. Any advice would be welcome. Thanks

Thanks Kelvin. We have had the water analysed, but the analysis only looks at the chemical content. The gas doesn't show up in the water, except as a smell. If that makes sense? Thanks for the link.

Hi - me again. We have moved into the house and it is lovely. Everything is fine, EXCEPT ... we have hydrogen sulphide gas in the private water supply. Really disgusting smell of rotten eggs, particularly when we take a shower, although opening any taps, or flushing the toilet, produces this foul smell. The company that drilled the borehole, have also installed a filtration system at the wellhead for manganese and iron and water softening salt. There is also a turbidity filter. We have a filtration system at the house that includes two 5 micron filters and UV. My understanding is that hydrogen sulphide is common in sandstone and shale (tick) and where there are high levels of manganese and iron (tick), as well as hard water. According to the borehole company, the smell "is just something that happens". I have done my own research and it seems it might be possible to get rid of the smell using carbon filters? I would really appreciate any advice. I don't think the water is dangerous, although we are still drinking bottled. I really don't want to have to just live with it. It is giving me headaches and making my eyes water - and my tongue is tingling (bizarre). Help!

Yes, I am in Scotland so I'm not sure if the message from Adsibob applies, although I am grateful for the reply. We are not on mains water or sewage - we have a septic tank. Our water supply is from a new borehole, with filtration at the wellhead as well as UV and other filters at the house. Apart from the results (awaited) from the testing of the water, everything else is completely finished including heating. Our builder will be applying for the completion certificate online. He says we can move in before the water test results are in, as these can take months (literally) in this area (Argyll and Bute). He thinks the water will be fine, as it is getting all the right treatment but said we could drink bottled until we get the test results. This is the only thing that had me worried but we can't afford to wait months for the results before moving in. We have already been in touch with the DAB assessor for council tax. So, I guess there is nothing to stop us moving in? Hoorah!

Not sure if this is the correct forum - sorry if not. I got some useful advice from you guys way back when we were installing a new borehole. We are now about three weeks away from moving into our new build home and I need help with the red tape. Our builder says we can just move in whenever we want, once the Building Warrant has been signed off. He is responsible for that. Does this mean that Planning can't stop us moving in, even if there are still a couple of outstanding issues from the plans that were passed? For example, we will have a new water supply, which will be filtered etc but test results for the water will probably not be back for several weeks. We don't want to wait for the results until we move in and the builder says we don't have to. Just use bottled water for drinking until we know the water coming out of the tap is okay to drink. The landscaping won't be fully completed either, although we plan to spend the winter getting most of it done. Etc, etc. Can Planning stop us from moving in or should we just do as the builder says and not tell them! But then, surely we have to let them know we are moving in? Do they need to issue a Completion Certificate or a Habitation Certificate, or both, before we move in or can we move in and then ask for whatever Certs are needed? Sorry for all the questions but I am rather confused about everything but really don't want to delay the move any longer. It's costing too much!

Thanks for this. So I guess you are saying that if I have a pump to take water from the storage tank to the house, this will be a second pump, as the first one will take water from the borehole to the tank? In our case, the borehole is about 100m (or more) from the house, and we are thinking to place the tank about 10m from the house - perhaps a bit more. So the borehole will feed the tank via a pump, and the tank will feed the house, via a pump. The accumulator is, perhaps, not needed as the heat pump system guarantees mains pressure to the house, so I am wondering if the heat pump does the same job as an accumulator? This is where things get a bit hazy ...

This is where things get too technical for my wee brain but it looks as if the accumulator is something that is supplied indoors to help boost the water pressure? We will be installing something like this in any case to help with internal water pressure, a part of the heat pump system. In the meantime, Environmental Health have got involved as Planning said we needed to consult with them on our water supply system. While the "requirement" for a water storage tank may not respond to any regulation, EH is insisting we have one and if we don't we take the risk that they will not sign off our system, or our house, once the build is complete. With all this in mind, we are now looking at storage tank options, and a 2500 l potable water storage tank is not actually that expensive. I guess we would set it up externally, raised up, and then the water would be pumped from the borehole to the house via the tank? My question is, does the water need to be further pumped from the tank to the house? And what fittings should we be putting on the tank so the water can enter and exit correctly? Sorry for the silly questions, but this is all new to us!

This is all very interesting and useful. Environmental Health are involved as part of the planning process, apparently. They needed to sign off the proposed new water supply in order for us to get permission, and their conditions included the installation of a storage tank to be used in emergencies. Of course, as you say, the water in the tank would not be treated so I don't see how it could be used to drink and it would still need to be pumped to the house somehow. I will definitely go back to Planning/Environmental Health and ask for the regulation. Thanks guys.

I think I will question it again, but I have already had a couple of conversations, and sent a couple of emails, to Environmental Health about this and they are simply insisting that a storage tank must be installed. The silly thing is, if we were to instal this tank (where, God knows), it would provide about three days water, which means it would be three days before we knew there was a problem with the water at the borehole (like it had dried up, or the equipment had failed), which would actually be a bad thing! Better to know straight away if there is a problem.

Hi, we are building our new house in Kintyre and have installed a borehole. Our contractor says this water supply can be connected directly to our home (via the usual treatment systems of course). The water has been tested and there are some treatments recommended before it gets to the house, such as manganese and hard water. These are being done via a backwash at the borehole itself. The water is to be pumped from the borehole along a pipe to our home. We are happy with the contractor's recommendations as he has done this kind of work a million times but Environmental Health are insisting we install a 1000 - 1500l storage tank as a back up in case of power cuts (which would stop the water from being pumped), or the source drying up or something else. We do not expect the water to ever dry up from a borehole in this area and if the electricity fails (which happens a lot around here) we will have a generator in place. We do not feel the storage tank is necessary, apart from the fact that there is nowhere to put it! It would be too heavy to put in the attic space. Any water coming into the house would have to pass through the tank first as we are not permitted to store pre-treated water. Does anyone else have experience of this and what solutions have they found? Many thanks