Frequently Asked Questions

Many wells in the Fairbanks area are very deep and the aquifer does not replenish as fast as you are using water. With normal household use, you may not notice a problem but when running water for long periods of time, water may begin to cavitate around the pump, running the well dry.

A typical solution is to add a holding tank, well pump control/timer, and pressure pump to the water system.

A conduit is a pipe or tube that provides protection, usually for electrical wires. It may also refer to any sort of pipe or tube that conveys water or other fluids.

A well cap or seal prevents debris, bugs, and surface water from infiltrating the well casing and possibly contaminating your water supply.

ADEC recommends that a well casing extend at least 1 foot above grade and that the surrounding area be sloped away from the casing a minimum of 10 feet in all directions. These precautions decrease the chance of surface water infiltrating and possibly contaminating your water supply.

A water source is classified as public if it serves more than 15 connections or 25 persons for more than 60 days a year. Wells that serve two homes are no longer considered public water supplies by ADEC.

We recommend disinfecting your water source using chlorine bleach. Coliform is a common bacteria found almost everywhere, including on our hands. Please see the document Procedure for Disinfecting Your Well in the Resources section for more information.

Historically arsenic has been rare and only occasionally a water test would indicate arsenic levels above the maximum contaminant level (MCL). An unconfirmed report indicates that due to recent seismic activity, arsenic is becoming more common in the North Pole area and more frequently we are seeing arsenic in water sample results. The current MCL for arsenic is 10 ug/L.

Other areas that may have arsenic in groundwater are typically in the hills around Fairbanks including Ester, Goldhill, Chena Ridge, Steele Creek and Gilmore Trail area, as well as areas off Farmer’s Loop.

Reverse osmosis (RO) is the typical treatment method, as long as the arsenic is in the right chemical valence state (Arsenic 5). If it is Arsenic 3 then RO won’t work, and the only treatment option is usually to oxidize it with chlorine to force it to become Arsenic 5 which the RO system can then remove. However, home chlorination systems are tricky to use and maintain, so we don’t usually recommend it.

You can test the arsenic for valence state but it costs about $300, which is about the cost of a cheap RO system from Home Depot. Usually the recommended process is to put the RO system in place and then test it again for arsenic to determine if further treatment is necessary.

Lead and copper are rarely found in groundwater in Alaska and it is far more likely that elevated lead or copper content in the water is the result of older lead-containing fixtures or solder or copper piping in the plumbing system leaching into the water. There are numerous ways to reduce the lead and copper content including simple user actions to point-of-entry or point-of-use water treatment. Please see the document Water Quality Fact Sheet Lead and Copper in the Resources section.

Corrosivity and scaling potential of water is measured by the Langelier Index which is a value calculated from other water components including calcium, total dissolved solids, pH, and alkalinity. A negative number indicates corrosive water and a positive number indicates the scaling potential. The larger the number, the more corrosive the water or more potential for scaling. Corrosive water has a tendency to leach metals from water pipes, holding tanks, and solders. Scaling water will plug up filters and screens with calcium deposits, reduce water flow and give water a bitter taste.