How can the water supply be made safe to drink after the source of contamination has been eliminated?
The Virginia Department of Health recommends cleaning and sanitizing a contaminated well or spring, and the entire plumbing system, by shock chlorination. See directions. This treatment introduces high levels of chlorine in the water. Chlorine compounds are usually added to the water in solution form. The chlorine added may be fresh liquid chlorine bleach (sodium hypochlorite), containing 5.25 percent available chlorine, or soluble tablets or powder used for disinfecting swimming pools (calcium hypochlorite), containing about 70 percent available chlorine. If you have water treatment equipment, such as a water softener, iron filter or sand filter, check the manufacturer’s literature before shock chlorinating to prevent damage from strong chlorine solutions. Disconnect or by-pass carbon or charcoal filters during shock chlorination because the process will use up the capacity of these filters. Be careful when handling concentrated chlorine solutions. Wear rubber gloves, goggles, and a p
