Contaminated Water A Concern For Boulder County Well Owners

BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) - In the wake of Colorado's historic flooding, some Boulder County residents are learning their well water is contaminated with coliform and E. coli bacteria.

Test from last week are coming back from the labs, and nearly 70 percent of the wells are testing positive for bacteria.

Service technicians who treat the water in a homeowner's well say they are swamped because of the problem. They say it can take up to three days to decontaminate a single house.

John O'Brien owns the company Boulder GNC Water Well. He says his service technicians have been doing whole-house chlorinations.

"We chlorinate the well. We re-circulate that water up through the house and then back to the well for a while and we get the chlorine coming out all through the lines," O'Brien said.

Most of the wells will make a full recovery -- but some people will never be able to use their wells again.

The Boulder County Health Department is testing household water samples for free.

"Our lab is accepting one sample for household for those who have been impacted by the flood," Boulder County environmental health planner Rachel Arndt said.

Industry experts tell CBS4 homeowners should be not be paying much more than $300 to decontaminate a well. Homeowners can also do the process themselves.

Colorado Floods: How To Help

The recent floods are impacting families and communities throughout Colorado, so CBS4 has compiled a list of ways you can support the local communities impacted by the floods.