Is the water from artesian wells safe to drink?

[coppersisters]

~I posted this elsewhere, but got no response. Maybe someone here knows?~

Is the water found in artesian wells in the Pine Barrens safe to drink? Has anyone ever tested their water quality? Is the water considered spring water or mineral water?
I remember seeing people filling bottles for drinking at the well in the Atlantic Co. Park in Estell Manor, they swore by it.

 

[smoke_jumper]

In today's sue happy society you will be hard pressed find anyone that will say you're 100% safe to drink from any artesian well. With that said I drank my fair share from them. Growing up we had a boat in Barnegat and we filled old milk jugs and used it solely for drinking, with no ill effects. Though some may argue differently . My grandfather swore by the water in Weymouth. Today's definition of safe differs greatly from years ago. Today I would think twice before I gave it to my kids but I probably wouldn't hesitate to drink it myself if it looked and smelled ok.

 

[coppersisters]

In today's sue happy society you will be hard pressed find anyone that will say you're 100% safe to drink from any artesian well. With that said I drank my fair share from them. Growing up we had a boat in Barnegat and we filled old milk jugs and used it solely for drinking, with no ill effects. Though some may argue differently . My grandfather swore by the water in Weymouth. Today's definition of safe differs greatly from years ago. Today I would think twice before I gave it to my kids but I probably wouldn't hesitate to drink it myself if it looked and smelled ok.

Thanks smoke_jumper. Some of them that I have seen have a pipe at ground level and the water empties in a pool. I wouldn't drink from them.
When these wells were first discovered, did they just hammer a pipe in the ground to divert the water? Could these old pipes be made of lead?

 

[GermanG]

There is a misconception that artesian water is somehow healthier for you than other water. It is merely water between two sloping impermeable layers, usually clays in our area, which builds up pressure as it becomes increasingly confined due to the angle of the layers. Punch a hole through the upper layer and it rises to the surface under its own pressure. This gave people the impression that there was something somehow magical about it. The remoteness of the well has more effect on how safe it is than the fact that it is artesian. New Jersey being New Jersey, few places are as remote as they used to be.

 

[Boyd]

I live just a few miles from that well in Belco and personally I wouldn't drink the water. You could take a sample and send it to one of the laboratories that does water tests if you really want to know. Have had to get these when buying homes and they are quite expensive though.

Remember, there used to be a munitions plant on that site and there still are quite a lot of ruins in the park with Lord knows what filtering down into the ground over the past hundred years.

 

[manumuskin]

I"ve swam/crawled through the spring at belco,the tunnel.There was a fish in there as big as my leg.He must poop big.Don't drink it

 

[manumuskin]

There is a very good artesian spring along the Maurice at Wheatons old wharf. Drank from it since the early 70's and outside of a few slight mental disorders I"m perfectly healthy.Now some of the springs in the barrens the shear taste of the water may kill you.Namely the spring in front of Harrisville.If the ground around the spring is orange and the water smells like the earth flatulated best leave it alone.The orange is iron and the stink is hydrogen sulfide.Neither will kill you but the iron tastes quite bad and it may give you a belly ache if you can force enough of it down.

 

[mudpie]

I"ve swam/crawled through the spring at belco,the tunnel.There was a fish in there as big as my leg.He must poop big.Don't drink it

Hahahahahaha!!!!

 

[Dragonfly Whisperer]

I drank from the Weymouth one for years, my neighbor and I used to go up with our gallon jugs, sometimes we'd have to wait a half hour as there was a line to fill up. People came from Philly even with a van full of the 5 gallon water cooler containers. The county got wind of this and put up a sign "not for drinking purposes" I suppose to lessen the risk of lawsuits or maybe the congestion. My father worked for a lab that did the testing and he told me the water was ok to drink. These days the structure is falling apart. I still remember the green sline, but no one cared about that. The water was delish.

 

[tplife]

Our house tapped one in Wading River, the only downside was the iron content, but it was healthy to drink according to my ACH/KESSLER ER mom. Last time I was out there in '97 I had everybody take a sip from the one in Harrisville, I hope it is still running.

 

[cudgel]

I often drink from the one in Ewansville, Southampton Township. It is common to see other folks there filling up their jugs too. That one has a pleasant mineral taste. Taste wise, to me at least, it has a nice subtle balance of iron, calcium, and sulpher.

 

[Ben Ruset]

Home Depot sells a kit that you can use to test water, should you be so inclined.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/PurTest-Home-Water-Analysis-Kit-777/202711663