If you have a water test come back positive for coliform bacteria does that mean your septic system is leaking waste into your drinking water?
Coliform bacteria isn’t actually a health risk. It is tested for because it is an indicator bacteria to confirm the presence of decaying organic matter. This can even be from grass! They are now recommending that the caps of the well be changed to the sealed style pictured to the right. Because it wasn’t actually sealed, grass and bugs could find their way in to the well water..
There is however Fecal Coliform or e.coli which is found in the colon’s of animals(eew!) However typically the bacteria is filtered out in a small amount of soil. The way to determine if your septic system is leaching in to your water supply is actually to do a detergent test. Detergent is dissolved into the liquid and will travel with the water through soil without being filtered out. It is also important to consider indoor sources of e.coli and fecal coliform that may have contaminated a water test.
