Acidic Well Water: What Your pH Result Means
Acidic water is one of the most common findings in well tests across our area. Penn State Extension estimates that about 60% of private wells, springs, and cisterns in Pennsylvania have corrosive water, and the shale bedrock found in parts of southeastern Pennsylvania is known for it. Low pH isn’t harmful to drink by itself, but it quietly eats away at your plumbing and can put copper and lead into your drinking water.What pH measurespH measures how acidic or alkaline water is, on a scale from 0 to 14. A pH of 7 is neutral. Below 7 is acidic, and above 7 is alkaline. Your report compares your result to a recommended range of 6.5 to 8.5.The scale is logarithmic, so small differences matter. Water at pH 6 is 10 times more acidic than water at pH 7, and water at pH 5 is 100 times more acidic. A result … Continued