Too much copper in our well water to fill pool?

[diananr]

Hi-

We are due to plaster our pool any day now. I just got back a water report I had run by a local lab, and I'm concerned that the copper is too high and will damage the pool plaster. We do not have a water filter or softener system at our house.

Results are as follows:

Copper 430 ug/L (this one is kinda freaking me out)
Nickel 15 ug/L
Vanadium 13 ug/L
Zinc 80 ug/L
Bicarbonate as CaCO3 84 mg/L
Calcium 16 mg/L
Chloride 11 mg/L
Fluoride 0.12 mg/L
Hardness as CaCO3 40 mg/L
Magnesium 11 mg/L
Nitrate as N 2.4 mg/L
PH 6.4 pH units
Potassium 3.4 mg/L
Sodium 14 mg/L
Specific Conductance (EC) 260 umhos/cm
Sulfate as SO4 9.2 mg/L
Total Alkalinity 84 mg/L
Total Dissolved Solids 150 mg/L

Just as an aside, I sucked at chemistry in high school. The pH seems kinda low, but the total alkalinity looks ok.

Is the copper too high? Is it "fixable" once the pool is filled? Is there anything else in these results that I should be concerned about? We live near Sacramento CA and it is hot in the summer, if that is a factor.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[jblizzle]

So that would be 0.43 ppm of copper. We generally state that levels over 0.3ppm put you at risk of staining or green hair.
You could use a metal sequestrant to lessen the likely hood of staining.
There are products called Cu-lator that claim to pull metals out of the water, although I am not sure there is a consensus on how well they actually work.

 

[justinc]

Have you looked into what the cost would be to have water trucked in?

 

[diananr]

I'm calling around now to get quotes on trucking in water. It doesn't seem to be that common here. I'm nervous about the cost, but I don't want to ruin the pool finish right at the beginning...

 

[mknauss]

Having that level of copper in your well water where you live is highly suspect. And as much water as you are going to be using to make up for evaporation, trucking in water may be moot.

Check surrounding municipal water system reports for copper. I believe they have to report that level.