AgAlerts 2009 From Griggs County
By John Swenson, Griggs County Extension Agent

                                                                                                                        NDSU Crop Pest Reports
Issue # 1, April 24, 2009

Water Trivia

    With the recent flooding, how many gallons of water are we seeing.  The following will look at how much water per acre, per quarter, per section, per township and the county as a whole.  The assumption of one inch of water per acre.

One inch of water per acre will yield 27,150 gallons.
or 4,344,000 gallons per quarter
or 17,376,000 gallons per section
or 625,536,000 gallons per township
or 12.512.720,000 gallons in Griggs County

Now lets look at what some areas were reporting of eight inches of water in the snow cover on the ground.

217,200 gallons per acre
4,344,000 gallons per quarter section
2,780,160,000 gallons per section
10,008,576,000,000 gallons per township
20,017,152,000,000,000 gallons in Griggs County

Shock Treatment for Contaminated Wells

    If a well has been flooded chances are it will be contaminated and should be checked and if necessary a shock chlorinated treatment might be needed.  First step is to have the well tested.  Water bottles for testing are available at the Griggs County Extension office.  Testing should be done late in the day and early in the week so that the sample will not sit in post office over the weekend.  The following is the steps to take in shock treating a well.

  1.  Disconnect or shut of values to water heaters, water softeners or other appliances.  You want to discharge water only through outside faucets, bathtubs and sinks.

  2. Turn of the electricity off to the pump, clean the well cap and outside casing with a solution of 1oz laundry bleach in 2 gallons of water.

  3. Turn on the pump and pump the well until clear water is discharged from all water faucets.  Take a sample in a bucket and look for sediment and check for any odors.

  4. Check the size and depth of the water column to determine the amount of chlorine bleach is to be used.  The minimum chlorine level is 200 ppm.  If your well is 3 to 4 inches in diameter with about 50 feet of water, mix 2qts of bleach with 10 gallons of water and pour into the well.  For a well 5 to 6 inches in diameter with 50 feet of water, mix 1 gallon of bleach with 10 gallons of water and pour into the well.  Household bleach is about 6% chlorine, doubling the amount will not do any harm.

  5. When pouring the solution into the well, avoid pouring directly onto the pump wiring.

  6. Connect a garden house to a faucet and place on top of the well.  Turn on the pump and circulate the treated water for 15 minutes.  Let the solution sit in the well for at least an hour.

  7. One at a time, open every water outlet on the system and run the water until you can smell the chlorine then turn of.  Flush toilets, refill the water heater and allow the chlorine to be in the system for at least four hours.

  8. Purge the chlorine from the system by opening the nearest hydrant and work back to the farthest faucet or hydrant until you can not smell chlorine. 

  9. Re-test the well.  Sometimes wells need to be shock treated more than once.  

    For more information on cleaning flooded wells go to the following links. 

NDSU Flood Information Page
"Drinking Water Quality:  Testing and Interpreting Your Results"

Mosquitoes Soon to be Buzzzzz-in

    With the amount of water in the region, it could be a good year for mosquitoes.  Now is the time to try and reduce the problem with early control measures.  Where standing water is a problem around the home or farmstead, one of the recommended treatment programs is the use of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israeliensis (B.t.i.).  Products include:  Aquabac 200 G, 1.2% AS, Bactimos 10% Briquets, Mosquito Dunks 10% Briquet, Teknar HP-D 1.6%  and Vectobac 0.2% CG, 0.2% G, 12% AS.  A bacterial larvacide that is non-toxic and will not harm non- target, beneficial organisms. Higher rates are recommended in water with high organic content (e.g., sewage disposal systems, waste lagoons). Pretreatment is recommended when larval populations are high, aquatic vegetation is dense, or the water is highly polluted with organic material.  There are other products on the market for larval control and can be found in the NDSU Bulletin E-72, "Mosquitoe Management".

NDSU is an equal opportunity institution

Please Contact Our Office For Additional Information
E-mail: john.swenson@ndsu.edu
Go to the 2009 AgAlert Index Page