Drinking From a Spring-Strong Iron Smell

[Brad W]

On a recent overnight trip I wanted to see if a spring marked on topo map was active. It was difficult to get to but it was-lots of animal tracks, scat and game trails leading to and fro. I found where it came out of the ground and the water was clear but had a strong iron odor. Had me wondering if other than odor, is that generally regarded as safe? Certainly the elk, moose and white tail deer have been using this for some time.

[David Thomas]

Hmmm.  I can’t smell iron myself, but I associate the orange staining of iron-rich waters with various sulfur compounds which can have a strong smell and taste.  Sulfate anions aren’t toxic (and sulfite ions are used in lots of food stuffs) and are only addressed in EPA secondary water quality standards for taste/odor reasons, not for health issues.

For occasional use, I wouldn’t fret about it.  If it was my home well, I’d have it tested for heavy metals because while iron sulfate is not a health issue (it is in iron supplements for anemia) other metal sulfates (lead, uranium, arsenic) would be a concern with constant use.

And, as you point out, there were no dead animals there, so it’s not acutely toxic.  I’d treat the water by filter, chlorine or UV, since those critters are a vector for parasitic contamination.

 

[Brad W]

@David, thanks.  I have seen another spring within 5 miles that is orange and stains the ground for a few hundred yards. This one runs clear. Source comes up from the ground and oh yeah, would filter this maybe 2x with my Befree. So much animal scat near by. Would be a perfect spot for a trail cam.

[Luke Schmidt]

My grandparents had well water that had enough iron in it to stain their sinks (until they changed the filter). It didn’t hurt to drink. In West Texas I had tap water that was so full of minerals it tasted bad and gave me an upset stomach. Not sure where this spring falls on that. Probably won’t hurt assuming you filter out parasites.

[Brad W]

@Luke I didn’t see any staining of the surrounding ground. That West Texas water sounds miserable. I would bring my Sawyer Squeeze if I need to use this source. It’s the only source, that I have found thus far, along this particular ridge which I quite enjoy.

 

[Ray J]

We live in what was a small Texas town, surrounded by a large lake and Dallas Fort Worth. So now it is a suburb.   The towns original wells always had a taste to the water due to minerals.  You want to dry your car when you wash it or it will look like 10,000 white water spots on it.  Then the town grew from 5000 people in 1986 when we moved here and it was all well water, to 15,000 and the city joined the Upper Trinity Water Conservation group.  So now about 80 percent of the water is from the Trinity group, ending most of the flavor and some of the spots when I wash the cars.  Occasionally the town does maintenance on the water system and temporarily cut off from the Trinity.  Boy do people who didn’t experience the Wells Only water, complain.   Then there are some places where they have some shallow wells dug for irrigation purposes.  That water stains everything brown, so that iron content for shallow water.   All that said, the city test the water constantly and it is always well in safe specifications.

So, for a water stop the “iron” was probably fine.  Now the scat and all the animals around…..   But that also might mean that the animals know of that water and come up to drink from it.

[Brad W]

Oh the animals know and use this heavily. I stupidly scrambled down incredibly steep section to the location on the map, then picked up a game trail 50 feet away and then saw many game trails leading to and away. I then used one of them to climb back out and felt stupid for not seeing it coming it. It was gradual and much easier than my initial route. Amazing how efficient larger animal game trails are-least amount of calories expended.

[Dan]

We used to have pretty high iron levels in our well, and IIRC the main concern was constipation.

[Luke Schmidt]

Brad I’ve followed a lot of moose trails that are amazingly efficient. Only issue is moose don’t seem to see knee deep muck as a problem to avoid.

[Brad W]

So true Luke. Muck, brush, vertical gain/loss-there is something strangely comforting following their trails through the thick growth thinking ‘they know the best way’.

 

[David Thomas]

Interesting about the constipation from iron in the water.  That’s also an issue with iron supplements for anemia.

Would you like a prune with that?

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

So, I run anemic for 50% of every month. I can smell iron in everything (when I was pregnant with 2 youngest, I knew I was severely anemic because I was literally fighting the urge to lick free weights in the gym) I’d be ALL over that spring, chugging it. Yeah, the smell of iron isn’t something everyone smells – unless it is very strong. It can have a weird taste, for sure. I can always taste it in well water, when my husband tastes nothing. Drinking it ice cold helps lower the “flavor” and smell.

And yes, constipation is very normal with higher iron consumption. Especially if it is earth based and not from animal.

You all don’t want to see just how rare I eat red meat. It skeeves out my husband. One swipe over the flame is all it needs….

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