Roughly a quarter of York County households are on private wells, and in the limestone and slate bedrock outside the city, well water can carry dissolved radon. When that water comes out of a shower, dishwasher or washing machine, the radon is released into the air you breathe. The EPA estimates that 10,000 pCi/L of radon in water adds about 1 pCi/L to indoor air, and rural York County wells drilled into fractured slate near Delta, Fawn Grove and Airville, or into the uranium-bearing zones of the Piedmont, can run far higher than that. If your home has a mitigation system but your air readings stay stubbornly above 2 pCi/L, or the bathroom tests higher than the basement, the water is often the reason.
The first step is a water test. We collect a sample using the proper method for volatile gases and send it to a certified lab; results take about a week. There is no federal drinking-water standard for radon, but the EPA's proposed guideline is 4,000 pCi/L where a state has an indoor-air program, and many mitigators recommend treatment above 5,000 pCi/L.
Two technologies remove radon from water. Aeration is the most effective and the one we recommend for high concentrations: a bubble-up or spray aeration unit installed after the pressure tank strips radon out of the water into an air stream that is vented outside above the roof, removing 95–99 percent of the gas. Granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration is simpler and cheaper up front but the carbon accumulates radioactive decay products over time and must be handled and replaced carefully, so we generally reserve it for lower concentrations. We size either system to your well's flow rate and household demand so you don't lose pressure.
Well-water radon work fits alongside an air mitigation system — one truck, one contractor, and one follow-up test that checks both. If you are buying a rural York County property with a well, ask for a water radon test along with the air test during your inspection period.
Radon in Well Water Treatment Services We Offer
✓Well Water Radon Testing
Lab-analyzed sampling with results in about a week.
✓Aeration Radon Removal Systems
Bubble-up and spray aeration units removing 95–99% of dissolved radon.
✓Granular Activated Carbon Systems
Carbon filtration for moderate radon-in-water levels.
Pricing
Water radon test: $75–$125. Aeration systems installed: $3,500–$6,000. GAC systems: $1,500–$3,000.