High-plateau wells and lake-community homes
Well Water Treatment in Blakeslee
Wells around Blakeslee tap the high plateau’s shale, so the water runs soft and on the acidic side — the classic Pocono combination that stains sinks blue-green and slowly works on copper pipe. Iron shows up in some wells at staining levels. And the seasonal-home factor is real: water standing in a well and plumbing for months develops stale odors, and the first flush of the season is not the water to judge the well by. We test after it has run fresh.
From Blakeslee out to Pocono Lake, Long Pond, Albrightsville, and the lake communities around Pocono Raceway, well owners describe blue-green stains, a metallic taste, orange rings, and a smell at opening weekend. A plateau well package is sediment first, an acid neutralizer when pH is below about 6.5, and an iron filter when it stains. Softeners are rarely in the stack. For seasonal homes we plan bypass, draining, and a reopening flush routine at install.
Stagnation is not a bad well
Open a lake house in May and the first water out smells stale or musty. That is water that sat in the casing, pressure tank, and plumbing all winter — not the well’s chemistry. Flush for a day, then judge. If an odor persists at the cold tap it is hydrogen sulfide and gets its own stage; if it is only at the hot tap, the water heater anode is the first suspect. We test after the flush so you never buy a stage for a smell that was leaving on its own.
pH and iron on the plateau
Shale gives up almost no dissolved rock, so plateau water stays soft and slightly acidic. Below about 6.5 pH it dissolves copper — blue-green stains, then pinhole leaks. A calcite acid neutralizer at the point of entry stops it. Iron at staining levels is a nuisance, not a hazard, and gets its own filter. Pennsylvania regulates none of these wells; Penn State Extension recommends a yearly test including coliform, and opening weekend is the sensible time.
Sound familiar?
Problems this system solves
Stale water at opening
Stagnation, not chemistry. Flush a day, then test.
Orange staining
Iron. Its own filter stage when it stains.
Softeners sold on soft water
Plateau wells rarely need one. We measure first.
The payoff
Why NEPA homeowners choose this system
Built for the well you have
pH, iron, sediment — each stage justified by a number.
Seasonal-home ready
Bypass, draining, and a reopening flush routine planned at install.
Protects the plumbing
Neutralized water stops copper corrosion before the pinholes.
The lake communities, one crew
Blakeslee, Pocono Lake, Long Pond, Albrightsville, Pocono Pines.
Good to know