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GordonThree's avatar
GordonThree
Explorer
Apr 12, 2014

May have poisoned my dog

Walking around Hartwick State Park in Michigan earlier today, I came across a hand operated well pump, on the camp ground property, not just a random well in the woods.

I gave it a few pumps and water came up, so I pumped for another minute or so, and then called my dog over, since he had been searching for water.

He drank heavily from the water as I pumped it. I had not noticed any smell from the water, but had not consumed any myself.

A few hours later, I went back and filled a water jug for myself, and just had a glass... the water has a strong chlorine taste but no odor. Now I'll see how sick I get... I feel sick to my stomach, but I think its nerves and not the chlorine.

I'm guessing someone has shocked the well and not bothered to put up a warning sign or to secure the well until the shock treatment dissipates.

My dog's nose is dry and he's sleepy, but not vomiting or exhibiting other signs of distress.

I called Crawford county 911 and they blew me off, said its totally outside their control (which is BULL HOCK, I know a county can dispatch state DNR officers and state police, I work for a 911 dispatch center)

I want a DNR officer to come put a padlock on the well so no one else gets poisoned.

Just called the DEQ and reported the well as polluted. They're going to get ahold of the DNR and have the well purged.
  • amandasgramma's avatar
    amandasgramma
    Explorer
    Apr 12, 2014
    I hope your dog is okay, too. BTW where I grew up, our CITY water smelled and tasted of chlorine......I'm 64 and my brother is 66........we've survived. :) Course, we have no idea how much are in the well you used or in our city water, but it generally wouldn't kill that easily. Think of the city swimming pools! HOLY COW they use a lot of chlorine (at least they did when I was a kid)
  • CA_POPPY's avatar
    CA_POPPY
    Explorer
    Apr 12, 2014
    chrisnpat wrote:
    Thank you for your post, that is a very good reminder to all of us to be cautious. I hope you pup is ok..

    I agree, thanks for the reminder to be cautious of giving dogs water they're not used to. Here in the (desert region) suburbs of L.A. we're suspicious of water that doesn't taste and smell of chlorine. :B There are times when the water plant over treats it a little and I guess they have their reasons, but it's never done any harm that we could detect.

    The bit I researched sounds like your dog would be showing symptoms pretty quickly if that chemical was too much for him. I sure hope he's fine.
  • naturist's avatar
    naturist
    Nomad
    Apr 12, 2014
    It is quite possible that the well got a shot of bleach because it either hadn't been used in forever or because it was known to have become contaminated bacterially for some reason. I'd not be nearly as worried about acute toxicity of the chlorine as I would be about the reason it got the bleach in the first place.

    And for what it is worth, chlorine toxicity I'd expect to afflict you and your dog very quickly and pass quickly too, assuming it wasn't enough to kill you outright.

    Thanks for the reminder to be a bit suspicious of water wells you stumble across out in the woods. Even though this was a park water supply, clearly it is not enough to just look and see, yup, it's water.
  • chrisnpat's avatar
    chrisnpat
    Explorer
    Apr 12, 2014
    Thank you for your post, that is a very good reminder to all of us to be cautious. I hope you pup is ok..
  • GordonThree's avatar
    GordonThree
    Explorer
    Apr 12, 2014
    The smell commonly associated with chlorine bleach is actually from the oxidation byproduct and breakdown of the chlorine salt (sodium hypochlorite). The salt dissolved in cold water with nothing to oxidize will not be giving off much smell. I emptied most of the jug onto the dirty ground and there was plenty of smell. A clean chlorinated pool will have slight odor, a dirty one will have a strong odor.

    The State health department isn't going to say anything about another State agency.

    I saved some of the water and I'll have it tested on Monday. Problem is, the sample 48 hours from now will have degraded considerably.

    I don't really care if anyone believes me. I know my dog became sick shortly after drinking the water. It is my fault for not tasting the water first, but I'm going to be a thorn in the side of whomever is responsible for maintaining that drinking water well. As to how smart my dog is, compared to a human, he's as dumb as a post. He certainly has no chemistry background and I doubt he knows anything about the quality of the water he's drinking.

    I just posted as a caution for others to not trust drinking water wells, even in government run campgrounds.
  • workhardplayha1's avatar
    workhardplayha1
    Explorer
    Apr 12, 2014
    If you are concerned if the water is safe to drink contact the local health department. They may have the ability to test the water or give you information on where you can have the water tested.
  • pugslyyy's avatar
    pugslyyy
    Explorer
    Apr 12, 2014
    Altern wrote:
    GordonThree wrote:
    the water has a strong chlorine taste but no odor..
    You can taste the chlorine but there is no smell?
    Anyone else find this odd?


    Yeah, but if it is cool/low humidity maybe. Especially if OP is a smoker or something.

    If the water tasted of chlorine but didn't smell I probably wouldn't drink any more of it, but I also wouldn't be super worried.

    Dogs are pretty smart too, and the dog thought it was okay. :)
  • Altern's avatar
    Altern
    Explorer
    Apr 12, 2014
    GordonThree wrote:
    the water has a strong chlorine taste but no odor..
    You can taste the chlorine but there is no smell?
    Anyone else find this odd?

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