Well Water Tastes Metallic
A metallic taste is a dissolved metal, and which one depends on your rock and your plumbing. Iron and manganese are harmless nuisances. Copper, zinc and lead from low-pH water are not.
Likely causes
- Iron and manganese from the aquifer
- Copper or zinc leached from pipes by acidic water
- Low pH
- Lead from older solder and fixtures
Tests to order
- pH
- Iron
- Manganese
- Copper
- Lead
- Zinc
Treatment options
- Iron and manganese filter
- Acid neutralizer
- Flush the line before drinking
- Replace lead-containing fixtures
Two different stories behind one taste
Taste the water first thing in the morning, then again after the tap has run two minutes. Taste that fades with running is coming from your pipes: copper, zinc from galvanized pipe or brass, sometimes lead. Taste that stays is coming from the well: iron and manganese. The two have different causes and different fixes, and many homes have both.
Order the metals panel
A metals panel with pH, iron, manganese, copper, lead and zinc covers it. Take a first-draw sample before running any water and a flushed sample after two minutes. Any lead at all is worth acting on. Copper over 1.3 mg/L and zinc over 5 mg/L confirm corrosive water. Iron over 0.3 or manganese over 0.05 confirm the well.
Fixing the source, not the symptom
If the pH is under 6.5, a neutralizer stops the pipe corrosion and the metallic taste with it; the copper and zinc were never in the well. If iron or manganese are the cause, an oxidizing filter handles both. Carbon filters at the tap improve the taste of iron water but do not remove much of it and do nothing for lead unless certified for it.
Is metallic tasting water safe to drink?
If it is iron or manganese, yes. If it is copper, zinc or lead from your pipes, limit drinking until you have a lead result, and flush the tap before use.
Why does the taste come and go?
Water that sits in copper pipe overnight picks up more metal. Iron levels in the well also change with the season and with how hard the pump runs.