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Why you should test your drinking water for contaminants
Drinking water test: who's responsible? The responsibility to test drinking in homes rests on the home owners. The quality of the water you drink may be altered once it enters the pipes in your homes. Reasons to test your drinking water for possible contaminants may include:
Your family health needs. Some people are more susceptible to pathogenic or other water borne diseases than others. People with severe illness could be at risk than healthy individuals.
Environment where your water supply is located could affect the quality of your drinking water and a water test could be important. For example, proximity to wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent discharges, inadequate combined sewer overflows (CSO) abatement program, concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) and sanitary sewer overflows (SSO) problems.
A test of your drinking water could:
Give you the understanding of its quality.
Confirm whether or not your drinking water is free of pathogenic, bacteria, lead, arsenic, iron, and other harmful chemicals.
Give your water a clean bill of health or a direction to do something.
Save you money because it will help you spend your money on the right water filter or softener. Perhaps you don't need one; you will not be buying one because your neighbor has one.
Public water authorities or suppliers in the United States are required to follow the US Environmental Protection (EPA) guidelines when it comes to testing water prior to distribution. Additionally, they are required to send an annual Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) to their customers. This report will show information about test results the water supplier has performed; the concentration level of each chemical detected; health effects of these contaminants; and where source water is taken from.
The CCR should list the parameters that the water authority or the water company generally tests for. Examples are coliform bacteria, inorganic contaminants, lead, copper, nitrates, volatile organic contaminants (VOCs), trihalomethanes (THMs), synthetic organic contaminants, radiological contaminants, and most recently, some states have began to test for pharmaceuticals or drugs in drinking water.
Age of your house plumbing system could result in metals leaching into home drinking water. Lead in old house plumbing can leach into the drinking water. According to the medical experts, a brief or prolonged body exposure to lead can cause serous health issues. Test result will help determine the treatment options.
Taste and odor of your drinking water from possible chlorine residual could also result in a need to conduct a water quality testing. Also, if you are simply considering a home water treatment system, testing your water will allow you to make the best selection of a water filter or a purifier.
Some states also require annual source water assessment to determine if there are any possible threats to drinking water supply source. This type of assessment might include a susceptibility rating, based on the risk posed by each potential contamination source. It also includes a rating on how easily contaminants can get into the drinking water. Some water source could be exposed to CSOs, CAFOs, SSOs, untreated wastewater discharges, and more. You may contact your water supply authority if this information is available.
Majority of water suppliers will not deceive their customers, but recent news events about water treatment plant operators who manipulated test results offer no confidence in some reports. In this case, and for well water owners, a test will determine whether or not harmful contaminants are present in your drinking water.
For private well water owners, proximity to agricultural environments can influence the need to test what's in the drinking water. Runoffs from animal feeding operations can leak into groundwater which can contaminate well water supply. Possible contaminants from these operations are heavy metals, nitrates, pesticides, and sulfates.
Untreated wastewater that discharges to water supply source and failed septic systems can result in well water contamination. Treatment options for well water contaminations could be the use of a filter system. Testing will reveal what's in the water and what type of water treatment is needed.
What Are the USEPA's Recommended Safe Levels in Drinking Water?
Coliform bacteria
No coliform bacteria is acceptable
pH
6.5 - 8.5
Nitrates
< 10 mg/l as NO3 -N < 45 mg/l as NO3
Total dissolved solids (TDS)
< 500 mg/l
Chloride
< 250 mg/l
Fluoride
0.7 - 1.2 mg/l
Calcium and magnesium
Calcium - limits not set by EPA Magnesium > 125 mg/l may show laxative effects
Iron and manganese
Iron < 0.3 mg/l Manganese < 0.05 mg/l
Sodium
< 100 mg/l
Sulfates
< 250 mg/l
Arsenic
< 10 ppb
Conductivity
0.4-0.85 micromoles per centimeter
Total hardness
< 270 mg/l
Turbidity
1 turbidity unit (TU). Note: > 5 TUs are detectable easily in a glass of water and usually objectionable for aesthetic reasons.
You should know what type of sample to collect before water is collected for testing. Some water analyses can be done in your home by eyeballing such as odor, taste, color, and turbidity. You can also purchase water testing kits to test for some of these parameters at home. Collection of water for some testing may require higher level sampling and testing protocols. Chlorine and pH testing must be conducted immediately water samples are collected, others will need special preservatives and allow for longer holding times before they are delivered a certified laboratory. Some laboratory may provide you with sterile bottles or other containers and the directions to follow. Testing laboratory may send its own technicians to collect the water samples so that specific protocols are maintained to handle the chains of custody.
The cost of testing water samples may vary from one testing laboratory to another. You may contact your state's drinking water authority for guidance on how and where to test your water or what type of home testing kits are appropriate. You can also find out fro your water supply authority for any free testing program.
What if a water sample result from a laboratory or a home test kit shows that the quality of your water is poor? Review the various drinking water treatment devices on this website to learn about the different treatment options. Treatment technology may include reverse osmosis filter, activated carbon filter, water distiller, or ultraviolet disinfection. The best-looking water filter may not be the best water treatment for you. Look for a home water treatment device that is NSF-certified for the specific contaminant to be removed from your water.
