Who would have ever thought that an international water tasting event would take place… in West Virginia? Certainly not anyone here at Water Testing Blog, but then again, we never claimed to know everything… and we never will.

February 27, 2010 – A municipal water from the Ohio was named Best Municipal Water in the World during the 20th annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting.

Tap water from Hamilton, OH, beat out 43 global competitors to win first place. Last year Hamilton’s water was named best in the United States.

Waters were tasted in four separate flights over two days. 12 judges spent Saturday afternoon and evening tasting finalists in four categories: municipal, bottled, sparkling and purified drinking water.

About 200 people attended Saturday evening’s competition at Berkeley Springs’ The Country Inn. Audience members voted on which waters had the best packaging.

Best Municipal Water 2010

• Best in the World — Hamilton, Ohio
• 2nd place – Beaver Falls, British Columbia
• 3rd – Greenwood, British Columbia
• 4th – Lansing, MI
• 5th – Daytona Beach, FL (gold medal winner in 2005)

Best Bottled Water 2010

• 1st–Ecoviva, Roscommon, MI
• 2nd – Eldorado Natural Spring Water, Eldorado Springs, CO
• 3rd — Almost Heaven, Manassas,VA bottling Berkeley Springs water
• 4th – Denton Spring Water, North East, MD bottling Berkeley Springs water
• 5th – Real Water, Las Vegas, NV

Best Sparkling — 2010

• 1st– Dobra Voda Sparkling, Kratovo, Macedonia
• 2nd — Canadian Gold, Marchand, Manitoba, Canada
• 3rd – Touch Sparkling Spring Water, Marchand, Manitoba
• 4th – Antipodes, Whakatane, New Zealand
• 5th – Pian della Mussa, Village Baime, Italy

Purified Drinking Water — 2010

• 1st – Kittiwake Pure Water, Winnipeg, Manitoba
• 2nd – Crystal Mountain Water, Huntsville, Alabama
• 3rd — Berkeley Springs Purified Water, Berkeley Springs, WV
• 4th — Claire Baie, Oak Creek, WI
• 5th – Ultra Pure Reverse Osmosis Purified Water, Winnipeg, Manitoba

Best Packaging — 2010

• 1st – Bling H2O, Los Angeles, CA
• 2nd – Deep Origin, Whakatane, New Zealand
• 3rd – Climax Spring Water, Huntsville, Alabama
• 4th – Ecoviva, Roscommon, MI (a 100% biodegradable bottle and winner gold medal as best bottled water in the world.)
• 5th – Callaway Blue Spring Water, Hamilton, Georgia

( source )

For those of us not able to find products from the aforementioned winning companies in our local grocery stores, and/or people who refuse to support the bottled water industry, other ways to get safe, clean drinking water exist.

While very critical to monitor water quality parameters such as pH, what happens when one group’s tests indicate that a body of water has a ‘problem’ with its pH level and another group’s readings indicate the exact opposite?

People in Gastonia, NC will get the chance to live out that exact scenario in the coming weeks.

Gastonia’s resident water treatment guru is questioning a state study that has added Mountain Island Lake to a list of “impaired” waterways.

The N.C. Division of Water Quality recently identified 21 lakes and streams that have undesirable pH levels. Mountain Island Lake — the main water source for Gastonia and Charlotte — was one of eight sections of the Catawba River to make the list.

State officials took 34 water samples in the lake between 2006 and 2008, and four of those showed the water was slightly acidic. Acidic water isn’t harmful to drink, though it threatens fish and other aquatic life.

But Ed Cross, Gastonia’s division manager of water treatment, said the state’s findings stand in stark contrast to what local readings have shown for more than a decade.

“I was kind of stunned by it myself,” Cross said Wednesday. “We’ve got a summary of 12 years worth of testing data, and there’s no indication of this anywhere.”

The federal Clean Water Act requires that states evaluate public waterways every two years to ensure they are safe for boating and swimming, drinking or other uses. That spurred the study from 2006 to 2008, said Susan Massengale of the Division of Water Quality.

Scientists determine whether water is acidic or basic using pH readings. Pure water is neutral, with a pH of 7. Levels above that are alkaline, while readings below it are acidic.

Of the 34 samples taken from Mountain Island Lake, four came back with a pH level slightly below 6, with the lowest at 5.7. By federal law, if 10 percent or more of the samples are outside the desired threshold, the waterway is deemed “impaired,” Massengale said.

Four out of 34 equates to 11 percent, meaning Mountain Island Lake barely made the impaired list, she said.

“So that’s when we start looking at possible sources of impairment,” said Massengale. “At this point, we’re seeing these acidic results in other mountainous areas of North Carolina.”

Acid rain and increased runoff from construction and development may have caused the higher acidity in some areas, she said. The recent, regional drought may have also been to blame.

But the findings still perplex Cross. Gastonia takes a minimum of three water samples a day from the lake, which has amounted to several thousand samples over the last 12 years, he said. All of the samples are tested by a certified laboratory with standardized, calibrated instruments, he said.

Based on those readings, the lake’s average pH level has ranged between 7.1 and 7.5 — slightly alkaline.

“I don’t know, if you hold 34 samples in your left hand and 10,000 in your right hand, whether you judge them equally,” Cross said.

Officials with Charlotte’s water treatment division could not be reached for comment Wednesday. But Cross said he plans to make sure state leaders know of the discrepancy in testing data, before the recent figures are accepted as fact.

“I can assure you we will file our data and comments,” he said.

Massengale said she can only vouch for what the state found. While the levels don’t indicate an immediate health risk, officials will continue trying to determine the cause, she said.

“All I know is we’ve got 34 data points and four of them show the pH was low,” she said. “Barely low by the standard, but low.

“We need to pay attention to that.” ( source )

So… two knowledgeable groups have conflicting data about the waterway’s pH levels. Now what? We predict that a number of meetings will take place and in the end that no one on either side will come out smelling like roses.

The waterway, on the other hand, will most likely not receive any of the attention needed to figure out WHY pH levels came up differently for the two groups.

In the end, and as usual, ultimate responsibility for monitoring the quality of the water people drink, bathe in, swim in, and use for many other purposes falls on the end users.

After all the talk about BPA and other potentially dangerous compounds leaching out of portable water bottles it comes as no surprise that companies like Klean Kanteen have started producing stainless steel portable water bottles.

Advantages of stainless steel water bottles like the K18PPS water bottle include a zero percent chance of the bottle leaching BPA getting into the drinking water, a zero percent chance of flavors from previous beverages surviving a wash cycle and tainting new beverages, and users of the bottles spending a lot less money on bottled water.

Dishwasher safe and 100% recyclable, the Klean Kanteen K18PPS stainless steel water bottle provides a safe and environmentally conscious alternative to plastic water bottles and/or plastic lined aluminum water bottles. An array of accessories also make these stainless steel bottles every bit as convenient as their plastic counterparts.

• Klean Kanteen 18 oz. Water Bottle w/ Looped Cap
• Klean Kanteen 18 oz. Brushed Water Bottle
• Klean Kanteen 27 oz. Water Bottle
• Klean Kanteen 27 oz. Brushed Water Bottle w/ Looped Cap
• Sling for Klean Kanteen 27 oz. Brushed Water Bottle
• Built NY Slinger Tote for 27 oz. Brushed Water Bottle
• Klean Kanteen 40 oz. Brushed Water Bottle w/ Looped Cap
• Sling for Klean Kanteen 40 oz. Brushed Water Bottle
• Nite Ize Carabiner for Klean Kanteen Water Bottles
• Klean Kanteen Water Filter Adapter
• Klean Kanteen 12 oz. Stainless Steel Sippy Cup

Used by a number of relief organizations around the world when disaster strikes, The Doulton W9361122, SS-2 Gravity Fed Water Filter provides clean drinking water to communities that would otherwise go without. used by many of the world’s leading relief organizations to provide clean water in times of emergency.

While many other emergency water filters rely upon some sort of pump, manual or battery/electric powered, the Doulton W9361122, SS-2 Gravity Fed Water Filter uses naturally occurring gravity to pull unfiltered water through its 7″ Super Sterasyl Candles.

Simply pour untreated water into the top reservoir and allow it to travel through the unit’s ceramic filter candles. Gravity then pulls the filtered water into a lower reservoir where users may access it using a tap on the front of the system.

Features and Specifications of the Doulton SS2 “Pour-Through” Gravity Fed System:

• High Grade Stainless Steel Construction
• Requires No External Plumbing
• Compact and Easy to Operate
• Easily Converted to the SS-4, a unit which utilizes 4 ceramic filters instead of 2
• Dimensions: Assembled 8″ x 19″ / Stored 8″ x 13.5″
• Capacity: 12 GPD (with 2 filters) 24 GPD (with 4 filters)
• Upper Reservoir Holds 2.11 Gallons ( 8 liters ) Untreated Water
• Lower Reservoir Holds 2.11 Gallons (8 liters ) Treated Water

With regard to filtering capabilities, the Doulton W9361122, SS-2 Gravity Fed Water Filter reduces:

• Chlorine by 99.99%
• Cysts by 99.99%
• Organic Chemicals by 99.99%
• Parasites by 99.99%
• Particulates by 99.99%
• Pathogenic Bacteria (ie E. Coli, Cholera, Typhoid, etc.) by 99.99%
• Rust & Sediment by 99.99%

Compact and efficient, the SS2 Gravity FEd Water Filter makes the perfect addition to anyone’s emergency preparedness kit and ideal for apartments, boats, RV’s, and use while traveling.

Yes, you read that right. We recently came across a short article on a news channel’s site in the Bethesda, MD area which stated that a local pizzeria used a water filtration system — and that some people believe its pizza tasted more like pizza from New York because of the purified water.

Some say its the water that makes New York pizza taste so good. Flippin’ Pizza uses a water filtration systems to make our local water taste more like New York’s. ( source )

So if we read that right, locals in Bethesda, MD believe one of the secrets to making great New York style pizza involves filtering their own water so that it more closely resembles that of New York’s. Kind of interesting, don’t you think?

Naturally the question on OUR minds sounds a lot like… “What kind of water filter do they use?”

We checked the pizza place’s web site ( www.flippinpizza.com ) to see if maybe they had leaked the brand and type of water filter they use, but no luck. We did, however find this statement that the proprietors made about their pizza:

A real, honest pie. An old-school, ‘I’m from Brooklyn and you’re not’ pizza. So welcome to Flippin’ Pizza. A New York original, since 2007. ( source )

Didn’t figure we’d get much info from New Yorkers, but hey… If you don’t try, you’ll never know. So fuhgettaboutit already!

Better water can make food taste better?

We figure, as you probably already have, that truly rotten water would ruin the taste of anything. But, since we do try to educate with more than just our opinions around here, we decided that we needed to find some scientific proof that our opinion had real merit.

In comparison to taste thresholds in spring water, the recognition thresholds are higher using tap water, and lower using deionized water. When using deionized water, sour was detected by all subjects at the lowest concentrations. Iron(II)sulfate could best be matched to metallic sensation in deionized water. Results indicate that taste sensitivity is influenced by water quality. ( source )

For those who don’t speak ’science talk’, the folks conducting the study discovered that participants in the study could more easily recognize distinct flavors in spring water and deionized water than in tap water.

We suppose that means when people try to add a hint of flavor to a soup or other dish using tap water, it takes them more seasoning to accomplish that task. Now if you consider that some seasonings, like salt, can harm a person if ingested in too great a quantity for too long a time, then that means tap water makes it easier for that harm to happen.

Getting back to the taste issue, though, if you consider that pretty much all municipalities add some form of disinfectant (often an oxidizer such as chlorine) to the water they distribute, it would make sense that the oxidizers would act on, and attempt to destroy, anything they encounter — including seasonings and natural flavors in foods.

Additionally, if water has too high or low a pH, it may act to oxidize or reduce naturally occurring chemicals in a food that would otherwise impart the food’s natural flavor into dish.

So, for all you aspiring chefs and cooks out there, as well as all the Ramen Noodle eating folks like so many of us at the Water Testing Blog, using filtered water may increase the flavor in your dishes and allow you to fully enjoy the flavors you work so hard to create.

Test your drinking water before choosing a drinking water filter

Having your water tested will give you the opportunity to select the perfect water filter for your water. Simple at-home drinking water test kits from WaterSafe and SenSafe can provide important information you will need when selecting the appropriate water filter for your home or business.

Note: Drinking water test kits from those companies only give you some of the information you will need to make an educated decision when choosing a water filter. Having your water tested by a certified water testing lab such as National Testing Laboratories will give you a lot more detail and make your water filter decision that much easier.

Most importantly, though, certified water testing labs like National Testing Laboratories will test for many dangerous chemicals and compounds that home drinking water test kits cannot.

We sites to research water filters

Over the years we have seen a lot of water filter web sites come and go and the ones we will list here have not only endured the test of time, but they have grown and adapted well to the public’s ever-changing water filtration demands.

We present these in no particular order.

WaterFilters.Net — www.WaterFilters.net

FilterWater.Com — www.FilterWater.com

FiltersFast.Com — www.FiltersFast.com

IsoPureWater.Com — www.IsoPureWater.com

If we had a dollar for every time we got asked the first question below, we’d all drive expensive cars and dine on lobster for lunch… instead of taking the bus and eating Ramen Noodles every day.

T_RadioMan in Clifton Park, NY asked…

Why do I always get staining in my sinks? Is my well water polluted? Is it dangerous?

Slow down, killer. Slow down. One question about the quality of your water at a time, OK?

Staining… of fixtures often happens when water contains dissolved metals. Have you tested your water for metals?

• Iron in Water — may leave brown, yellow and/or orange stains in sinks and on fixtures

• Manganese in Water — may leave dark brown, black or deep purple stains in sinks and on fixtures

• Copper in Water — may leave blue, green or dark stains in sinks and on fixtures

Polluted… drinking water may not ever show any signs of contamination. Only testing the water will tell you if your water contains dangerous contaminants and if you know nothing about the quality of the water, it definitely makes sense to opt for a thorough water quality analysis conducted by a qualified laboratory such as National Testing Laboratories or a local laboratory w/ similar qualifications.

National Testing Laboratories offers three levels of certified drinking water testing and their customers get test results within two weeks.

• WaterTest Basic tests for 27 water quality parameters

• WaterCheck test for 83 water quality parameters

• WaterCheck w/ Pesticides tests for 97 water quality parameters

Dangerous… water also may not show any obvious signs of it malignant nature so having testing performed by a qualified laboratory to find out if the water contains harmful contaminants or a dangerously low/high pH makes sense if you know nothing about the water and have ‘problems’ with it such as skin irritation, staining of fixtures, foul odor, nasty taste, or unexplainable recurring gastrointestinal troubles.

To conclude, T_RadioMan, you really won’t ever know the cause of your water woes until you get that water of yours checked out by a certified water testing laboratory.

Although all of us at Water Testing Blog prefer that our drinking water have absolutely no taste at all, and give us nothing more than pure aqueous refreshment in each and every glass, there exists an element in society that believes water ought to have SOME sort of taste… a slightly sweet taste.

With that in mind, we now present the KX Matrikx 5 Carbon Filter, a replacement 10-inch x 2.5-inch filter which incorporates coconut shell carbon into its filtering method and thus gives water a slightly sweeter taste.

The manufacturer, KX Matrikx, touts the replacement filter as an ideal replacement filter for residential and/or food service applications where the taste of water really matters. They also claim that the filter’s unique carbon pore structure does an excellent job of absorbing chemicals, reducing VOC and TOC, and removing chlorine from water — resulting in the elimination of bad taste and odor.

When we first heard about this product we believed it would come with an outrageous price tag. Most water remediation products that have other, more aesthetic purposes in addition to simply making water safe for drinking tend to cost more. Not the case with this filter, though. We found it online for under $15.

For more information about the KX Matrikx 5 Carbon Filter (02-250-125-975) and how it can improve the taste of your drinking water, please visit its product page on FilterWater.Com.

SusanB wrote us recently to ask a question that many people people have probably asked after reading some of the postings here on the Water Testing Blog, but never bothered to ask anyone at the Water Testing Blog…

Your site and many others talk about ‘reverse osmosis‘ water treatment systems all the time but never really explain how they work. Are they just some sort of fancy carbon filter or something? I really want to know because I need to do something about my bad water and if they’re no different, except in price, than a simple carbon filter then I won’t waste my money on one. Can you explain the difference? IS there a difference? Thanks!

Actually, SusanB, we have posted information on Reverse Osmosis Water Filters in the past that addresses most of the questions you asked…

• What is Reverse Osmosis
• How Do Reverse Osmosis Systems Work
• Why Install a Reverse Osmosis Water Filter?
• Where Can I Buy Replacement RO Membranes?

And now, after re-reading our own posts we have decided that we really ought to locate and re-post a more user-friendly definition and explanation of reverse osmosis water filtration.

There are a range of water filtration systems available to today’s consumer to meet the different challenges of raising water quality. Often, a simple activated carbon filter does the trick, but many people have more complicated water problems, and find that they need more complex water filtration systems because of this. A reverse osmosis water filtration system will, in many cases, solve these more advanced problems.

Reverse osmosis (RO) water filtration is a multi-step water filtering process which works slowly but is extremely effective. Reverse osmosis systems are generally used to treat cooking and drinking water supplies. It’s often used in industry but works very well in the home. Reverse osmosis uses the principles of osmosis (in which material passes slowly through a membrane and is concentrated and purified in the process) to produce very clean water.

The first step is that a simple sediment filter is installed and all water to be used passes through it; the filter catches large particles of materials such as rust or calcium carbonate (a compound which is not at all harmful but which isn’t desirable in your drinking and cooking water – it’s commonly used as an antacid). Sometimes a second filter of a similar design, but more fine, is used after the initial filtering. An activated carbon filter traps organic chemicals, and then the RO filter, which is a very fine membrane, is used. It may be helpful to think of all these filters as being similar to sieves with differently-sized holes. Basically, the process of reverse osmosis water filtration would be akin to draining cooked food through a series of increasingly-fine sieves, rather than just emptying the pot into a basic perforated colander. Reverse osmosis water filtration systems, being more complex and increasingly sensitive, can trap far more contaminants than just one simple carbon filter. Some RO systems will, even after the water has passed through the RO membrane, use yet another carbon filter or, alternatively, an ultra-violet lamp, to purify the water even further. The result of all of this filtering is extremely high quality water.

Reverse osmosis is not the most efficient of all water filtration systems, and some have expressed concern about the fact that it takes approximately four gallons of processed water to result in one gallon of clear water. However, its effectiveness makes it a preferred water filtration method for many. Some describe it as “ultrafiltration,” which gives a sense of how powerful RO is. RO results in very pure water. The Water Quality Association says that RO filter systems produce water purity levels as high as 95 percent, which is extraordinary.

The fact remains that reverse osmosis water purification systems remove an astounding range of contaminants from your water. Arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium (hexavalent), chromium (trivalent), copper, lead, nitrate, nitrite, radium 226/228, selenium, iron and TDS are all removed from your water with an RO system.

A reverse osmosis water filtering system is obviously more complicated than a simple carbon-filter water pitcher, but the benefits of its complex design are also obvious. For those who are concerned not merely with the aesthetics of their water – taste – but have more concrete problems with water quality, an RO water filter may be the best solution to your problem. ( source )

Well, SusanB, and everyone else reading this, we hope the information above helped you to understand a little bit more about the ways in which reverse osmosis water filters operate and the benefits they offer. Below you will find links to three popular reverse osmosis water filters units available from WaterFilters.Net.

Even though the USEPA lowered the maximum contaminant level for arsenic in drinking water to 10ppb (parts per billion) several years ago, many people still find themselves plagued by water containing much higher than acceptable levels of arsenic — because they get their water from a private well.

If only one person used and owned the well tainted with arsenic, the responsibility for periodic testing for arsenic in drinking water and remediation of the well water (if needed) would fall on the shoulders of the well owner. Open and shut case.

What happens, though, when a small collection of users share the well and a third party owns the well?

Situations just like that happen all the time and recently some State lawmakers in California have decided to see what they can do to get safe drinking water into the homes of people currently in those situations.

Riverside County Supervisor John Benoit and state Assemblyman V. Manuel Pérez toured mobile home parks across the eastern Coachella Valley Saturday, to better grasp the widespread problem of arsenic-contaminated groundwater there.

“We’re here to work together to try to solve these problems,” Pérez told about 40 residents at the 80-unit Sunbird park in Thermal. Thousands of east valley residents live in areas that potentially contain hazardous levels of arsenic in their groundwater, a recent Desert Sun report found.

“It’s just a matter of the political will” to provide those residents with safe drinking water, Pérez said.

The strategy likely will involve a mix of short- and long-term water fixes, officials said.

At the 96-unit St. Anthony’s mobile home park in Mecca, officials showed Benoit and Pérez a “reverse-osmosis” filter — resembling a more advanced kind of tap-water purifier — that could be installed at each trailer to remove the arsenic.

The filters, priced around $135 to $300 apiece, could serve as short-term solutions in large parks like St. Anthony’s while valley officials consider a proposed pipeline that will serve many east valley parks roughly from Vista Santa Rosa to Mecca, estimated to cost $22 million.

Such a pipeline is years away, though, given the economic recession and budget deficits, officials said.

The reverse osmosis filters could be a permanent fix for the arsenic woes at smaller, remote parks to the southeast, where it’s not feasible to connect to the Coachella Valley Water District’s water supply, said Sergio Carranza, a longtime advocate for east valley water issues.

…

The local lawmakers also toured Desert Mobile Home Park, known as “Duroville,” where several thousand residents still drink water from wells testing at 26 parts per billion arsenic levels, officials there said. State and federal officials say water testing above 10 parts per billion is unsafe if ingested regularly over decades.

…

After the tour, Benoit and Pérez agreed that to solve the east valley’s arsenic problem, valley officials and water agencies first must unite under a regional water quality board.

That would give the area access to more grants and funding, to help ensure thousands of east valley residents have clean, arsenic-free drinking water, they said.

St. Anthony’s resident Francisco Mendez said he’s lived at the park for about 25 years, and he worries how the park’s arsenic-contaminated water might affect his four children, ages 5 months to 12 years.

Mendez said he was encouraged by the lawmakers’ visit and that safe conditions at the park are long overdue.

“We’re people who work in the fields, in construction,” Mendez said. “We pay taxes. We have rights.” ( source )

It may take a while for programs to get set up for those people and others like them but at least someone with a little political power has taken an interest in their situation. Hopefully the necessary changes in policy (and enforcement) won’t take too long and become a reality.

Testing Your Well Water for Arsenic

we cannot emphasize enough that the responsibility for the quality of the water coming from a private well rests solely with the well’s owner and that public policy set forth by the USEPA in no way, shape or form applies to private wells. In other words, if your well water has arsenic concentrations greater than 10ppb, no one from the government will send you a warning letter telling you about the problem.

The USEPA, health officials, and well water organizations all suggest that well owners have their water tested annually for contaminants — including arsenic.

Options for Arsenic in Well Water Testing

As usual we will tell you that no form of drinking water testing can, or should ever, take the place of drinking water testing performed by a certified water testing laboratory if you have good reason to suspect that dangerous levels of contaminants may have gotten into your water supply.

For all other times though, a simple at-home drinking water test kit from the Arsenic Quick line of field-ready arsenic test kits may work just fine.

Arsenic Quick test kits claim to have the shortest testing time on the market, an independently verified testing procedure, the simplest test instructions, and the safest reagents.

You can find more information about Arsenic Quick test kits on the following web sites:

• www.ArsenicQuick.com
• www.Arsenic-Test-Kit.com

Recently the North Carolina State Department of Environment and Natural Resources discovered it may have reason to test groundwater near a gas station whose tanks, they suspected, may have started leaking. While they didn’t find the chemicals they expected, they certainly did find chemicals in the water.

They found tetrachloroethylene in a family’s well water in Randolph County, North Carolina.

Staley, NC — When the North Carolina State Department of Environment and Natural Resources tested neighborhood well water in Randolph County, they were looking for petroleum leaks from a run down gas station, but they didn’t find any. What they did stumble upon was another dangerous chemical. A chemical used for either dry cleaning or cleaning grease off of auto parts.

“Every time I go to wash my hands, I just think, what more damage is that going to do to my body?” says Andrea Falk. The dangerous chemical, tetrachloroethylene, was found her homes well water weeks ago. She says ever since she got her letter from the state about her bad water, she’s been paranoid, “It said that there was a dangerous amount of the tetrachloroethylene. It said don’t use it for any household uses including dishwashing, clothes washing, bathing yourself, drinking, brushing teeth and flushing the toilet. I mean you can’t use it at all. There is no usable water in this house.”

Wayne Jones, the environmental health supervisor for Randolph County said the state notified him of the chemical and this week a second test confirmed the contamination of the dangerous substance, ” It’s a very nasty chemical, but it takes a long time to be classified as a known carcinogen and there has just not been that much testing. But it is a pretty nasty chemical that is suspected to be a carcinogen.”

But Falk has been using it the past four years, and now she’s beginning to question her change in skin and hair. “You kind of wonder, is it the house? Is it the water?,” she says, “We are a small little community here. We’re out in the middle of nowhere. There might be 20, 40 families right in this area. Who knows how far it could be affected.”

The Randolph County Health Department is working with state agencies to investigate this contamination because they don’t know where the source of the chemical is or how far it’s reach extends.

July 1, 2008 is the first time North Carolina started it’s state-wide well water testing. If your well was tested before this date, the Randolph County Health Department says it isn’t likely the water was tested for this chemical. ( source )

What is Tetrachloroethylene?

According to Wikipedia, “Tetrachloroethylene is an excellent solvent for organic materials. Otherwise it is volatile, highly stable, and nonflammable. For these reasons, it is widely used in dry cleaning. Usually as a mixture with other chlorocarbons, it is also used to degrease metal parts in the automotive and other metalworking industries. It appears in a few consumer products including paint strippers and spot removers.” ( source )

If you suspect that your well water may contain unwanted contaminants like tetrachloroethylene, at-home drinking water test kits such as the WaterSafe All-In-One and the SenSafe Water Quality Test Kit will not test for anything beyond the basic water quality parameters. You will need to seek assistance from a certified water testing laboratory such as National Testing Laboratories.