Huh? What? A river of BLOOD? Has somebody taken their love of Twilight or any of the other vampire-themed shows a little too far as a prank?

Unfortunately not. We found this article posted on Yahoo News last night and as ridiculous as it sounds, it also appears quite real from the photograph and later statements made by a spokesperson for the Texas Environmental Crimes Task Force.

What danger does this pose?

Honestly, we lack the proper background to go into this one fully, but we do know that discharging that much untreated biological matter will throw the ecosystem in the Trinity River off in ways that would make ecologists stutter, sweat profusely, and probably possibly go into shock.

That stream appears to contain 100′s of gallons of untreated nitrates, nitrites, proteins, decaying organic matter, bacteria, and microscopic parasites — all capable of disrupting the Trinity River’s ecological balance and eventually making their way into public and private water supplies.

Public water systems using wells

Pretty much all public water systems that pull ground water from wells test and treat the water for contaminants before distribution but in extreme situations even they can get overwhelmed if they receive massive, unexpected levels of biological contaminants in source water. While workers will make the necessary adjustments to chemical feeders and filters to counteract the influx of filth, making those changes may take time and some contaminated water may find its way into the water supply.

Owners of private wells

Most do not use any sort of disinfection system on their wells so events like this put them at great risk. Really not a whole lot more to say except… Only regular testing of your well water can warn you of contamination!

Think about this, private well owners: How long had material flowed out of that ‘secondary pipe’ before a random flyover by a hobbyist’s drone (unmanned aircraft) captured a picture?

Moral of the story?

We believe one of two things happened at that meatpacking facility: 1) Not everyone played by the rules set forth by local officials and the facility broke the rules intentionally; 2) Unexpected events such as equipment malfunctioning or human error caused the slaughter waste to go down the wrong pipe. In either case this bloody mess may not have gotten noticed for quite some time and in that time countless people may have gotten sick from drinking contaminated water.

Periodic testing of well and ground water can help keep you safe from accidents like this one and many others that may take place without you knowing.

as we always like to say, “It’s your water, your health… and ultimately your LIFE!”

Crystal Quest Countertop Water Filter for Bacteria (Cleanable & Replaceable)

Crystal Quest Under Sink Water Filter for Bacteria (Cleanable & Replaceable)

]]> http://watertestingblog.com/2012/01/25/river-of-blood-flowing-into-the-trinity-river-tx/feed/ 0 http://watertestingblog.com/2011/12/02/do-water-coolers-contain-clean-water/ http://watertestingblog.com/2011/12/02/do-water-coolers-contain-clean-water/#comments Fri, 02 Dec 2011 22:26:05 +0000 Water Testing Blog http://watertestingblog.com/?p=4959 One would THINK that water coolers absolutely and always contain safe, clean drinking water… but they may not depending upon the frequency of bottle changes and routine maintenance. Safe bet that if you look at the catch tray beneath the spigots (faucet-looking things) and see something fuzzy growing in it, no one has cleaned the insides of the water cooler recently, either.

Water in the replacement bottles (ought to) contain no disinfecting compounds such as chlorine to keep bacteria from multiplying so once the seal on the bottle gets broken, bacteria have a chance to enter the water supply, hang out, party like rock stars, and breed. Gross!

Ways to make water cooler water safer?

At this point we know of two ways to stop unwanted water cooler bacteria from ‘doing the nasty’ and getting away with it: UV Water Sterilizers and Ozone Generators.

UV Water Sterilizers more or less render bacteria unable to reproduce by exposing any bacteria passing through a water filter system to a specific wavelength of ultraviolet light. This method of water treatment normally leaves no chemical aftertaste or unpleasant odor — unless your water contained those things beforehand.

Ozone Generators generate ozone which effectively destroys organics on contact and leaves no unwanted chemical residue or bad tastes in the water. Again, water with bad odor or tastes previously will continue to have those problems.

Both of the above methods work best in systems that use other water treatment methods (i.e. reverse osmosis, carbon block filtration, ultrafiltration, etc.) to make drinking water safe for consumption. They provide a last line of defense again unwanted contaminants that could grow in holding tanks of water coolers or reverse osmosis units post-filtration since the filtering methods removed any anti-bacterial compounds and drinking water disinfectants.

UV Water Sterilizer for Water Coolers	Ozone Generator for Water Coolers
Note: Professional Installation of Either Device Highly Suggested… (Both items currently available as options for water coolers at FilterWater.Com)

]]> http://watertestingblog.com/2011/12/02/do-water-coolers-contain-clean-water/feed/ 0 http://watertestingblog.com/2011/11/18/concerned-about-bacteria-in-restaurant-setting/ http://watertestingblog.com/2011/11/18/concerned-about-bacteria-in-restaurant-setting/#comments Fri, 18 Nov 2011 21:52:58 +0000 Water Testing Blog http://watertestingblog.com/?p=4912 Web sites have flaunted the results of studies about bacteria on and around the ice machines and soda fountains in the food service industry (especially the self-service ones. Yuck!) but today’s email inquiry comes to us from ‘Jacky’ who said,

“My friends and I own a small eatery with a bed-n-breakfast in the mountains and we have water from the town. Every once in a while the news tells us to boil until further notice. The last time it happpened a customer asked how long they could have been drinking bacteria water before the news told us to boil the water. I said we don’t know and they said we should know that sort of thing before we serve people food and drink. How long COULD the water have been bad?”

From the sounds of things you had a real snot eating or staying in your place. We hope he/she at least tipped well and didn’t cause you any other grief!

Regarding the answer to the question asked, you will have to talk to the town water department and ask them for information on their bacteria testing policies and public notification policies since some municipal water systems have tighter, more stringent testing requirements than others — but none can get any looser than those set by the State & Federal Governments.

Regular testing for bacteria?

We assure you that your local water department, if it follows State and Federal Water Treatment & Testing Guidelines, performs regular testing for bacteria, testing for chlorine and tests for a host of other important water quality contaminants and water quality parameters on a regular basis.

If you want more detailed information on the steps used by your local water company to protect you from bacteria and other unwanted drinking water contaminants, we suggest that you contact your local water department directly.

As we mentioned, city and municipal water departments take specific, regulated steps to protect their customers from bacterial contamination… but even in the best of circumstances sometimes things happen which could possibly put those customers at risk.

Water main breaks between the water treatment plant and customers’ homes as well as unexpected equipment failures at the water treatment plant can both certainly happen at any time and both may result in opportunities for bacteria to enter the drinking water supply.

Personal protection against bacterial contamination?

Recently a number of folks have started installing UV water sterilizers like the Crystal Quest UV 6 in their homes as a final layer of protection against bacterial contamination. These devices render bacteria unable to reproduce by exposing the unwanted critters to a specific wavelength of UV light.

So, while the devices do not necessarily kill the bacteria right away, UV water sterilizers like the Crystal Quest UV 6, when used in the right application, make certain the organisms do not have a chance to multiply and create problems for those who ingest them.

Please note, however, that UV water sterilizers should NOT get used as the first line of defense against bacteria when dealing with untreated and/or unfiltered water.

Why? Because UV water sterilizers can do nothing to remove unwanted particles, solids and/or chemical contaminants. To remove things of that nature one should consider a unit that uses activated carbon, reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration, etc.

WaterFilters.Net carries a large selection of water filter systems and replacement water filters for use in private residences as well as a wide range of commercial applications.

While on the topic of commercial water filters…

Jacky had concerns about water quality in a commercial setting so it only makes sense that we end this article by mentioning the CQE-UV-00105, a commercial UV water sterilizer with a flow rate greater than 22 GPM.

Crystal Quest CQE-UV-00105

We believe that saying has quite a lot of significance in the world of water testing, too, because water supplies all over the world could potentially have contamination issues… so testing the water locally will always make sense in our minds.

Having said that, today’s question comes to us from a gentleman named ‘Dan’ who wrote, “i live in a village in Haiti, about 30 minutes from Les Cayes. I need to test the water supply that the locals use. We suspect ground water contamination. What do you recommend?”

First of all, Dan, what sort of contamination do you suspect? More than likely we think you mean ‘bacterial contamination’ based upon the information we have read about the sanitary conditions in parts of Haiti so we will operate under that assumption.

With that in mind, take a look at products such as EZ Coliform Cult Bacteria Water Test Kit which make it possible for pretty much anyone to test for the presence of coliform bacteria in a water sample without the need for expensive lab equipment or incubation ovens. Additionally, with the use of a battery powered portable UV light source at the end of the testing period a person can positively identify E.Coli if present in the sample.

Simple things besides bacteria to test for?

The list of potential drinking water contaminants stretches on for miles and could, from estimates, possibly even circle the globe a few times!

Don’t let that daunting number dissuade you from performing due diligence by testing for some of the simpler, easier to detect and ‘definitely-worth-knowing-about’ contaminants. We will now list a few of the ones that spring to our minds right away, but please do not take this list as the final word in ‘simple’ drinking water contaminants most people can easily test for.

Test for Nitrates/Nitrites

Test for Pesticides

Test for High Levels of Mercury

Test for Lower Mercury Levels

Broad Spectrum Test for Metals

Lead in water Test Kit

Test for Arsenic in Water

Test for Iron in Water

Now some of you may look at that collection of test kits and say, “Wow! That’s a lot to deal with!” but don’t worry, we would also like to take a moment to list for you some combination test kits that keep everything organized, provide easy-to-follow instructions and allow user to test for a number of water quality parameters.

Well Driller Standard Tests for 10 Water Quality Parameters on as Many as 50 Samples

Well Driller Master Tests for 14 Water Quality Parameters on as Many as 50 Samples

]]> http://watertestingblog.com/2011/11/12/water-testing-kits-for-use-in-local-testing/feed/ 0 http://watertestingblog.com/2011/11/11/well-water-question-from-reidsville-nc/ http://watertestingblog.com/2011/11/11/well-water-question-from-reidsville-nc/#comments Fri, 11 Nov 2011 13:03:34 +0000 Water Testing Blog http://watertestingblog.com/?p=4895 We recently received an email from ‘Janelle’ in North Carolina who wrote,

“I’m trying to find someone to come test my well water. I’m in Reidsville, NC. And we are just renters I have never had well water before and I would like to know what’s in it. When it rains really hard for a few days the water smells like fish. Then sometimes like onion do you know of a company that test wells in Reidsville??”

While we do not know of a specific company that tests well water in your area, Janelle, we suggest contacting your local health department and asking them if they can provide you with a list of qualified local water testing laboratories.

We took the liberty of doing a quick Google Search for ‘well water testing in Reidsville, NC’ (click the link, Janelle!) and while no immediate matches popped up, a few companies appeared to have locations w/in 20 or 30 miles of where you live, Janelle.

You should also check out the EPA’s North Carolina Water Page. It contains a number of links and phone numbers that may prove useful.

Regarding the ‘fishy smell’ in well water?

Without actually testing the water we suspect that your water may contain some form of organic matter whose levels change in accordance with the changing of the level of the aquifer from which your well draws its water. From what we have read the organic matter usually does not pose much of a health threat, though in some instances it can, and it typically poses more of an aesthetic nuisance than anything else.

Sources also indicated that certain types of bacteria in one’s well may also cause well water to possess a fishy smell at times.

Regarding the ‘onion smell’ in well water?

Most resources we viewed suggested changing the anode rod in the hot water heater since it, over time, can begin collecting mineral deposits or fail in other ways that can result in water coming from the water heater smelling like onions and sometimes, though we neglected to mention this in the previous section, like fish.

Treating for onion water and fishy water?

As noted a moment ago, making sure the anode rod in the water heater has not gone bad or become encrusted with unwanted mineral deposits makes for a wise course of action if water in a home has taken on an onion or fishy smell.

One site we found said the following about diagnosing and treating water that contained foul odors:

“This type of odor may indicate the presence of organic (non-pathogenic) matter. The most common method of treatment for this type of odor is activated carbon filtration or chlorination followed by carbon filtration. It is helpful to attempt to diagnose the cause of the odor so that proper treatment is designed. You may also test your well water for bacteria and nitrates to confirm portability of the water.” ( source )

No matter what, though, Janelle, make sure you get the water tested by a certified water testing laboratory — preferably one that specializes in diagnosing problems with well water.

Today’s question about well water testing and possible well water contamination by hydraulic fracturing came to us from a woman named ‘Terri’ in Pennsylvania who asked…

why is the cost so high to test water for fracking contamination? after the recent flooding it only cost $25.00 to see if the well water was safe to drink. is it best to have a local company test the water or should we send it to Penn State or out of state? how often after the drilling starts do you recommend water to be tested?

Thank you for this question, Terri, and we bet other folks facing the unwanted financial burden of paying for more ground/well water testing than the average homeowner with a well have wondered the exact same thing.

Well Water Testing (2 or 3 parameters)…

In our experience, well water testing that costs roughly $20 to $30 usually includes the following tests: Nitrates/Nitrites and Coliform Bacteria.

Some kits and marketed laboratory testing packages may include other tests, but not much more and definitely not nearly the number of tests included in the laboratory testing packages typically used to analyze water that may contain contamination resulting from hydraulic fracturing.

Testing for Fracking Fluid (potentially 100′s of parameters)…

From the very beginning companies that used hydraulic fracturing as a means of extracting natural gas from rock and shale formations deep in the Earth have kept the list of ingredients in their fracking fluids out of the public eye.

However, according to information posted on Wikipedia (10/28/11)…

“Chemical additives used in fracturing fluids typically make up less than 1% by weight of the total fluid. They are biocides, surfactants, adjusting viscosity, and emulsifiers. Many are used in household products such as cosmetics, lotions, soaps, detergents, furniture polishes, floor waxes, and paints.[33] Some are also used in food products. A list of the chemicals that have been used was published in a U.S. House of Representatives Report.[34] Some of the chemicals pose no known health hazards, some of the chemicals are known carcinogens, some are toxic, and the health hazards for the rest are unknown. The report does not include the concentration of each chemical used or the amount used.

A 2011 study identified 632 chemicals used in natural gas operations. Only 353 of these are well-described in the scientific literature; and of these, more than 75% could affect skin, eyes, respiratory and gastrointestinal systems; roughly 40-50% could affect the brain and nervous, immune and cardiovascular systems and the kidneys; 37% could affect the endocrine system; and 25% were carcinogens or mutagens. The study indicated possible long-term health effects that might not appear immediately. The study recommended full disclosure of all products used, along with extensive air and water monitoring near natural gas operations; it also recommended that fracking’s exemption from regulation under the US Safe Drinking Water Act be rescinded.[35]“

So as you can clearly see, the potential for harm befalling a person exposed to fracking chemicals could certainly clearly exist — even if it may take a while to happen through prolonged exposure to fracking chemicals in the air and/or in their drinking water.

With the number of chemicals and ‘other things’ possibly present in fracking fluid, and the mystery surrounding many of those additives true identities, responsible testing laboratories must use a shotgun approach when analyzing samples for the fracking fluid… because they have no solid idea of what exactly to look for.

The Best way to Test for Fracking Fluid?

Terri mentioned Penn State in her inquiry and at this point we feel the scientists at Penn State may very well have the best idea of what has transpired in that region due to their close proximity and the amount of time and resources that institution has dedicated to tracking the activities of gas drilling companies in the area.

Moral of the Story?

If companies intend to begin hydraulic fracturing in your area then you really ought to have the quality of your water tested before, during and after drilling.

If companies have already started drilling and you have not, yet, had a qualified water testing lab analyze your water, you really ought to have that testing done right away.

As an example, ‘J. Mampilly’ from India installed a system and now seeks to determine if he has installed the correct unit. He asked,

I would like to know about how i can confirm the effectiveness of my water purifier. Labs in India that can certify and throw light on the camparative quality of water before and after using a water purifier. Thank You

Unfortunately we do not have familiarity with water testing laboratories in India and cannot directly assist with this situation. We can suggest, however, that you contact your local health department and ask them for a list of certified water testing laboratories in your area.

Coliform Bacteria Test Kit

Before…

In order to know what type of filter or what filtering capabilities you should purchase, invest (yes, we said invest) in a thorough water analysis performed by a qualified water testing laboratory. Here, again, we suggest contacting your local board of health and asking them, for a list of certified drinking water testing labs. Alternatively, or if no labs exist in your immediate vicinity, you can use the services of accredited water testing companies such as National Testing Labs.

No matter what, though, always have your water tested BEFORE deciding on a water treatment system. Oh, and one more thing: Don’t think for one second that a salesperson doing an in-home water test has the same water testing tools or qualifications as a reputable water testing laboratory. Remember: 99% of all salespeople attempt to sell things and not accurately analyze a situation — especially if accurately diagnosing a situation could cost them a sale!

And after!

As ‘J. Mampilly’ has done, we should ALL take an interest in comparing the quality of water that comes out of our water filter systems. Only then will we know if the money we invested in (not spent on!) a quality drinking water filter system performs as expected.

Testing water quality beforehand gives us not only an idea of what we need to filter out of our water, but also a checklist of water quality parameters to monitor post-filtration. Should follow up water testing reveal that these ‘issues’ did not get corrected or suddenly show up months after the installation of a water system, perhaps the water filter has stopped working or never really worked properly in the first place and needs service of some sort.

And in conclusion…

Many people go through life ‘deaf, dumb and blind’ when it comes to the quality of their water — until an (initially) unexplainable health problem pops into their life. Then, and unfortunately sometimes too late, those same people get very interested in the quality of their water and want to punish or otherwise penalize others for allowing them to consume tainted, polluted and/or contaminated drinking water.

Although we feel much sympathy for the victims of poor quality drinking water, most of us here in the United States have the ability to at least once every great while perform basic testing for critical water quality parameters such as heavy metals (i.e. lead, mercury, copper, iron, etc.), coliform bacteria, pesticides (i.e. atrazine and simazine), chlorine levels (free and/or total), total hardness, total dissolved solids, and many others.

Many times the contaminants in a water supply will have no taste, carry no odor and not appear before the naked eye. Only testing will alert you to their presence.

Today’s question comes to us from someone in NYC (Brooklyn to be more precise) who has apparently installed a water filtration system in their home… but still has ‘floating white stuff’ in their water.

M. Elbaz wrote, “How can i check if water has copeds or bugs or parasytes? I use filter in Brooklyn ans still see white things floating around
Please advise asap”

Quite frankly, this question has a number of possible answers, but from what you have described, one of many situations may have resulted in the floating particulates you described:

1. You have installed a water filter with too high a porosity rating, meaning the contaminants you want to filter out have too small a size for your filter to remove them.

    

2. The installation of your water filtration system requires adjustment because some part of the unit is allowing unfiltered water to bypass the filtering process — or the actual filter itself has started to break down.

    

3. Since we don’t know what class of filter you have installed (i.e. undersink, countertop, whole house, etc.) we will just throw this one out there for the heck of it: Often when people install filters that will still allow water to pass though existing faucets they fail to replace the screens in their faucets.

   Studies have shown that screens in faucets, if left unchanged for too long, will tend to collect specific deposits of contaminants in contaminated water — and then potentially release those contaminants into the water stream at a later time.

    

4. Floating white particulates make us think more of mineral deposits than parasites, but it should still trigger an alarm that something isn’t quite right. Perhaps, and those kind of goes back to the last bullet point, the lines in your home post-filter have collected mineral deposits over the years and those now appear in your water?

As for your question regarding the possibility that your water contains parasites, bacteria, etc., contact a certified water testing laboratory in your area and have them perform a thorough analysis of your water.

Steer clear of water treatment companies offering ‘free in-home testing’. Why? Simple: For one, no in-home test kit we have ever found can provide the thoroughness of testing required if you suspect parasites or other unwanted biological contaminants exist in your water supply.

Besides… a person from a water treatment company going to your home has one goal in mind: to make commission off the sale of a (potentially useless or otherwise unqualified) water treatment system.

Need help finding a qualified water testing laboratory in your area? Take a look through the EPA’s listing of State Certified drinking water laboratories. The laboratories on this list have passed rigorous qualification programs designed to weed out labs whose testing programs lack what it takes to accurately and professionally analyze drinking water samples.

Does that mean at-home bacteria test kits such as the WaterWorks™ Bacteria Water Test Kit have no purpose? Nonsense! Periodic testing for coliform bacteria — especially for well owners since no one government agency checks the quality of their water on a regular basis — will always make sense.

Important factors to think about when it comes to deciding when and/or how often to test the quality of your water:

• For Well Owners: Changes in weather patterns (i.e. excessive rain, long periods without rain, flooding, etc.) can have adverse effects on the quality of water coming out of your well.

• For City/Municipal Water Customers: Anything can happen to the miles of underground piping between the water treatment facility and no one will ever investigate until people start to get sick.

Performing regular spot checks on your water’s quality may allow you to detect potential problems well in advance of anyone becoming ill.

“It’s your water, your health… and ultimately your LIFE!”

Hi.

We are a detergent manufacturing company here in Malta and we need to make regular checks on water that is used in the manufacturing process especially for nitrates, bacterias, sulfide and others. What you can suggest me ?

Thanks and Regards

Jesmond F.

Thank you, Jesmond, for your inquiry. Given the items you wish to test for, we have a few suggestions:

• SenSafe manufactures a product it calls ‘Water Quality Test Kit‘ and we believe it contains tests for all of the items you mentioned.

• Another kit made by SenSafe called the Well Driller Test Kit includes tests for all of the tests you asked about and will make it possible for you to test quite a few water samples — up to 50 samples in some cases.

• No if you’d rather use a meter to perform testing, naturally we suggest the eXact Micro 7+ Meter which, according to the latest information we’ve read, can test for Ammonia, Bromine, Chloride/Salt, Chlorine Dioxide, Chromium (Hexavalent), Copper, Cyanuric Acid, Fluoride, Iodine, Iron, Low Range Total Hardness, Manganese, Nitrate, Nitrite, Ozone, Acid pH, Alkali pH, Potassium, Sulfate, Sulfide, and Turbidity. Granted the meter cannot test for bacteria, but you can always pick up tests for bacteria separately.

• Speaking of separately, simple dip-n-read test strips exist for the purpose of testing each of the tests you asked about — with the exception, of course, of bacteria which uses a presence/absence ‘mug’ test procedure if you wish to test down to drinking water standards: Bacteria, Sulfides (as hydrogen sulfides) and Nitrates.

Hopefully one or more of the options above will suit your water testing needs.

Water Quality Test Kit

Well Driller Test Kit

eXact Micro 7+

]]> http://watertestingblog.com/2011/08/29/water-testing-for-industry/feed/ 0 http://watertestingblog.com/2011/08/26/premature-degradation-of-polyethylene-pipes-due-to-water-based-disinfectants/ http://watertestingblog.com/2011/08/26/premature-degradation-of-polyethylene-pipes-due-to-water-based-disinfectants/#comments Fri, 26 Aug 2011 13:03:15 +0000 Water Testing Blog http://watertestingblog.com/?p=4713 We won’t pretend to understand everything in the article we just read ( Chemical degradation of polyethylene pipes due to water-based disinfectants )… because we certainly did NOT understand a a good deal of the mathematics used in the various examples given.

We did, however, take away a few valuable points we believe worthy of mentioning on our site:

• Many folks believed polyethylene piping would stand up to the rigors of continuous exposure to low levels of water-based disinfectants (i.e. chlorine, chloramines, peroxides, etc.) but now scientists realize that improperly balanced water quality parameters such as pH, alkalinity, hardness, etc. can aid in allowing those water-based disinfectants to prematurely degrade piping in our homes, offices, schools and pretty much anywhere it exists.

• Scientists and health officials really don’t know EVERYthing about the disinfectants commonly used to treat our water supplies but they (and we) firmly believe that NOT having them in our water supplies certainly cause a lot more problems than having them in our water could ever cause.

  Need an example? Just look at Haiti or any other Third World area that lacks properly sanitized drinking water. Waterborne diseases whose causes (bacteria, pathogens, etc.) would ordinarily get wiped out by the low levels of things like chlorine and chlorine dioxide spread like wildfires and kill thousands of people in no time. Have you already forgotten the cholera epidemic that happened, we believe, less than a year ago?

So… if we can’t use polyethylene for this reason, PVC because of the additives it can leach into water, metal because it costs too much can also leach unwanted contaminants into drinking water, what CAN or SHOULD we use?

Unfortunately no one seems to have an answer to that question just yet so we will all have to wait until science solves that mystery. In the meantime, Water Testing Blog will continue testing its water regularly using the tools available at the time to make sure the contaminants we do know about don’t sneak into our water supply somehow.

Crystal Quest Voyager Triple Water Filter Ultrafiltration, Multi-Stage and Carbon Block

Well Water Quality Test Kit Test for 14 Parameters Very Easy to Use

Bacteria in Water Test Kit Tests for E. Coli Includes 12 Tests

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