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

An old saying goes, “No matter where in the world you go, there you are.”

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.

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.

We have written about the importance of testing ground and well water before, during and after hydraulic fracturing many times in the past and will more than likely continue to do so for a long time to come. The potential (and real!) dangers posed by the injection of such large quantities of mysterious chemical cocktails deep into the Earth warrants our doing so.

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.

Anyone that has taken the initiative to install a water filter or water purification device/system in their home deserves a bit of praise… and those that continue to take an interest in the quality of their water after installing a water treatment system deserve even MORE for their efforts.

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.

Every once in a while we find ourselves faced with a water quality question whose answer we thing we ought to know, but for some reason never had cause to seek out in the past. A reader named ‘Nikelhoss’ recently asked,

“Which part of the nsf ansi standard 55 for ultraviolet water treatment systems applies to home units? Much thanks and thanks for the site, useful stuff on here.”

My friends, flattery may not get you everywhere, as the old saying claims, but it will make us blush. Plus we may answer your question faster. Ha ha.

Rather than bore you by quoting the official definition of NSF/ANSI Standard 55 for Ultraviolet Microbiological Water Treatment Systems, we would like to point out a simple, yet often overlooked, truth that many people forget when exploring the wide world of water treatment systems for their home or business: Not every system will work for every water quality situation… and then we will provide a very relevant example to illustrate our point.

In the case of ultraviolet water filtration systems, two classes of NSF Certified ultraviolet water filtration systems exist:

But first, let us preface this by saying NSF/ANSI Standard 55 applies only to point-of-use (POU) and point-of-entry (POE) ultraviolet systems not intended for use on public water supplies (i.e. in water treatment facilities).

• Class A — These ultraviolet water treatment systems must have an ‘intensity & saturation’ rating of at least 40,000 uwsec/cm2 and possess designs that will allow them to disinfect and/or remove microorganisms from contaminated water. Affected contaminants should include bacteria and viruses and the devices should perform in a manner that reduces threats posed by affected to a safe level.

• Class B — These ultraviolet water treatment systems must have an ‘intensity & saturation’ rating of at least 16,000 uw-sec/cm2 and possess designs that will allow them to provide supplemental bactericidal treatment of water already deemed ‘safe’ by an official (i.e. State or Local) health agency.

So… Which type (class) of ultraviolet water treatment system makes the most sense for home use? That all depends on the source water for the home. If the home has well water and uses no other disinfection method or draws its water from bodies of surface water, we think investing in an NSF/ANSI Standard 55 Class A ultraviolet water treatment system may work out best.

As an example, check out the Trojan UV Max Pro 10, Trojan UV Max Pro 20 or Trojan UV Max Pro 30 on the Trojan UV Water Systems page on WaterFilters.Net.

If, on the other hand, you live in town and have municipal water or use a reverse osmosis system with a large holding tank, we think an NSF/ANSI Standard 55 Class A ultraviolet water treatment system may work out best — though, as always, we suggest testing your tap water for a period of time to establish a water quality baseline (to make certain more sinister bacterial contamination issues do not exist) before investing in a water treatment system designed to serve as a backup disinfection device.

For the purpose of putting a final UV polishing on drinking water previously determined ‘safe’, a device such as those listed on the Water Quality Association’s Gold Seal Certified Class B Disinfection Ultraviolet Water Treatment Systems may work out best, though one could easily still use a Class A unit in a Class B unit’s place — but not the other way around!

We believe more people need to ask that question — especially if they have well water in their homes or rely upon municipal water systems that may have older, potentially damaged water mains to deliver water to their homes. In both scenarios bacteria could suddenly, and without warning introduce itself to water supplies and put the health of entire families at risk.

So… What can $6 a month do to help? Simple: For around just $6 per month homeowners can now perform testing for coliform bacteria at home using a test kit such as the WaterWorks EZ Coliform Test Kit which uses an EPA Compliant test procedure to test for the presence of coliform bacteria in drinking water and, with assistance of a UV light source, will positively identify E. Coli, a particularly unpleasant type of coliform bacteria associated with fecal matter, if present in the water.

Boil Water Advisories….

If you found yourself saying, “I don’t need to worry about bacteria in my water supply. My city/town/village issues ‘boil water advisories if a problem exists in the water supply.”

Very true since the law requires public water systems to issue public warning in the event of a water main break or other noticeable problem with the system that could possibly allow unwated contaminants (like bacteria) to infiltrate the water supply.

Problem: What if officials don’t KNOW about a cracked line miles away from the water treatment plant on a low pressure leg of the water delivery system that runs under an area where a bit of added moisture in the ground really wouldn’t catch anyone’s attention?

Problem: What if the pipes connecting your home or business to the public water supply have somehow become damage?

Not too Likely but Still a Potential Problem: What if the folks assigned to take care of water testing in your local water treatment plant decided to skimp on testing because of budgetary constraints — or just plain laziness — and a contamination issue caused by a failing check valve goes unnoticed for a period of time.

Moral of the story?

No one but YOU has ultimate responsibility for the purity and safety of the water that you and your family consume and as you can clearly see, that applies to folks on municipal water supplies as well as folks on private wells.

Conducting a simple $6 test every month on your water could potentially keep you and your family from suffering the ill effects of E. Coli contamination.

While we all would LOVE to believe swimming pool water contains no harmful bacteria, in reality many swimming pools — despite the apparent presence of chlorine odors — actually DO contain harmful bacteria.

Granted the levels of contaminants often pose no danger to swimmers, also called bathers (hence the term ‘bather load’ rather than ‘swimmer load’ when discussing a pool’s usage), but for people with compromised immune systems, the elderly and/or the extremely young these levels may pose a health risk.

In other swimming pools, however, the levels do sometimes become dangerous for the general population and waterborne bacterial and/or viral contaminants may spread from bather to bather without anyone knowing until later on when the contaminant has worked its way into bloodstreams, reproduced and starting causing stomach pains, cramping, diarrhea, etc.

Some cases of bacterial contamination by swimming pool have resulted in hospitalization and, in rare instances, even deaths.

So… Can the average person (or pool operator) perform some sort of test on their pool water that could help to determine if the pool water sanitizer has effectively killed off any potentially harmful water bacteria?

Of COURSE someone makes a test kit for bacteria in swimming pools!

The WaterSafe Rapid Bacteria Test Kit provides reliable positive/negative results for ‘popular’ pool water contaminants such as Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, E.coli, species of Salmonella, Shigella, Enterobacter, Klebsiella, and other Coliform and non-Coliform bacteria.

If you want more information on this product, you can find it on FilterWater.Com.

Not a fan of chloramines in your drinking water? You now have a means of removing those pesky chloramines!

Chloramines? What are chloramines? Take a look at this earlier Water Testing Blog entry on Free Chlorine, Combined Chlorine and Total Chlorine and get a quick education on the topic!

Whether created as a byproduct of disinfection via free chlorine or the intended disinfectant in a water system, most people do NOT like the taste and odor of chloramines in their water.

Thankfully Pentek has come out with a product called the Pentek ChlorPlus 10 Chloramine Removal Water Filter Cartridge that fits in standard 10″ (x 2.5″) filter housings used in filter sytems produced by companies such as Pentek (obviously!), US Filter (recently acquired by Pentek!), Cuno, Filterite, Keystone, US Water, Water Resurces, Harmsco, and many other popular brands of water filtration systems. If your system uses a standard 10″ x 2.5″ housing, the Pentek ChlorPlus 10 ought to fit just fine!

Having said that last bit, please check the dimensions of your current filter and/or housing before ordering this product!

Looking for a 10″ replacement filter with NSF Certification? The Pentek ChlorPlus 10 uses a component tested certified to NSF Standard 42.

What does the Pentek ChlorPlus 10 remove/reduce? Using 1 micron carbon block technology this product (255416-43) should seriously reduce chloramine concentrations in drinking water and in doing so remove the (offensive) taste and odor associated with chlorine while also helping to pull out unwanted sediment, if present.

A safe rule to follow: Consider any area that came in contact with flood water unsafe until thoroughly dried, cleaned and disinfected properly. Water passing over submerged areas will pick up an unimaginable number of contaminants including, but not limited to, dangerous strains of bacteria and fecal matter from animals.

Sorry this posting has no length, but the point remains: Submerged wells SHOULD get tested before returning to service. Otherwise the risk of contamination by flood water WILL present itself.

Even if you think the cap on your well could withstand the force of 100 hurricanes, don’t ever forget that your neighbor’s well cap may not have received inspection in a number of years and… flood water creeping in through their faulty well cap will eventually reach the aquifer — from which your well draws its water.

Once flood waters go down, owners of private water wells should pump out their wells, allow them to refill/recharge naturally, and disinfect them before using any water they produce for drinking, cooking and in some cases even bathing.

Oh, and of COURSE we suggest getting the well water tested for, at the very LEAST, coliform bacteria before returning it to service.

Contact your local health department to see if they have discounted or free well water testing options available. Many localities will make such options available to residents after flood waters have ravaged an area.

Do-It-Yourself Test Kits for Bacteria

While we STRONGLY suggest testing for bacteria on a regular basis using at-home drinking water test kits such as the EPA Compliant WaterWorks EZ Coliform Cult Bacteria Test Kit which follows the APHA, Standard Methods, 20th Edition, 9221 D, screen test for total coliform in potable water, after a flood situation we ALWAYS suggest having a certified water testing lab analyze the water for bacteria.

Warmer weather in most of the Northern Hemisphere means a lot more water will start to flow from one place to another… and as it does it could pick up all sorts of unpleasant, and potentially harmful, drinking water contaminants.

As an example, the rise and fall of aquifer levels in certain parts of the United States can have a pronounced effect on dissolved arsenic levels in the water contained in those aquifers.

As a second example, water from melting snows or from Spring showers traveling across the land in agricultural regions has a tendency to pick up potentially harmful bacteria and nitrates/nitrites that could work their way into poorly capped wells.

Other unwanted drinking water contaminants such as atrazine and simazine also get picked up runoff water making its way through the countryside. As you may recall, farmers in the United States used both of those compounds, especially atrazine, as an herbicide/pesticide for many years — and therefore it ought not surprise you that pockets of washed away atrazine lurk in many unsuspecting parts of the country.