Most of us take for granted that we will have safe, clean tap water coming out of our faucets and think nothing of the dangers presented by not filtering and/or purifying our water prior to use.

• Cryptosporidium, a gastrointestinal parasite, contaminated the municipal drinking water of Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1993 and caused one hundred deaths. ( source )

• A deadly strain of e.coli bacteria found its way into the municipal water supply of Walkerton, Canada in 2000 causing hundreds of residents ill and eventually taking the lives of seven people. ( source )

It sounds shocking that such horrible water quality tragedies could happen in modern times given the frequency of municipal water testing, but two very important facts stand out if you take the time to think about the way in which municipal water systems operate:

1. Municipal water systems test for a set number of water quality parameters and sometimes rare, unusual, and often not-tested-for water vermin like Cryptosporidium can easily slip past even the most stringent water testing programs. Example: Milwaukee, WI in 1993.

2. Municipal water systems test water at the point of distribution, not use. This means the water leaves water treatment facilities fully tested and approved for consumption… but keep in mind that the water must travel through many miles of piping and plumbing with literally thousands of joints and welds where harmful contaminants could find their way into the water if only one of those places has cracked or otherwise become deficient.

So as you can see, even the best water treatment plants in the world with the best records for drinking water quality cannot issue a 100% guarantee that your tap water will contain no unwanted contaminants. Once water leaves their grounds its quality can change for innumerable reasons and in innumerable ways… so ultimate responsibility for making sure you have safe, clean tap water falls on… your shoulders.

Installing the correct point-of-use water filtration and/or purification system (i.e. countertop, undersink, whole house, shower, etc.) can negate pretty much all the possible risks associated with water contamination between the distribution point and your favorite glass.

Take the time to learn about the different point-of-use water treatment options you have available and, of course, don’t forget to test your drinking water periodically, even after installing a filtration/purification system, to make sure it continues to function properly!

We recently read that the Federal Government has decided to investigate the severity and cause elevated nitrate and bacteria levels in well water out in the State of Washington.

From the sounds of things, the situation has gone on for quite some time… and residents in rural Lower Yakima Valley may have had elevated nitrate and bacteria for quite some time now w/o anyone really looking into where the contaminants came from.

Stories like this one ought to make EVERY private well owner seriously consider having their water tested by a certified water testing laboratory and performing routine checks themselves with at-home well water test kits — because the responsibility for the safety of private well water rests solely with well owners.

YAKIMA, Wash. — An effort to address polluted groundwater consumed by many rural Lower Yakima Valley residents was formally launched Thursday as local, state and federal officials pledged to tackle a stubborn problem that’s been decades in the making.

“It’s going to be a big challenge. It’s a difficult problem,” said Tom Tebb, regional director for the state Department of Ecology in Yakima.

“But it matters because we have people drinking water contaminated by nitrate and bacteria and at unsafe levels in some cases,” Tebb said at a news conference to announce the effort.

Five agencies released the final version of a report on groundwater quality that is a wide-ranging compilation of historical data about the contamination, health effects, regulatory responsibilities and recommendations for action.

…

Of some 30,000 private wells in the Lower Valley, 20 percent have elevated levels of nitrate and bacteria.

This week, federal regulators began their own testing program on 150 wells to try and determine the source of the nitrates and bacteria.

To make sure the samples are tested in a timely fashion, a mobile laboratory has been driven to Yakima from Manchester, Wash., on the Kitsap Peninsula, home of the regional lab for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Two microbiologists will test for coliform bacteria, fecal coliform and e. coli and conduct “microbial source tracking” to determine if the bacteria are human or ruminant. Cattle are ruminants, and manure from dairy and feedlots is one suspected source of both nitrate and bacterial contamination.

Another round of testing in April will help the agency determine the link between elevated levels of nitrate and sources of nitrate, which can come from manure, chemical fertilizer or septic systems.

If the test results allow regulators to identify obvious sources of pollution, enforcement action could follow, said Tom Eaton, director of the Washington operations office of the EPA in Seattle.

Results are expected sometime this summer. ( source )

If you own a private well and do not have your water tested on a regular basis you run the risk of exposure to an almost limitless number of contaminants that can get into the aquifer at any time and for a number of reasons. Natural disasters, changes in weather patterns, heavy demand from other well owners, etc. can all affect the quality of the water in your well.

Water Tests by a Certified Drinking Water Testing Lab

Short of having the Environmental Protection Agency come out and test your well and/or water, no better option exists than to have your water tested by a certified drinking water testing laboratory like National Testing Laboratories which offers three levels of testing:

Basic Test Kit — Tests for 27 Common Drinking Water Contaminants: Aluminum, Arsenic, Barium, Cadmium, Calcium, Chromium, Copper, Iron, Lead, Magnesium, Manganese, Mercury, Nickel, Selenium, Silver, Sodium, Zinc, Alkalinity, Chloride, Fluoride, Nitrate as N, Nitrite as N, Sulfate, Hardness, pH (Standard Units), Total Dissolved Solids, and Turbidity (Turbidity Units).

Most Popular Test Kit — Tests for 83 Drinking Water Contaminants: Bacteria (presence/absence for coliform and E.coli), (19) heavy metals and minerals, (6) other inorganic chemicals, (5) physical characteristics, (4) trihalomethanes and (47) volatile organic chemicals.

Most Popular + Pesticides — Tests for 83 Drinking Water Contaminants: Bacteria (presence/absence for coliform and E.coli), (19) heavy metals and minerals, (6) other inorganic chemicals, (5) physical characteristics, (4) trihalomethanes and (47) volatile organic chemicals plus an additional 20 tests for pesticides, herbicides and PCB’s.

Last Summer the Department of Natural Resources in Missouri allegedly delayed releasing the results of bacteria testing in Lake of the Ozarks to keep from having to shut down beaches and other popular waterfront vacation spots during a highly profitable time for the region. Needless to say that when news leaked out that some of the water test results indicated the presence of potentially harmful bacteria, people got upset — and the blame game began.

Two Missouri senators filed legislation on Thursday seeking to strip water quality testing authority away from the state Department of Natural Resources and give it to the Department of Health and Senior Services.

Sens. Brad Lager, R-Savannah, and Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, filed the bills the same day that Lager’s office released a draft Senate committee report on DNR’s decision to delay the release of water quality tests that showed high levels of bacteria at the Lake of the Ozarks last summer.

“I don’t have confidence that the department won’t mess it up again in the future,” said Lager, who headed the committee investigating the incident. “And the Department of Health and Senior Services is responsible for public health and safety.” ( source )

The more we hear about this situation, the more things that jump out at us and the more questions we have. As an example, why do people think that taking the water testing responsibilities away from one politically influenced group and handing it to another politically influenced group will make a difference?

Politics and profit run hand-in-hand and no matter WHO does the testing, when the choice between forcing business owners (local voters) to take a sizable loss in revenue or allowing (non-local) people to swim and spend money even though a slight chance exists that they may get sick from a little bacteria, well…. Which do YOU think people whose jobs depend upon political agendas will choose?

Doesn’t seem to matter WHICH agency you choose, the answer will always come out the same: Get that money.

So, in lieu of having incorruptible third party testing done, which would cost too much money and put a lot of people in government agencies out of work, the public must fend for itself if it wants to know the truth about water quality.

Personal Test Kits for Bacteria

• Coliform & E. Coli in Water Test Kit — Test kit confirms the presence/absence of coliform bacteria and, with a fluorescent light source, the presence/absence of E. Coli. Good for Drinking water applications.

• Coliform Bacteria in Water Test Kit — Test kit confirms the presence/absence of coliform bacteria in a water sample w/in 48 hours. Good for drinking water applications

• 18 Minute Bacteria Test Kit — Test kit detects E.coli, species of Salmonella, Shigella, Enterobacter, Klebsiella and many other coliform and non-coliform bacteria in 18 minutes. Excellent test for lakes, streams, ponds, rivers, etc.

• Pool & Spa Bacteria Test — Test kit detects seudomonas, Aeromonas, E.coli, species of Salmonella, Shigella, Enterobacter, Klebsiella and many other Coliform and non-Coliform bacteria in 20 minutes. Excellent test for pools & spas.

Interested in other articles related to this topic?

• Heavy Rains and Runoff Responsible for Elevated E. Coli Levels
• Dangerous Bacteria Level Cover Up?
• Water Testing Costs Money, But States Don’t Have Any!

Tragedy struck in a senior citizens’ community in Ulster County, New York this week when two residents of the Golden Hill Helath Care Center fell ill as a result of unexplained exposure to Legionnaires’ Disease, a condition caused by a bacteria which spreads freely in water vapor.

Officials have not, yet, figured out how the patients became infected or where the bacteria came from.

KINGSTON — Health officials on Thursday tested the water and the residents at the Golden Hill Health Care Center in trying to determine how two residents of the nursing home, including one who died, contracted Legionnaires’ disease, according to Ulster County’s public health director.

Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck said the source of the bacteria had not been determined as of Thursday evening,

The two residents, women ages 88 and 91, were hospitalized with pneumonia recently and later were diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease, a water-borne respiratory condition that usually is contracted by inhaling a mist or vapor contaminated with the Legionella bacteria.

The 91-year-old, who had underlying chronic medical conditions, died on Tuesday. The 88-year-old was treated successfully and was “doing well” on Thursday, Hasbrouck said. Neither woman has been identified.

Hasbrouck said the two cases at Golden Hill — which is owned an operated by the county — are “not an outbreak per se,” and he stressed that health officials have not determined if the two women even were infected at the nursing home. No other residents of Golden Hill have contracted Legionnaires’ disease, according to county officials.

Hasbrouck said the two affected women lived on different floors of the Golden Hill building and used different showers, which, he said, could lead one to hypothesize they were “two sporadic infections.”

The Legionella bacteria can be found in shower vapors or in air conditioning units, though Golden Hill does not have the kind of air conditioning that emits vapors, county officials have said.

Legionnaires’ disease — which gets its name from a 1976 outbreak at an American Legion convention in a Philadelphia hotel that killed 34 people — cannot be transmitted from person to person.

Hasbrouck said that, for the time being, Golden Hill residents are taking precautions against contracting Legionnaires’ disease, including bathing instead of showering. They also are not drinking the building’s water, he said, even though the disease cannot be contracted that way.

No residents are being moved out of the nursing home, and visitors still are allowed.

Golden Hill gets its water from the city of Kingston, but it passes through a pumping station on the Golden Hill property before entering the building. Hasbrouck said health officials have confined the testing to the nursing home’s water system and are not recommending city residents take any special precautions with their water.

Kingston Water Superintendent Judith Hansen said her department is in compliance with all local, state and federal water standards and that parts of the city’s water system are tested daily. She said Golden Hill’s water system — which the city operates for the county — is tested weekly.

Hansen said the Kingston Water Department is required to test the city’s water 27 times per month for coliform bacteria — which acts as a “surrogate” for other types of bacteria, and its presence is used as an indicator of contamination — but usually conducts such tests 10 times as often.

Hansen said she has seen “no indication of any bacterial compromise” of either the city’s or Golden Hill’s water supply but that she will defer to the testing being conducted by state health officials. She said the state Health Department had asked her to provide water samples from the past year for Golden Hill’s system but not the city’s.

Hansen also said Golden Hill’s water supply is disinfected more aggressively than the city’s because it sits in the nursing home’s tank longer than Kingston’s water normally is dormant.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 8,000 and 18,000 Americans are hospitalized with Legionnaires’ disease each year, and the condition can be fatal percent in 5 to 30 percent of patients.

Symptoms usually surface two to 14 days after exposure to the bacteria, the CDC says, and most cases can be treated successfully with antibiotics.( source )

Now that we’ve scared the pants off of some people, which always happens when some folks read a story about the unexplained appearance of a mysterious ailment, we will leave you with some facts about Legionnaires’ Disease from Health.HowStuffWorks.Com which some of you may find interesting:

• The Legionella pneumophila bacterium causes Legionnaires’ disease, an “atypical,” but serious, form of pneumonia.
• People who are most susceptible are the elderly and those who smoke, have lung disease, or have impaired immune systems.
• Taking steps to kill the bacteria before it has a chance to contaminate the water is essential. L. pneumophila thrives and grows in stagnant water.
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends twice-yearly cleanings of large (heating/cooling) systems.
• Smokers are more likely to get lung infections such as Legionnaires’ disease.

So how does all this relate to water testing? Simple: Legionella pneumophila bacterium cannot live in propery disinfected water. Therefore regularly scheduled water testing can work very well as a way of keeping Legionella pneumophila bacterium from making their home in your building’s water system.

Other Postings Mentioning Legionnaires’ Disease:

• Legionnaires’ Disease Can Spread Through the Air
• Bacteria and Microorganisms in Water
• Sources of Bacteria and Microorganisms in Drinking Water

Though not directly related to water testing or water quality, we felt this article deserved a little airtime on our site.

According to a recent study conducted in the Roanoke Valley, VA area we may get a lot more than we bargain for when we fill up our cups at the soda fountain.

Those soda fountain machines found in restaurants and fast food joints may be squirting out liquids contaminated with fecal bacteria, a small study found.

Whether it was self-serve or behind the counter, nearly half of all sodas dispensed from a sample of 30 machines in the Roanoke Valley in Virginia had coliform bacteria — a group of bacteria banned in drinking water by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) because it indicates the possibility of fecal contamination.

“We can’t have that in our drinking supply. But they’re coming out of these soda fountain machines,” she said.

The soda machines had turned into a bacteria metropolis with Escherichia coli (E. coli), species of Klebsiella, Staphylococcus, Stenotrophomonas, Candida, and Serratia. Most of the bacteria were resistant to the 11 antibiotics Godard tested on her samples.

“About 70 percent of the beverages had bacteria and 48 percent of them had coliform bacteria,” said Godard.

However, only 20 percent of the sodas sampled had coliform bacteria that exceeded the EPA limit for drinking water.

Since the tap water and ice from the machines didn’t test positive for bacteria, Godard and her team ruled out the possibility of a valley-wide contamination of the water supply.

Various brands of soft drinks and various types — sugared, diet or even water — were contaminated, leading Godard to think that it wasn’t the soda, but the machine that was growing bacteria.

From all her testing, Godard still isn’t sure where the bacteria came from. Few people observed in the restaurants touched the nozzles of the soda fountain machines and restaurant managers Godard interviewed reported cleaning the nozzles daily.

But only one restaurant manager reported rinsing the plastic tubing within the machines on a regular basis. ( source )

Needless to say the shock value of this made us gag and immediately swear off fountain drinks for life. Too bad we won’t have the ability to keep that promise. Whether we like it or not, dispensing systems like the ones mentioned in the article exist in many areas of our life: beer taps at the bar, water dispensers on the refrigerator, water coolers at the office, etc.

The good news in all of this deals with the fact that we can do something about bacteria growing in all of those machines: WE CAN CLEAN IT OUT.

Sounds stupid, but a little cleaning, or in this case flushing, goes a long way when it comes to keeping our sodas, beers and water bacteria-free. Check the owners manual for instructions on how to properly flush the lines in your machines today!

Concerned that your water cooler may have harmful bacteria in it? Try the WaterSafe Water Cooler Bacteria test kit!

Although the title of this blog posting sounds terribly bad, no one fell ill because of the bacteria found in a Connecticut school recently. Why? Because school officials perform routine water testing on the water.

GUILFORD — Administrators are promising to soon remedy an elementary school’s well water problem that may have been caused by the area’s past agricultural uses.

Tests of a well providing drinking water to part of Melissa Jones Elementary School, the only school in town using well water, showed a presence of more coliform bacteria, or E. coli, than standards allow. Coliform is a marker for potentially harmful bacteria, Principal Paula McCarthy wrote to parents in an e-mail alert Monday.

The well will be rechlorinated, and any sinks or water fountains currently closed will be open by the time students return from winter break Jan. 4, school board Chairman William Bloss said. So far no children or faculty have reported illnesses caused by drinking the water, he said, and there are other wells bringing clean, safe water to the rest of the building.

“I think the feeling is it’s from the historical agricultural use of the land in that area and fertilizer run-off, and waste run-off, because obviously in a well, you’re working with groundwater and eventually anything in there works way into ground water,” Bloss said.

Sinks and water fountains in the gym and upstairs hall have been closed and instant sanitizer pumps have been used for hand washing in those areas, according to the principal’s message.

Alan Meyers, a doctor and school board member, said more than 90 percent of E. coli strains are safe, but they are markers of contamination.

“It’s a normal constituent of feces. It could come from cows across the street or humans or anywhere,” Meyers said. “So far, no one has gotten sick, so it’s just good that it’s monitored.”

Dangerous strains of E. coli are sometimes found in hamburger meat and can cause serious illness, but that’s not what Melissa Jones Elementary School test results showed, Meyers explained.

Officials say they faced the same situation last spring and a few years ago, which is why the water is tested once per quarter.

“It’s not a question of the system being outdated. It’s because of the type of groundwater in north Guilford,” he said.

The cost to rechlorinate the well is “not prohibitive,” Bloss said, and it’s “very much secondary to making sure we are meeting all guidelines on water quality.”

The system flush will take two weeks and water will be retested, said Cliff Gurnham, director of operations and facilities.

He said school administrators have investigated piping water in and determined it would have to be piped from Abraham Baldwin Middle School, which also once relied on well water. However, high costs have ruled out that option, Gurnham said.

Susan Misur can be reached at “smisur ‘at’ hregister.com”. ( source )

As usual, the virtue of periodic well water testing for critical water parameters (like coliform bacteria) proved its worth. Had school officials not acted proactively, they might have wound up with an entire school full of sick students and faculty.

More importantly, in some people’s minds, the simple and relatively inexpensive quarterly checks for coliform bacteria probablysaved the school district hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees and lawsuits.

So now the question most of us ought to ask ourselves naturally becomes, “When was the last time MY child’s school or daycare had ITS water tested for coliform bacteria?” — especially if the school draws its water from a well and resides in a former or current agricultural/farming region.

Although we cannot and will not ever say whether we prefer the WaterSafe brand of home water testing kits or the SenSafe brand of home water testing kits, we can tell you that we have used both extensively over the years and gotten excellent field testing results pretty much every time.

Having said all that, it pleases us to announce the launch of a brand new web site: WaterSafe-Test-Kits.Com. There you will find product details on all of WaterSafe’s most popular water testing kits. You can also access the product pages on the site using the links below!

Coming Soon: The official release of a web site dedicated to providing information on the SenSafe, WaterWorks, Quick and eXact brands of water testing strips, water testing kits and water testing meters!

Cindy from Wisconsin asked…

Newspapers and television keep mentioning the risks associated with E Coli poisoning from water and food. I know we can test our well for E Coli, but what about food? Can we test the food we buy for E Coli? What steps can we take at home to prevent E Coli food poisoning?

You’ve asked an excellent question, Cindy. Many people associate E. Coli poisoning only with food or only with drinking water when, in fact, a person can get sick from E. Coli poisoning from both.

You mentioned testing your well water for the presence of E. Coli bacteria and that definitely makes sense. While not all E. Coli bacteria pose a threat to humans, the presence of E. Coli at all signals the need for a more through analysis of the water and/or a sanitizing of the well.

Little known fact: Not all strands of Coliform Bacteria harm humans

We do not know of any simple ways to test food for the the presence of E. Coli bacteria, though one COULD test the water used to wash produce and meats before cooking for bacteria…

The Mayo Clinic had this to say regarding ways to prevent the possible spread of E. Coli at home:

“No vaccine or medication can protect you from E. coli-based illness, though researchers are investigating potential vaccines. To reduce your chance of being exposed to E. coli, avoid risky foods and avoid cross-contamination.

Risky foods

Avoid pink hamburger. Hamburgers should be well-done. Meat, especially if grilled, is likely to brown before it is completely cooked, so use a meat thermometer to ensure that meat is heated to at least 160 F (71 C) at its thickest point. If you don’t have a thermometer, cook ground meat until no pink shows in the center.

* Drink pasteurized milk, juice and cider. Any boxed or bottled juice kept at room temperature is likely to be pasteurized, even if the label doesn’t say so.

* Wash raw produce thoroughly. Although washing produce won’t necessarily eliminate all E. coli – especially in leafy greens, which provide many spots for the bacteria to attach themselves – careful rinsing can remove dirt and reduce the amount of bacteria that may be clinging to the produce.

Avoid cross-contamination

* Wash utensils. Use hot, soapy water on knives, counter tops and cutting boards before and after they come into contact with fresh produce or raw meat.

* Keep raw foods separate. This includes using separate cutting boards forraw meat and foods, such as vegetables and fruits. Never put cooked hamburgers on the same plate you used for raw patties.

* Wash your hands. Wash your hands after preparing or eating food, using the bathroom or changing diapers. Make sure that children also wash their hands before eating, after using the bathroom and after contact with animals.”

Source: www.mayoclinic.com

For those interested in testing their water for bacteria, the following two tests work well for drinking water applications:

For those interested in performing field testing for additional parameters in their water, kits such as the WaterSafe Well Water Test Kit include a test for coliform bacteria as well as tests for other critical water parameters such as Copper, Lead, Nitrites, Nitrates, Pesticides and more.

Every once in a while you will hear about a community receiving a ‘boil water’ order from its local health officials. Most often these orders get issued because some event, usually an accident of some sort, has resulted in the introduction of unwanted bacteria into the drinking water supply. A water main breaking or traces of excrement from an animal (such as a beaver… see Beaver Fever) managing to get through municipal water treatment systems serve as examples of such events.

Basically speaking, State and Federal governments require that notices go out to anyone possibly affected by compromised water quality standards. These notices typically advise people to boil their drinking (tap) water for at least one full minute before consuming it in any form. One minute of rolling boil should kill off any potentially harmful bacteria.

Affected water consumption uses include brushing of teeth, water used to prepare food, water used for drinking, water used to make ice, water used to clean surfaces where food gets prepared, water used for gargling, water used to clean one’s face, etc.

As a general rule, any water that could find its way into the mouth (directly or indirectly) should get boiled before use.

The agency issuing the ‘water boil order’ will perform routine testing on the affected water supply and notify people when a sufficient number of water tests show that no more harmful bacteria exist in the water.

One should always remember that no government body will provide notification that the water feeding a private wells contains harmful bacteria and that 100% of the responsibility for the purity and safety of well water rests with well owners. Therefore health officials suggest well owners test the levels of bacteria in their water periodically.

Save a few dollars on bacteria in water testing when you purchase WaterWorks Bacteria Check by the case at Filter Water.

We don’t know anyone that would LIKE the idea of drinking water containing human waste… except those two girls from that nasty ‘2 girls, 1 cup’ viral video that circulated for a while. Nasty. Just plain nasty.

At any rate, people installing a new well should make sure to place it no less than 100 feet from the nearest septic tank and/or septic system. See below.

Most Star Valley residents get their water from a well, flush their toilets into to a septic system and have never tested their groundwater.

That’s a potentially toxic combination, especially if a septic system is within 100 feet of a well or starts to leak. In that case, it could deposit waterborne pathogens and fecal matter into the groundwater.

Because residents are not required to test their well water, “they could be drinking themselves to death and not even know it,” said Vern Leis, chairman of the Water and Sewer Commission. ( source )

Homeowners have sole responsibility for the quality of the water coming from their wells and should maintain an active regimen of well water testing in addition to having their water checked by a certified water testing laboratory at least once a year and definitely after unusually heavy rains, periods of drought, or whenever some other event, natural or caused by mankind, may have affected the source of your drinking water.