Anyone living near areas where oil well drilling or pipeline construction takes place should read this article because it brings to light yet another environmental issue that could affect not only the quality of water pulled from private wells but also the quality of water in surrounding wildlife areas.

In this article residents in the Dallas, TX area express concerns over the ‘inadvertent return to the surface’ of drilling clay containing bentonite, a compound used as a lubricant/sealant around the casing of drills. Apparently a few thousand gallons of the stuff seeped up through cracks in rock formations under wetlands and had to get cleaned up by the company doing the drilling.

DALLAS TWP. – Residents and township officials told supervisors Tuesday night they want tests done on water wells near the sites of five drilling mud spills that have taken place since the beginning of the month.

Contractors hired by Chief Gathering LLC, which was recently bought out by PVR Partners, are installing a pipeline to connect natural gas wells in Susquehanna County to the Transco interstate pipeline in Dallas.

Since May 1, there were a total of five spills of more than 6,000 gallons of drilling mud at two different Dallas Township sites: Leonards Creek on Kunkle Road, and Upper Demunds Road and Goodleigh Road.

Residents’ concerns revolve around bentonite, a type of clay used in well drilling.

About 20 residents attended the meeting, but they didn’t seem convinced the bentonite was benign.

“You have to please understand the skepticism we have,” resident Jim DeMichele said. “We’re new to this. We’re here. They’re getting done and they’re getting out of here.”

Representatives from the state Department of Environmental Protection and Chief were on hand to answer questions.

An “inadvertent return to surface” of drilling mud occurs when drilling horizontally beneath a wetlands or stream, according to John Pittinger, Chief’s environmental coordinator. The mud will find a weak spot and come to the surface, he said.

…

Tom Doughton, the township’s engineering representative, said he is very familiar with bentonite and there is no need for “hysteria.”

Anyone who had a home well drilled in the last 20 years probably had it sealed with bentonite, he said. It was also used at the Huntsville Reservoir after the flood were the dam almost breached, Doughton said.

“Bentonite is a common product used in many, many applications,” he said.

But he said he thought water testing is a good idea to give people peace of mind – although it can be expensive.

Supervisor William Grant said he had his well tested recently and it was $600. ( source )

We did a little checking on the Internet to see if the experts’ opinions on bentonite matched information currently available from online sources… and for the most part it did.

The MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for bentonite that we found mentioned the potential for eye and respiratory irritation but not much else. It contained no mention of LD50 for humans or known definite environmental effects.

In other places on the web we found articles praising the healing effects of bentonite clay… but we will not go into the details of those findings since we prefer not to discuss medicinal matters on our site. We leave those discussions for folks with more experience in the field of medicine.

Testing for bentonite?

The article mentioned something about $600 for well water testing but did not specifically say that the well got tested for bentonite — though the implication did get made.

We did not find a readily available test kit for bentonite but we did locate a few comments scattered about on the web indicating that bentonite clay would more than likely show up as increased turbidity in a body of water.

Regular testing of well water?

Regardless of whether you live near gas/oil drilling or the laying of the pipeline for the transportation of gas/oil through your area, the responsibility for making sure you have safe, clean water coming out of your well falls on you. No government agency will knock on your door to ask for permission to test your well water; not unless they already know about a potential health concern you more than likely do not know about and by then it’s more than likely way after the time when it would have behooved you to know about the problem.

Moral of the story?

Get your well water tested periodically by a qualified water testing lab (we suggest considering a lab like National Testing Laboratories) and perform regular testing of basic well water quality parameters on your own using Multi-Parameter Drinking Water Test Kits like the ones we offer in our water test kit store.

It frightened us to learn that nearly half of eighth graders all across the country cannot correctly identify the atoms in a water molecule. How can we expect today’s youth to care about the quality of water they ingest through out their lives if they can’t even figure out what atoms make up water in the first place?!?

H2 oh no!

Barely half of New York state’s public school eighth graders were able to correctly identify the atoms in a molecule of water on national science exams last year, test officials said this morning.

Just 54 percent of students here picked the correct combination — 2 atoms of hydrogen and 1 of oxygen — out of four options given for a multiple-choice question on the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress.

The same percentage of students nationally got the right answer. ( source )

If you have a young child PLEASE take the time to teach them about basic topics like what elements make up the chemical equation for water: H₂O. Two hydrogen molecules and a single oxygen molecule.

Water testing in schools

Despite the fact that half the students could not answer such a simple question about water, some students out there know a LOT about water because they have worked with test kits like the Science Project Kit manufactured by WaterSafe.

The WaterSafe Science Project Kit gives young scientists the ability to test different samples of waters, or the same sample at different times, for critical water quality parameter and compare the results to each other and to established or expected values.

Included in the test kit students will find tests for the following water contaminants and parameters: Lead, Bacteria, Pesticides, Nitrates, Nitrites, Chlorine, Hardness and pH.

Summer weather appears to have made its presence known in a few places already this year and many people have already started planning their annual vacations. While making those plans we ask that you add one small note at the bottom of your schedule or itinerary:

Flush your home’s water lines for a bit when you return from vacation

When water sits stagnant for a while any residual disinfectant can lose its efficacy and bacteria could begin to grow. Also, the water may start to take on contaminants from the plumbing if it sits in contact with fixtures, pipes, etc. for an extended period of time.

People living in older homes should definitely consider flushing their water lines after a few days away from home since older homes more than likely have older copper plumbing that may have gotten connected using lead-based solder. The longer the water sits idle in metal plumbing the greater the risk of metals dissolving into the water.

Testing for metals in drinking water?

Typically the action level, or concentration of dissolved metals in water that warrants immediate action on the part of homeowners as suggested by the USEPA, gets measured in parts per BILLION so make certain the test kit you select can accurately detect concentrations of dissolved metals in the parts per billion range.

We have found that the SenSafe Heavy Metals Check test strips do an excellent job of detect the presence of dissolved metals in the parts per billion range. This product has a low detection level of just 10 ppb, requires no formal training, and has a total test time of well under 5 minutes.

Why test for metals like lead in drinking water?

Time and time again studies have shown a direct correlation between the presence of dissolved heavy metals such as lead in drinking water and birth defects, developmental disabilities in children, gastrointestinal disorders, organ damage, etc.

In many cases the dissolved metals in a home’s drinking water will have no distinct taste, color or smell to them and still exist in concentrations linked to the health issues mentioned above. Only testing for metals in drinking water on a regular basis can alert homeowners to their presence.

We recently received a rather interesting question from ‘Chmst411′ who asked, “Are your arsenic test kits dangerous? We want to do an experiment with the kids for a school project but fear the arsenic gas you say gets ‘liberated’ during testing. How dangerous IS that gas and what risk does that acid used pose?”

Having worked with the Arsenic Quick test kits for a number of years now we can honestly say that they do not pose much of a risk at all. To answer your questions more directly, though…

• Liberated Arsenic Gas – While true that this test procedure does generate a very small amount of gaseous arsenic, the volume created poses no risk to test personnel as long as the test gets performed in a normally ventilated room.

• Use of Tartaric Acid – All of the Arsenic Quick test procedures require the use of an acid, true, but the acid in question (tartaric acid) qualifies as a food grade acid rather than a more aggressive industrial grade acid like other test kits use. Use of tartaric acid in the Arsenic Quick test procedure poses no real danger to test personnel.

So… should you fear the Arsenic Quick Test Kits because they use an acid as a reagent and generate a small amount of arsenic gas? Not in our opinion — and as we said, we have used them many times in the past 7+ years.

Compared to the other methods available to the public for testing drinking or ground water for free, dissolved arsenic, the Arsenic Quick line of arsenic test kits have a shorter total test time, safer reagents and simpler instruction set. And yes, we have used other arsenic test kits manufactured by other companies, as well.

We absolutely love finding out that local health officials and water quality experts in areas have banded together to provide low-cost testing to local residents. Today’s water testing good news came to us from Michigan where residents of Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet, and Otsego counties can take advantage of two different testing packages for nominal fees.

Is your well water safe?

It may look crystal clear, but don’t let that fool you; contaminants could be lurking.

The only way to know for sure if your home’s drinking water is safe is to have it tested.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends having well water tested every year, and the best time to do so is now, in the spring after a few rainy days.

“Unlike public water systems, there are no water quality monitoring requirements for private wells, and many never get tested,” said Scott Kendzierski, director of environmental health services for the Health Department of Northwest Michigan. “It is up to well owners to make sure their drinking water is safe for consumption. Fortunately, it’s easy, quick and inexpensive to test drinking water.”

The local health department offers two types of well water testing kits for a nominal fee. Both kits are available the department’s offices in Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet and Otsego counties. The kit, which tests for the presence of E. coli and other bacteria, costs $16; and the kit that tests for fluoride, chloride, hardness, iron, sodium, sulfates and nitrites is $18. These are small prices to pay to assure your family’s drinking water is safe. ( source )

So, for less than $40 residents of Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet, and Otsego counties in Michgan can have their water tested for coliform bacteria (including E. Coli), fluoride, chloride, hardness, iron, sodium, sulfates, and nitrites. We consider THAT a really great deal!

OK, but what about everyone else?

If you live close to those counties but not actually in any of them, the article concludes by saying, “For more information about well water testing, visit www.nwhealth.org or call your local health department office.” — and we could not have said it any better than that.

Looking for test kits for home use?

Although all of us at Water Testing Blog highly suggest that private well owners get their water tested annually by a certified water testing laboratory such as National Testing Laboratories (see what they test for) or one recommended by your local Health Department, if you would like to test your own well or ground water we can definitely point you in the right direction.

The Water Testing Blog Store carries a variety of useful test kits for home water testing. Below you will find some of the more popular kits we carry:

You will find the full selection of test kits currently available on the Water Testing Blog Store’s Main Page.

Previously when we wrote about fracking (hydraulic fracturing) we stressed the importance of performing water quality testing on well water and ground water in the region before any fracking activity begins. Today we happily report that officials in the Sanford, NC area required baseline water quality test results get recorded before any gas companies could get permits to begin drilling.

Sanford, N.C. — Water-quality experts are testing people’s wells in Lee County to create a baseline that will help state regulators measure the environmental impact of natural gas drilling.

Teams from the U.S. Geological Survey’s Water Science Center are fanning out across the county to assess the best places to test the groundwater. About 150 area homeowners have asked the USGS to test their wells, but officials said locations will be chosen based on scientific criteria.

“We haven’t sampled in this area since the 1960s, 1970s,” Melinda Chapman, a USGS groundwater specialist, said Wednesday.

State lawmakers are expected to consider legislation when they reconvene later this month that would allow gas drilling as quickly as 2014.

Environmental groups have expressed concern about the controversial drilling method of hydraulic fracturing, saying that they fear it could contaminate water sources in central North Carolina. ( source )

As with any water quality situation, having baseline water quality test results to compare newer test results against makes it much easier to ‘prove’ that fracking mining or other activities in a region have had a negative effect on the water quality.

While the exact reason for a change in water quality cannot always get pinpointed and/or assigned to a particular cause, not having before drilling test results to compare against makes it easier for gas and mining companies to deny that their activities in an area have anything to do with changes in the environment.

Basic tests well owners can perform on their own?

Do owners of private wells have to pay for (expensive) laboratory tests each and every time they want to check their well water for evidence of contamination by fracking? Only sophisticated laboratory testing can detect some of the chemicals contained in fracking fluid but simple tests for indicators of contamination do exist.

Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) – This basic test checks for the presence of dissolved solids in a water sample. Spikes in TDS readings may occur on a regular basis but prolonged spikes with no apparent cause (i.e. heavy rains, etc.) may serve as an indicator that a new contaminant has entered the water source.

Simple meters like the COM-100 EC/TDS Meter and AquaPro TDS Water Tester make monitoring the total dissolved solids levels in samples a quick and easy process.

Heavy Metals – Since drilling involves a large amount of metal in its operations monitoring the level of heavy metals in ground/well water near hydraulic fracturing activity makes a lot of sense.

Products like the SenSafe Heavy Metals Test Strip allow users to quickly and easily monitor a water source’s overall heavy metal content — without the need for complicated lab equipment, potentially hazardous reagents, etc.

pH & Alkalinity – Keeping an eye on a water source’s pH and alkalinity also aids in determining if hydraulic fracturing activity in a region has had an effect on water quality. Sharp, prolonged changes in pH and alkalinity may indicate the possible presence of unwanted chemicals in the water source.

Meters like the pH-200 Waterproof pH Meter make pH testing about as easy as it gets. For those unwilling to spend the money on a meter, you can also use more traditional methods like pH & Alkalinity Test Strips.

Moral of the story?

Establishing the quality level of well and ground water in Sanford, NC prior to any fracking activity begins may give homeowners a leg to stand on if the quality of their water suffers after hydraulic fracturing begins.

It may also provide the gas companies with the evidence they need to ‘prove’ that hydraulic fracturing did not affect the quality of water in the area.

A double-edged blade, yes, but in our opinion a necessary one for any region considering issuing hydraulic fracturing permits to gas companies.

Multi-Parameter Test Kit for Ground & Well Water

Today’s inquiry came to us from ‘Ira’ who asked, “I live small apt w/ really tiny kitchenspace that has terrible tasting water and wold like to get bottle less water cooler with the ro filter. All ive seen take too much space so do they make smaller ones for apartments? fast answer appreciated. thankyou.”

Most of our staff has lived in apartments for a good portion of our lives so trust us when we say that we FULLY UNDERSTAND the inconvenience of not having enough room to put all your stuff, let alone put a big, bulky water cooler in the corner someplace.

Previously we wrote about a countertop reverse osmosis system that takes up a lot less space than a traditional reverse osmosis system in an article called Do They Make Reverse Osmosis Filters for Apartments? and today we would like to discuss a bottleless water cooler made by Global Water that occupies 11″x18″x16″ worth of countertop space and comes with either a 2-stage or 3-stage filtration system: The G4 Countertop Water Cooler

For those who would like an additional level of water purification, FilterWater.Com will install a UV Water Sterilizer in the unit prior to shipping for an additional fee.

The G4 Countertop Water Cooler (G4CT) uses a reliable LG Compressor, qualifies as an Energy Star rated appliance, comes fully assembled with installation hardware included, and conforms to UL Standard 399 (for Drinking Water Coolers).

Why would I want a bottleless water cooler?

Putting it bluntly, your water tastes bad, you cannot install a water filter where you live, the thought of mounting 5-gallon jugs of water on a regular water cooler does not sound fun, and in the long run most people tend to make out better overall without the monthly water service bill.

What tests determine if I need a water filter?

We get this question all the time, and, as usual, we tell people to get their water tested by a certified water testing lab. National Testing Labs offers a reasonably priced drinking water test kit for around $155 that tests for 83 potential contaminants and a more sophisticated water test kit that tests for 97 potential drinking water contaminants including many chemical contaminants, such as pesticides, that occasionally turn up in well water.

What about at-home drinking water test kits?

After having your water analyzed professionally by a certified water testing lab it always makes sense to keep an eye on contaminants of concern and test kits like the SenSafe Water Quality Test Kit work well for the purpose — depending upon the water contaminants of concern.

Single-parameter water test kits that test for things like hydrogen sulfide, nitrates/nitrites, free chlorine, total chlorine, coliform bacteria, total hardness, etc. work well if you already know what water quality parameter typically strays out of an acceptable range at your home or office.

Got a question about home, school or office water quality testing?

Drop us a line on our Contact Us Page and we will do our best to answer your question(s).

As always, we thank you for visiting the Water Testing Blog!

After years of getting requests from loyal readers to open an online store where they could quickly and easily locate a lot of the products we frequently write about… we have finally taken the plunge and opened the Water Testing Blog Store.

Water Testing Blog Store Now Open

To start we have selected 20 water quality testing products that we feel do an excellent job of accurately measuring various water quality parameters that really and truly should matter to more people.

Examples: Arsenic, Bacteria, Chlorine, Metals, and, of course, everyone’s favorite in the Summer, Pool & Spa Water Quality.

Look for us to expand our offerings as time goes on and, as always, thanks for dropping by the Water Testing Blog… and don’t forget to test your water on a regular basis!

Simply put, the total chlorine concentration in a water sample includes all available free chlorine plus all the chlorine that has already oxidized (acted on) contaminants in the water and become combined chlorine (monochloramines).

Free (available) chlorine refers to the concentration of chlorine molecules residing a water sample that have not, yet, oxidized contaminants. As a general rule you want to maintain a free chlorine residual in a body of water or water source.

Therefore, if a water sample has a total chlorine residual but no free, available chlorine, then the sample may or may not be ‘safe’. Some public (municipal) drinking water systems use only combined chlorine

Why would they do that?

It seems counter-intuitive that a public water systems would choose combined chlorine over free chlorine given free chlorine’s superior disinfecting (oxidizing) properties, but monochloramines do still have oxidizing capabilities and they do not create compounds (disinfection by-products, tri-halomethames, TTHM’s, etc.) that may cause cancer.

So… if you want to know how much free chlorine you have versus how much combined chlorine you have, simply subtract the free chlorine concentration from the total chlorine concentration:

(Total Chlorine) – (Free Chlorine) = Combined Chlorine

For pool water you can use a test strip like the Pool Check 5-Way or a Basic Taylor Test Kit to determine the free and total chlorine concentrations of a sample.

For drinking water you can use test strips like SenSafe Free Chlorine Water Check to determine the free chlorine concentration of a water sample and SenSafe Total Chlorine Water Check to determine the total chlorine concentration of a water sample.

OR, for an even easier test procedure, you can use the WaterWorks 2 Free & Total Chlorine Test Strip which tests for both free and total chlorine at the same time.

While many people still blame sulfur for the rotten egg smell in water, sulfur alone does not create that terrible smell. Technically speaking, the sulfur combines with two hydrogen molecules to form H₂S, a compound formally commonly known as hydrogen sulfide gas.

It does not take a large quantity of liberated hydrogen sulfide gas in a water supply to make the water unappealing because of its wretched, egg-like aroma and the smell typically intensifies as the water temperature rises and more H₂S gas leaves the water.

Some would think that simply detecting the rank stench of H₂S gas in drinking water would serve as all the information needed to select the correct water treatment system but, as with most other drinking water contaminants, the concentration of H₂S gas in the water determines what method of removal will make the most sense.

Simple activated carbon filters usually do a decent job of removing smaller amounts of H₂S gas. For higher concentrations of H₂S gas, other, more complicated and expensive methods usually become necessary. In some of the methods chemicals convert the gas back into its elemental form (a powder) and then a filter strains out the precipitated sulfur.

Testing for hydrogen sulfide

We have already mentioned that hydrogen sulfide gas in water does not need to have all that high of a concentration to offend one’s nose so it stands to reason that a good test kit for hydrogen sulfide gas in water would have the ability to detect very low levels of the gas.

Thus far in our travels the kit that seemed to have the easiest instructions, easiest to read color chart, a decent amount of accuracy, and best overall value came from SenSafe and goes by the name of Low Range Hydrogen Sulfide Check.

This highly affordable hydrogen sulfide test kit for drinking water detects hydrogen sulfide levels from 0 ppm to 2 ppm with the first color pad having a value of 0.3 ppm. Testing time: Under 3 minutes.