Many people believe well water cannot become tainted by contaminants because it typically comes from locations far beneath the surface. Water Testing Blog strongly suggests that you DO NOT BUY INTO THAT LINE OF THOUGHT.

We ‘yelled’ that last bit for a reason. Unwanted and potentially harmful contaminants can find their way into well water regardless of how far below the surface it comes from.

Hence the reason why well water professionals and health officials suggest having one’s well water tested yearly.

Today’s story about well water contamination came from Kansas where residents of Butler County have had to all but abandon the use of their drinking water wells because of an unpleasant chemical smell.

Specifically, the water coming out of the private wells has a gasoline like odor to it.

A bad odor and taste in the well water has some residents in a neighborhood east of Andover concerned. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment and a water testing lab are working to find the source of the problem, but residents in the area are becoming frustrated.

Eric and Brittney Hauck say the well water at their house in Butler County smells terrible and they fear it could be unsafe.

“There was the smell of gasoline, kind of a paint-thinner kind of smell,” said Brittney Hauck.

The Haucks immediately stopped drinking the water and contacted the KDHE. Ash Creek Associates out of Portland, Oregon came out to their house and tested the water.

Last week, the Haucks received the results which showed elevated levels of benzene and other contaminants. The testing company gave the Haucks bottled water and installed a charcoal filter at no charge.

A week later, the family and many other neighborhood residents are still waiting for answers from the KDHE about what’s causing their water to become contaminated. KAKE News attempted to contact both the testing company and KDHE but could not get a response because the offices were closed for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Some residents suspect the contamination may be coming from a petroleum pipeline that runs through their neighborhood. Until they can get some definitive answers about the safety of their well water, residents say they’ll continue to use bottled water for drinking, cooking and bathing. ( source )

We feel very bad for the Haucks and all the other folks in that area affected by the suspected contamination of the aquifer from which they draw their well water. Hopefully the KDHE will determine the source of the well water contamination quickly and make it so the Haucks and their neighbors can once again perform simple tasks like cooking and bathing with their well water.

Testing for benzene in drinking water?

The average person cannot obtain an off-the-shelf test kit capable of testing for the presence of benzene in drinking, tap or well water. That sort of testing must get done in a laboratory using advanced analytical techniques and equipment.

AS usual at this point we suggest contacting your local water department or board of health to see if they can provide you with a list of certified water testing laboratories. For those wishing to use a mail-in water testing service, you may want to take a look at the 83 water quality parameter test package offered by National Testing Laboratories.

Today’s inquiry came to us from ‘Kishore’ who asked a question about a liquid test reagent that turned yellow when added to a sample of water containing chlorine-based water disinfection tablets.

Dear Sir, I mixed chlorine tablets(water purification Tablets) in water. my friend taken water in Test tube. mixed one drop of liquid then water color changed in yellow. what is name of that liquid. how to by that.please can sent details.

Hello, Kishore, and thank you for the inquiry about a liquid test reagent that turns yellow in the presence of chlorine. Based upon your description we suspect your friend used a chemical called ‘OTO’ to perform the testing. OTO stands for Orthotolidine dihydrochloride. It test for total chlorine (free chlorine plus combined chlorine collectively).

You can find OTO in most pool supply stores, as it normally comes in the more basic pool water testing kits for total chlorine and pH, the two most commonly tested pool water quality parameters.

Many companies also sell the two reagents separately since they do tend to ‘go bad’ after a year once opened and exposed to air.

If you want to perform more precise chlorine concentration testing for free chlorine, the compound most people have the most interest in (usually) when attempting to determine if water has had the proper amount of disinfectant added to it, you will want to invest in a drinking water test kit that uses DPD-based reagents. ( What is DPD? )

For an even simpler means of testing the chlorine levels in water samples you may want to consider a product such as the SenSafe Free Chlorine Water Check, an EPA Approved method for determining free chlorine concentrations in drinking water, or the WaterWorks 2 Free & Total Chlorine product that uses the same free chlorine testing method as the SenSafe Free Chlorine Water Check and also includes a separate test area for total chlorine.

Want to know more about the differences between free and total chlorine? Check out an article called Free Chlorine, Combined Chlorine, Total Chlorine.

One more thing about OTO before we go: We have heard that some countries have outlawed its use due to scientists having evidence that it may cause cancer in humans… so check local laws before making a purchase!

We hope this helps!

In the past we wrote about water quality issues in Stamford, CT possibly resulting from contaminants buried beneath a local field. Suspected contaminants include pesticides and volatile organic contaminants.

Hundreds of Stamford residents have registered for the health department’s new water testing program scheduled to launch early next month, leaving about a third of the tests budgeted for this fiscal year available.

Officials are encouraging Stamford homeowners to sign up for the public service, which is mandated under a new city ordinance the Board of Representatives approved late last year. The Health Department will share the data it gathers with state health and environmental agencies in an effort to better understand the scope of water contamination in the area of Scofieldtown Park.

The park is the site of a former landfill and had been thought for years to be the source of potentially cancer-causing chemicals discovered in nearby wells in 2009.

…

Premier Laboratory in Dayville won a competitive bid to perform the testing at a rate of $89.50 per test, Murray said. Homeowners will be charged a flat $100 fee, which will cover the cost of the test itself as well as mailing, printing and logistical expenses associated with the program. Murray said the public service is a good deal for Stamford residents, who would likely pay between $200 and $300 to have their well water tested privately. ( source )

Granted the testing will still cost residents $100, but one has to admit that the fee definitely ranks as a pretty decent bargain considering the alternative: full price. Local officials encourage residents to take advantage of this water testing deal and so do we.

A problem with well water clearly exists in that area and only a properly implemented (thorough) testing of well water in the region surrounding the suspected contamination site will allow officials to get a real good look at the scope and magnitude of the problem.

Removing and/or reducing VOC’s in drinking water?

Naturally the question that follows the discovery of contaminants in one’s drinking water has to do with how to remove or reduce them to ‘safe’ levels. In the article one family had a carbon block filter of some sort installed. Below you will find an example of a carbon block filter hooked up to the Pentek RO-3500 currently offered by numerous online water filter systems vendors like WaterFilters.Net and FiltersFast.Com.

Can you get orange hair from tap (or well) water? Some residents in the Boulder Hill area of Illinois have presented their local water department with evidence that it can happen… and have water test results documenting the presence of three times the normal level of iron in their tap water.

Last week, residents complained about the water quality at a Village Board meeting and brought pictures of children with orange hair, damaged pipes and water sample results that documented the iron content was some three times the normal level.

This week, after action taken by the village, residents say things are looking up.

“It is looking better, this is good news,” Karol Armbruster, one of the residents affected by the rusty water, said Tuesday.

Her daughter has had to visit a hair salon on two occasions due to the rust in the water, she said. “It was turning orange and a had a little green tint,” she said,

“It doesn’t seem to be as bad,” said Debbie Way, another resident.

The water problems began Nov. 19 when the motor that runs Well 14 broke. At that time, village officials began sending water to the area from other wells.

The rust is the result of a change in direction of the water flow in the pipes.

“The cause of the rust was a build-up of iron deposits inside the pipes for some 50 years,” said Michael Pubentz, Montgomery public works director. ( source )

For these folks water conditions will improve once the new well pump comes online, according to the article, but what about YOUR water? Do you know how much iron or other metals it contains? While some metals (like iron) usually pose more of an aesthetic problem, other metals such as lead, mercury, chromium, etc. can have lasting detrimental health effects.

Moral of the story?

If you notice sudden changes in water quality could mean problems with the safety of your water and only testing the water for its purity will let you know for sure if the changes mean action needs to get taken by your water company or, if your water comes have a private well, you need to take action.

In this case the water district had a pump fail and needed to redirect water through different lines that had not seen a lot of use in a long time and years of corrosion got pumped to people’s homes. We believe that local residents’ seeking testing and banding together to lobby for prompt action on the part of the water company resulted in the situation getting cleared up a lot faster than may have happened if residents had not presented test results along with their complaints.

Certified water testing data gets results. So, as we like to say, “It’s your water, your health… and ultimately your LIFE.”

Take an interest in the quality of your water and perform spot checks from time to time — especially if you notice a ‘change’ in the color, taste or smell of your water. Doing so could, in some cases, possibly save your life or the life of a loved one.

Interested in removing iron from drinking water? Whether you need a replacement 10″ iron filter cartridge, replacement 20″ iron filter cartridge or a whole house iron removal system, we believe FilterWater.Com may have the perfect solution for your water quality situation.

Many times in life we will unknowingly get exposed to potentially harmful contaminants — and never know about it. Other times we know about it and just don’t know what to do about it. Today’s inquiry came to us from a woman named ‘Rachel’ who asked,

Hi..I work in an office building in brooklyn (11211) and the water in the bathroom sink smells really bad. If you wash your hands…which we all do…your hands smell too. I have talked to the landlord many times about this and they have not done anything My staff has complained about the same thing. The land next door used to be a chemical plant and nothing was allowed to be built for years..Could something be seeping in the water somehow. I would like to have the water tested. I am not sure what to test for exactly so hoping you can advise. How much $ will I have to spend to get the water tested and if it is found to be contaminated somehow…then what do I do?

A couple of questions came to mind right away while reading Rachel’s question about water quality in her office:

1) What type of smell or odor do you detect emanating from the water? Does the unpleasant odor resemble the stench of rotten eggs (i.e. does it smell like sulfur)?

2) Does the odor come from both hot and cold water or just from one or the other?

We ask those questions because problems with hot water heaters often serve as the source of odor(s) in many homes and offices.

Water containing dissolved hydrogen sulfide gas produces an offensive (and VERY unpleasant) “rotten egg” or “sulfur” odor and will also have a similar taste. In a lot of cases the odor seems a lot stronger when one first turns on the water or runs hot water from the faucet. ( source )

If the smell you get from the water does not meet the profile above, and actually even it does meet the above profile, we highly suggest getting the water tested by a certified water testing laboratory like National Testing Laboratories or a local laboratory recommended by your local health department.

Given the history of the property (next door) we suggest going w/ the most comprehensive test you can afford. Why? Quite simply because many of the ‘more interesting’ contaminants resulting from industrial activities may not get detected by commonly offered water testing packages.

History… Not just for students anymore!

See what you can learn about what REALLY went on next door before the company closed up shop. What sorts of chemicals did they produce? Why did they shut down? Why did the city (or other agency) put a ban on building there after the company shut down?

While we believe it unlikely that the ‘issues’ left behind by that company have much to do with your current water woes since your water comes from the city, we would not rule it out entirely.

Do your homework, find a certified lab that can test for the sorts of nasty things that company may have left behind, make sure the results of their findings can get admitted as evidence in a legal proceedings, have the results examined by a qualified water specialist, and then determine what needs to happen next — be it legal action on the part of your landlord against the company or the city or the landlord simply installing the correct filter to remove the contaminants that make the water small so awful.

Today’s question came to us from ‘Malli’ who asked, “tell me simple method to find out the flourine percentage .Thanque”

For the sake of this article, and because it would make his/her inquiry make more sense, we will assume that Malli intended to ask for a method of testing for FLUORIDE levels in water.

Regretfully we have not heard of any ‘new’ methods a person can use to detect fluoride levels in drinking water since we last addressed this topic. Therefore we will continue to suggest using a meter such as the eXact Micro 7+ Water Testing Meter that uses Fluoride (SPADNS) Reagent to detect fluoride levels in water as low as 0.1 ppm and as high as 1.1 ppm.

One could also use the mail-in fluoride testing services of a company called National Testing Laboratories to determine how much, if any fluoride their drinking water contains.

So, Malli, once you determine if your water contains fluoride, next you will need to decide if you wish to remove or reduce that fluoride level… assuming you have fluoride in your water to begin with.

Removing/Reducing Fluoride Levels in Drinking Water?

When it comes to finding an effective means of reducing fluoride levels in drinking water, thus far our ‘research’ always points us down the same path… towards reverse osmosis water filters. The unit you see on the right, the Pentek RO-3500, has gone through testing and gotten certified by NSF/ANSI to Standard 58 for the reduction of Pentavalent Arsenic, Barium, Cadmium, Copper, Hexavalent & Trivalent Chromium, Cyst, Fluoride, Lead, Nitrate/Nitrite, Radium 226/228, Selenium, TDS and Turbidity.

Though definitely NOT the most expensive unit on the market, this filter has successfully passed third party testing, can produce nearly 8 gallons of crystal clear, filtered drinking water per day, and does so while reducing fluoride levels by more than 90%.

Moral of the story?

You will never know exactly how much fluoride, iron, copper, manganese, chlorine, salt, or other unwanted contaminants your water contains until you perform the appropriate tests on your water. Then, and only then, will you have the ability to make an educated decision regarding water treatment options.

We knew that this question would come along sooner or later. ‘Lisa’ wrote in and asked, “can my daughter use the arsenic water testing kit on juice? can you recommend any ideas for a science fair project?”

While we have no evidence to support the notion that Arsenic Quick Test Kits will function properly with juice as the test specimen rather than water, we have used the kits extensively and know that the color of the juice ought not affect the results since the test pads react with ‘arsenic gas’ liberated from the sample inside the reaction vessel and not the actual water sample.

Note: We contacted the makers of Arsenic Quick Test Kits about the effectiveness of their Arsenic Quick Test Kits with juice as samples and will most certainly share any definitive information we learn.

Getting back to the topic of using Arsenic Quick Test Kits, at first the process may sound a bit complex — but trust us when we say it really does not take a rocket scientist to perform the testing. Hence the reason why a number of people, including folks at the USEPA and other high profile government (as well as non-profit) agencies, have recommended this kit as a viable and useful field testing option when faced with situations where a water source may contain inorganic arsenic as a contaminant.

At this point you may find yourself asking, “Wait, didn’t you say the test liberated arsenic gas?”

Yes, Arsenic Quick Test Kits do liberate small amounts of arsenic gas in the test vessel but the amounts generated should not pose a problem as long as the testing takes place in an area with proper ventilation. In other words, open a window, test in the garage w/ the door open or perform your testing outdoors.

Arsenic Quick Test Kits do not require typical controlled laboratory environments in order to yield quality results.

What about the science projects?

So glad you asked! Depending on where you live, Lisa, and how many bodies of water you have access to for sampling purposes, you could have quite a few really cool science projects for your daughter to work on.

A company called Water Safe manufactures a test kit called the Science Fair Project Test Kit which gives young (or old!) experimenters the ability to test up to 10 bodies of water for the following important drinking water parameters:

Do other options exist for more testing? Of course they do… but the WaterSafe Science Fair Project Test Kit offers a good sampling (8 parameters for 10 bodies of water) of tests for a reasonable cost — around $80. If that option does not suit your budget, WaterSafe also makes the same kit in a smaller size that tests up to 4 bodies of water for the same water quality parameters for around $40.

Got bigger testing plans?

If you believe you will want to perform long-term testing and will need 25 to 50 tests per water quality parameter, SenSafe manufactures a par of kits called the Well Driller Standard and Well Driller Master test kits which both come with plenty of testing supplies to keep testing projects of longer duration well-stocked.

Today’s question comes from ‘MarquisMark’ who asked,

“My girl and me just bought a new place but the water well it sucks. Got white buildup and other colors of stuff building up in the sinks and the water kit we bought, that sensafe one on your site, says we got all sorts of problems like metals too. A friend says we need a filter and a softener but I don’t know if they make a all-in-one type filter softener thing… but my girl says we gotta do something, so can you help?”

Thank you for your question Marquis and it sounds to us like you and your girlfriend have a real mess on your hands when it comes to the quality of your water.

Question: Well water or city water?

If well water, then we suggest looking in the phone book for a certified well contractor and having them come out to look at the condition of your well.

If city water we suggest contacting your local water department and requesting the latest copy of their Consumer Confidence Report, an annually published document that discusses how good (or bad) a job the department did at keeping its water quality readings in line with Federal Guidelines.

In either case, certainly get your water tested by a qualified water testing laboratory before investing – and yes, we said investing – in a water filtration and/or water conditioner for your home. Otherwise you may run the risk of purchasing the incorrect unit for your specific water remediation requirements.

In other words you may buy the wrong tool for the job… and that could mean a whole lot of wasted money and continued water quality troubles.

Cost of combination water filter & water softener

Definitely not cheap, but if you have drinking water in desperate need of improvement then investing in a whole house water filter & water softener system such as the Whole House Filter and Anti-Scale Conditioner Combo made by Crystal Quest may make sense.

With pricing for the Whole House Filter and Anti-Scale Conditioner Combo (CQE-WH-02136) starting at around $2,900 you really, really, really want to make certain you 1) Need a water filter; 2) Need a water softener; 3) Know for sure that the unit will correct the specific water quality issues that you have.

Moral of the story?

Not all water treatment options will work in every application so before you plop down your hard earned money, get your water tested by a qualified drinking water testing laboratory. If you cannot locate a local laboratory we suggest you consider using the testing services of an accredited mail-in water testing laboratory such as National Testing Labs.

We get asked this question more times than we care to count… and we don’t mind answering it because at least it means the people asking us have taken an interest in the quality of the water they drink, cook with and use for showering/bathing.

Natural Contamination

Contamination of natural bodies of water (including lakes, streams, aquifers and groundwater) can have numerous characteristics and sources. While many believe only ‘big business’ causes water pollution, all humans and animals release waste products that eventually find their way into lakes, rivers, streams, oceans, etc.

Scientists refer to this occurrence as ‘nutrient loading’ and when it happens too often in one location nutrient loading may result in bacterial contamination that eventually becomes detrimental to the environment and harmful to humans who unknowingly consume the water.

Contaminants often included in the list of ‘natural’ contaminants include things such as coliform bacteria, nitrates, nitrites, etc.

Therefore, if your drinking water comes from the ground (i.e. a well) you may have ‘natural’ things to worry about… and even municipal (i.e city, town, etc.) water sources have problems from time to time. Need proof? Ever hear of things called boil water advisories?

Unnatural Contamination

This type of contamination typically comes from accidental or intentional dumping of foreign matter into or too close to a body of water either on the the surface or under the ground.

Common sources of groundwater and surface water contamination include improper disposal of industrial waste products, faulty septic tanks and waste water storage or processing equipment, landfills, pesticides and fertilizers.

Many experts believe the practice of hydraulic fracturing certainly belongs in the category of unnatural water contamination and pollution… and, of course, many other experts (who often work for or get funding from gas drilling companies) believe hydraulic fracturing poses no (or extremely limited) risks to the environment.

Thus far OUR opinion falls more in line with the folks who suspect that fracking (the nickname for hydraulic fracturing) may pose risks and that more research needs to get done before we turn the Marcellus Shale Formation under the United States into swiss cheese whose holes we filled with ‘questionable’ fluids containing a host of unknown compounds.

Moral of the Story?

You will NEVER know if your water contains unwanted contaminants UNTIL YOU GET IT TESTED and for that task you have several options: 1) Test for the basics yourself using a drinking water test kit; 2) Have a qualified drinking water laboratory test your water; or 3) test for the basics yourself with a water quality test kit and enlist the services of a qualified water testing lab from the list posted on the EPA’s Safe Water Web Site

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.