The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) Office of Water Quality (OWQ) recently announced that it would offer residential well owners the opportunity to have their water tested for several critical water quality parameters as part of a statewide Ground Water Monitoring Network.

Tests included in the free well water testing program include testing for: metals, nitrate-nitrite, VOCs, SOCs, alkalinity, pesticide degradates, and other general chemistry indicators. The testing will get conducted free of charge for up to 400 qualified private water well owners across the state.

Eligibility for the program: Each well must be get registered in the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) water well database and each well must have an untreated spigot located outdoors that IDEM staff can easily access.

If interested in having your well water tested as part of this program, please visit http://www.in.gov/idem/6892.htm or contact Kevin Spindler by phone at 317-234-3243 for additional information.

Why test your well water?

We routinely get emails from folks asking why they should test their well water periodically. They say things like ‘my water looks fine’ or ‘it tastes the same as it has for years’ and we respond by telling them potentially harmful levels of contaminants such as coliform bacteria, nitrates/nitrites, heavy metals, arsenic, etc. impart little or no taste, smell or color to well water… and can infiltrate underground water sources without warning.

Hydrogen peroxide does have the chemical formula H₂O₂… and as for whether or not it will ruin your water, well, Harry, we suppose that would depend upon what type of water you have in mind.

Hydrogen peroxide functions as an oxidizer and gets used in a wide range of applications including as a wash solution used to make sure silicone wafers that go into computers contain no organic contaminants, as a toothpaste ingredient, as a food prep area sanitizing agent, as a means of disinfecting drinking water in some cases, and as a ‘shocking’ agent in pool/spa water that uses a biguanide sanitizer.

As for the pH of hydrogen peroxide (aka: how acidic or basic hydrogen peroxide is), that depends on the concentration of the hydrogen peroxide. At different concentrations dissolved hydrogen peroxide has different pH values. You may not, however, assume that you can draw a direct relationship between the pH of a water sample and its hydrogen peroxide concentration in all cases.

If you want to test for hydrogen peroxide levels/concentrations in water between 0.5ppm and 100ppm we suggest taking a look at the WaterWorks Hydrogen Peroxide Test Strips. Fast testing times and, in our experience, accurate results.

Comparison of required concentrations?

Swimming pools can, under certain circumstances (i.e. with a pass-through UV water filter), remain ‘safe’ for use with a free chlorine concentration of 0.5ppm while the same pool using hydrogen peroxide would require a concentration of around 30ppm to 40ppm… and sometimes more.

Mathematically, and on a good day, it would require 60 times the amount of hydrogen peroxide (or more!) to do the same job as free chlorine in this example.

When last we checked a gallon of 27% or 35% hydrogen peroxide shock had a cost of around $15 to $25 (see Splashes Oxidizer at In the Swim)… and in those concentrations it would require approximately 1 gallon of shock per 10,000 gallons of pool water to reach a 30ppm and 40ppm concentration.

Please note that the aforementioned ‘math’ also assumes a normal biological contaminant load — meaning no excessive amounts of body oils, algae, leaves, dead animals, feces, etc. in the water at the time the shock gets added.

By comparison, a gallon of liquid chlorine still costs around $5 or $7 at the local pool store… and may treat the same amount of water with a slightly higher than usual amount of biological contaminants.

Possible problem with use of hydrogen peroxide as main sanitizer?

Aside from cost — and in case you did not know, hydrogen peroxide volatilizes (i.e. leaves the water) at a faster rate than chlorine meaning you will need to add it more frequently — we have seen a number of cases where swimming pools with DE (diatomaceous earth — that ‘finely ground white powder’ added through the skimmer after backwashing) using hydrogen peroxide on a regular basis have had issues with the filter elements getting clogged prematurely and requiring acid washing more often than expected.

We have read in a few places that the hydrogen peroxide actually breaks down the diatomaceous earth leaving the cloth filter elements susceptible to clogging by contaminants passing through the filter. The diatomaceous earth, under normal circumstances, coats the cloth filter elements and keeps contaminants from getting trapped in their mesh. Backwashing the filter then shakes loose the DE as well as the contaminants and they get flushed out of the system.

Is peroxide safer to handle than chlorine?

Not really. Both have the power to cause eye, skin and nose irritation. Read the warnings on both products before handling either one and ALWAYS USE PRECAUTION!

When in doubt, don’t do it! Seek advice from a pool water professional before adding chemicals you do not know much about to your water… because bad things CAN and WILL happen if you do not take the proper precautions!

As an example, adding chlorine to a biguanide pool, or vice versa, will result in the formation of really nasty solids that take a lot of time, effort, energy, and money to remove. Granted not a health hazard, but still a really nasty problem to have to deal with!

Why do people switch from chlorine/bromine to peroxide?

Typically the reason for switching from chlorine/bromine to an alternate sanitizing system like peroxide involves a person having allergic reactions or sensitivity to chlorine/bromine. In cases like these no options exist and other water sanitizing systems must get used.

Other reasons for switching to a non-chlorine/bromine sanitizer system include pool professionals not telling ‘the truth’ about pool sanitizing options so they can make more money, people having bad experiences with chlorine/bromine in the past due to improperly maintained pools, and often times just not fully understanding the ins and outs of each pool sanitizing system.

No matter what, TEST for sanitizer levels regularly!

Regardless of whether you choose chlorine, bromine, peroxide, ozone, biguanide, or some other type of sanitizer, remember that it serves your first (and most important!) line of defense against potentially hazardous pool water contaminants and algae.

The only way to way to know for sure that your swimming pool contains the correct concentration of sanitizer… is to test the water!

The Baquacil pool water treatment system uses something called a biguanide in place of traditional pool sanitizers like chlorine or bromine to keep water safe for swimming. In addition to the biguanide this type of pool water treatment system also makes use a ‘shock’ comprised mainly of hydrogen peroxide that pool owners, last we heard, should use once every one or two weeks.

Regarding the matter of whether you need to test for peroxide in your pool, from what we have read that all depends on whether or not you plan to keep (and maintain) a hydrogen peroxide residual in your water or if you plan to shock according to schedule and be done with it.

If you plan to maintain a residual then yes, you will want to own a test kit or test strips for peroxide in water.

As for whether or not we sell a testing product for peroxide, we carry WaterWorks Peroxide Check tests trips that has the following peroxide concentrations on its color chart:0.05, 2.0, 5.0, 10, 25, 50, 100 ppm (mg/L).

In our experience most people using a biguanide pool sanitizer sanitizer system typically do not need to test for peroxide levels in excess of 100 ppm (most peroxide levels get kept around 30ppm or 40ppm) but, if you ever do need to test for higher levels, mix an equal portion of pool water with distilled or deionized water, perform the test per the product’s instructions, and then multiply the detected peroxide level by a factor of two.

Without knowing exactly WHICH unusual water parameters to look for we just started searching for odd water contaminants and came up with the following:

No one in their right mind would argue that testing water for drinking, use in a pool, watering crops, etc. has to happen. One might, however, argue that using test strips and liquid test kits which require the user to match colors can lead to approximations and assumptions regarding critical water parameters such as pH, chlorine/bromine/sanitizer levels, alkalinity, total hardness, heavy metals, etc.

We all know what assumptions can lead to: Making an a## out of you and me.

No one wants to get sick from dirty or polluted water so when accuracy matters most, you may want to put down the test strips and liquid test kits and opt for a verstile water testing meter such as the eXact Micro 7+ which tests for NINE critical water parameters using direct read measurements and an additional TWENTY-SEVEN other important water parameters with the use of a conversion chart.

Features of the eXact Micro 7+ Water Testing Meter:

• Tests for 36 parameters in total
• Nine direct read parameters — Total Alkalinity, Bromine, Calcium Hardness, Free Chlorine, Total Chlorine, Copper, Ozone, Permanganate, and pH
• Twenty-Seven parameters using a conversion chart: Ammonia, Chloride (as NaCl), Chlorine Dioxide (DPD-1), Chromium Hexavalent, Cyanuric Acid, Fluoride, Hydrazine, Hydrogen Peroxide (Low, Mid and High Range), Iodine (DPD-1), Iron (Fe+2), Total Iron (Fe+2/Fe+3), LR Total Hardness (as CaCO3), Magnesium, Manganese, Nitrate (as NO3), Nitrite (as NO2), pH (Acid and Alkali), Potassium, Protein (as BSA), Sulfate, Sulfide, and Turbidity
• USEPA Compliant meter for Free & Total Chlorine — 0.01 ppm (mg/L) precision
• Built-in, permanent cell — no loose glass or plastic cells to lose
• Easy fill testing — Simply fill or dip meter into water
• Automatic countdown timer for accurate timing of testing
• 140 test memory — saves 20 tests per menu item
• Incorporates eXact® Strip technology — safe & reliable reagent dispersion
• No-slip grip housing — ideal for wet testing conditions
• Lightweight — weighs only 6 ounces w/ batteries installed
• Waterproof — IP-67 Rated and meter will float if dropped into water
• Easy-to-read LCD display — no color matching required
• Environmentally friendly — recyclable parts & uses 60% less reagents than 10mL sample tests
• Proprietary optics — allows for accurate testing without cap

• CE certification

Interested in learning how this device works? Check out the image below as it takes you through the steps of how to test w/ the eXact Micro 7+ Water Testing Meter.

You should also trust us, though, when we say you don’t need complicated chemistry sets or highly specialized training to find out if your tap water contains dangerous levels of things like:

Now, of course, should the results of your home water testing for key water parameters yield results above expected and/or acceptable limits, you will most certainly want to have a certified water professional perform more advanced tests on your drinking water and at no time should you rely on home water quality test kits if you have serious reason to suspect that your water contains know carcinogens or other life threatening contaminants. Leave that sort of testing up to the Water Testing Professionals in your area.

EM Quant^R Peroxide Test, 0.5ppm to 25ppm

Note: The following instructions come from Galade Chemical, a distributor of the above product, and the authors of Water Testing Blog present them ‘as is’, with no expressed or implied guarantees of accuracy.

Volatile Ethers

Immerse a test strip for approximately 1 second in the solvent being tested and allow to evaporate.

Breathe on the reaction zone 4 times for 3-5 seconds each time. Alternatively, immerse briefly in distilled water.

Compare the reaction zone with the color scale.

Low Volatility Ethers

A. Immiscible with water.

Mix a sample of the ether to be tested with 3 times its volume of peroxide-free ether or petroleum benzine (boiling range 40-60°C).

Test as described under “Volatile ethers.”

Record the value indicated on the scale and multiply by 4.

B. Miscible with water

Mix a sample of the ether to be tested with 3 times its volume of distilled water.

Immerse a test strip for approximately 1 second.

Wait 2 minutes and compare with the color scale.

Convert the results as under “Conversion.”

Conversion

Allowing for dilution, 3mg/l on the color scale is equivalent to:

90mg/l tetrahydrofuran peroxide or 30mg/l peroxide calculated as H2O2

150mg/l dioxan peroxide or 45mg/l peroxide calculated as H2O2.

Peroxides formed in/over organic solvents can lead to very dangerous, explosive situations and although we will now discuss (briefly) a testing method for peroxides in organic solvents, we suggest that all parties concerned over such matters consult with the manufacturer(s) of their chemicals for better, more detailed testing, storage and safety information.

For hydroperoxide determination in organic solvents, moisten the test pad of the WaterWorks^TM Peroxide Check test strip with the solvent. Allow the solvent to evaporate and dry. Moisten the test pad with a drop of distilled water. The formation of a blue tint or color on the test pad indicates the presence of hydroperoxide.

The above test procedure provides qualitative results, not quantitative results, and serves as a presence/absence testing method only.

“In 2007 California farmers came together to raise the bar for food safety. As a result the California Leafy Green Products Handler Marketing Agreement (LGMA) was formed. Members of the LGMA are working collaboratively to protect public health by reducing potential sources of contamination in California-grown leafy greens.

To date nearly 120 handlers, representing over 99% of the volume of California leafy greens, have joined the LGMA. These companies have committed themselves to sell products grown in compliance with the food safety practices accepted by the LGMA board. LGMA membership requires verification of compliance with the accepted food safety practices through mandatory government audits. These food safety practices were developed by university and industry scientists, food safety experts and farmers, shippers and processors. California leafy greens are now grown under a unique system that has become a model for leafy green growers in other states.” ( source )

What does any of this have to do with water testing? Quite a bit, actually.

• All fresh produce gets rinsed several times during processing with water containing some form of disinfectant. At the end of each rinsing stage, the water must used must get tested to make sure it still has a certain amount of residual disinfectant. This helps to ‘guarantee’ the cleanliness of the product.
• The machinery and equipment (bins, conveyor belts, cutting tools, etc.) used during the processing of the fresh produce must get washed down thoroughly with water containing a certain concentration of sanitizer and then rinsed clean w/ sanitizer-free water until all traces of sanitizer have been removed.
• Gloves, boots, etc. worn by the staff working in produce packing houses must get sanitized with, and later rinsed clean of, sanitizers.

Commonly used sanitizers and disinfectants in the food preparation/processing industries include chlorine, chlorine dioxide, quaternary ammonia, hydrogen peroxide, and ozone.