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

We recently received an email from Mark in Brooklyn who recently made some discoveries when he tested the water in a building he just purchased. Good news about Mark, though, is that unlike a lot of building owners, Mark wants to take proper steps to make sure his future tenants have safe, clean water flowing into their apartments/offices/etc.

Hi,

I recently purchased a house in Brooklyn 11xxx and did a quick water test at home. I found lead which makes sense as there is an old lead water main. I also found pesticides in the water too. I want to have a professional test the water and recommend solutions to ensure the safety of my family and tenants. Can you recommend someone to do this. I already sent off for the NYC lead test.

Thank you!

Mark

As usual, it pleases us greatly when we hear of people taking action on their own to guarantee the safety of their drinking water. We applaud Mark, and all others like him, for their proven interest in drinking water quality not only for themselves, but for others, too.

Who ya’ gonna call?

No, Bill Murray and the Ghostbusters cannot help with problems like lead and/or pesticides in drinking water. Since you reside in NY, Mark, you may want to check out this page on the EPA’s web site about water in NY. On that page you will find a link to the EPA’s List of State Certified Drinking Water Labs, but to save you some time we will list the certified water labs in Kings County below:

LABID: 11972: GREEN PLANET LABS, LLC

63 FLUSHING AVE BLDG. 292 SUITE 404, UNIT 206
BROOKLYN NY 11205
MS. ALYSSA MCDONALD (718) 858 -7020

* Approved for Testing Potable Water

LABID: 11671: WYCKOFF HEIGHTS MEDICAL CENTER

374 STOCKHOLM STREET
BROOKLYN NY 11237
DR. WILLIAM L. THELMO (718) 963 -7519

* Approved for Testing Potable Water

We hope that one of the above labs can help, Mark!

Water treatment companies and water testing

ALWAYS remember that a water treatment company’s primary objective involves you opening your purse/wallet and handing over payment for a water treatment system… and in many cases a water treatment company may employ a ‘scare tactic’ to get you to do so.

The wonders of water chemistry (and the general public’s general lack of understanding of water chemistry) make it possible for clever water treatment system sales personnel to put on a good show when testing a prospective customer’s water; a show that adds a visual punch to the sales person’s explanation of why a prospective customer should buy a water treatment system. NOW.

Get water testing results beforehand

While not all water treatment companies will use deceptive tactics like the one mentioned above, we believe it makes complete and total sense to have a third party, certified water testing lab test your water before talking to a water treatment company.

Doing so may keep you from talking to one at all if the test results come back not indicating any problems with the water!

Doing your own testing

Yes, of COURSE we feel people should test their own water periodically. One ‘clean bill of health’ water test when first starting to use a water sources does not mean something may not happen a month or year down the road to cause that source to become contaminated in some way.

At-home drinking water test kits do not test for as many contaminants or as low a level of many contaminants, but they do work as excellent screening tools that don’t cost an arm and a leg.

Below you will find a brief list of popular water test kit manufacturers:

• SenSafe Water Test Kits
• WaterSafe Test Kits

Below you will find a brief list of commonly inquired about water test kits:

• Free & Total Chlorine Test Kit
• Eco Check 5-Way Test Strips
• Lead in Water Test Kit
• Pool & Spa Bacteria Test Kit
• Science Fair/Project Water Test Kit
• Well Water Test Kit

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

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

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

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

Very little beats the feeling of freedom offered by an RV or Motor Home. Each day a person or whole family can wake up in one place, get ready for the day as if at home, travel to a whole new place over the course of the day, get ready for bed as if they had never left home.

Something to think about: The faucets and showers in motor homes use water from whatever and whichever filling station the motor home’s owner finds when it comes time to refill the storage tanks. Where did that water come from? Do you know? Probably not.

If traveling out in an area where a lot of agricultural activity takes place you may want to think about the possibility that the water contains harmful pesticides such as atrazine. Additionally, potentially harmful levels of nitrates and/or nitrites may also exist in the water… especially if the water comes from a well.

Note: As far as we know, the chlorine tablets people add to motor home water storage tanks do nothing to reduce or eliminate the risks associated with ingesting pesticides (i.e. atrazine), nitrates, nitrites, heavy metals such as lead, lindane, MTBE, and other possible drinking water contaminants.

Does anyone make water filters for RV’s and motor homes?

As a matter of fact, a widely recognized leader in the personal drinking water filtration industry, Culligan manufactures an NSF Certified line of RV & Marine Water Filter Systems:

• Culligan RV-EZ-3 — Reduction Claims Validated for this unit by NSF: Atrazine Reduction, Cyst Reduction, Lead Reduction, Lindane Reduction, Turbidity Reduction, Chlorine Reduction (Aesthetic), Nominal Particulate Reduction (Class I), Taste and Odor Reduction.

• Culligan RV-EZ-4 — Reduction Claims Validated for this unit by NSF: Chloramine Reduction, Chlorine Reduction (Aesthetic), Nominal Particulate Reduction (Class I), Taste and Odor Reduction, Cyst Reduction, Lead Reduction, Mercury Reduction, MTBE Reduction, Turbidity Reduction, VOC Reduction.

Each system, as you can see, removes/reduces a different number of potential drinking water contaminants. At this point we would NORMALLY suggest water quality testing as an efficient and effective means of determining which RV Water Filter System a person should consider… but since motor homes and TV’s draw their water from a different source each time they fill up, we don’t think that would make a whole lot of sense.

In a case like this, and we actually hate to say this, we believe most people will opt for the Culligan RV-EZ-3 because it costs roughly half as much as the Culligan RV-EZ-4.

We also see an interesting dilemma for people not not bothered by investing an extra $60 into their RV or motor home water filtration system: The Culligan RV-EZ-4 does not filter out or reduce all of the contaminants that the Culligan RV-EZ-3 does.

Clearly no easy way to determine the best product for an end user exists… but no matter how you slice it, some amount of filtration when facing a wide range of potential contaminants will always trump no filtration!

Testing the water before you fill up?

Although in most cases people probably do not have a whole lot of options when it comes to where they can fill up their RV or motor home water tanks while traveling through unfamiliar areas, it probably would not hurt to run a spot check on the water before hooking up.

A quick check for basic (and important!) drinking water parameters may keep you from filling your tank(s) up with water that will continue to harm you and your family until all its contaminants get diluted — some 5 or 10 fill ups later, depending upon how far you drain tanks down before refilling.

Remember: You always have the option of using bottled water for a brief stint if the water at a one particular filling station fails to make the grade!

Water test kits for RV’s and motor homes?

Hmmm… Until now we never really gave it a lot of thought. Having said that, both SenSafe and WaterSafe make excellent, and highly portable, water quality test kits that pretty much anyone can afford and use.

No one would dare question the belief that industry has a way of making messes and leaving them for others to clean up… or just leaving them and hoping no one ever realizes a mess got made in the first place. Some folks in a New Jersey community believe they have caught a company red-handed at a closed quarry and have asked the State to step in.

Residents and public officials in Basking Ridge, NJ asked the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to put pressure on the operators of the closed Millington Quarry on Stonehouse Road because they had evidence which suggested contaminated soil may have gotten trucked into the site over a period of years and used as back fill material.

The DEP issued a letter to Millington Quarry, Inc. and Tilcon New York, Inc. recently stating that it requires additional soil and groundwater testing around the property of the now closed quarry… and they want the testing done in accordance with State approved testing methodologies before the cold weather begins.

Needless to say the DEP’s position pleased the residents and officials in Basking Ridge, NJ.

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has called for additional soil and groundwater testing at the closed Millington Quarry on Stonehouse Road, to the approval of township officials.

Millington Quarry, Inc. and Tilcon New York, Inc., the company that had been quarrying the site before operations ceased last May, were this month informed that the DEP wants further testing at three areas of the quarry where water and soil samples showed a limited presence of contaminants. A letter to the quarry on Oct. 16 called for the quarry to follow the state’s methodology in conducting the additional testing before the onset of cold weather.

…

The township has been embroiled in a legal dispute with the quarry based on suspicions of contaminated soil being trucked into the property over a period of several years. The soil was used to fill in steeply quarried areas. Random testing of some of those truckloads by a township consultant identified the presence of some contaminants, according to township officials.

David Oster, a section chief with the DEP’s office of Brownfields Remediation & Reuse, wrote in his Oct. 4 letter that the quarry’s limited groundwater investigation into wells on the site had shown elevated levels of arsenic, lead and other volatile chemicals in one well, and arsenic exceeding the DEP’s standards in another.

The letter also reported findings of pesticides and other contaminants in some soil samples that exceed the DEP’s standards for residential and non-residential soil cleanup criteria. The quarry owners have long had plans to eventually sell the closed quarry property for redevelopment with home sites. ( source )

Stories like that make us wonder how many companies have knowingly dumped loads of fill material they knew contained higher than expected and/or allowed levels of contaminants in places — and gotten away with it. On second thought, maybe we don’t really want the answer to that question. It might scare us a lot more than we’d like!

Spot testing pays off in the end?

Of course it does and this story proves it! Without the township hiring a consultant to perform sampling and testing on the loads of material entering the quarry the town would never have gotten the data it used to persuade the DEP to intervene.

Remember: The article said “elevated levels of arsenic, lead and other volatile chemicals in one well, and arsenic exceeding the DEP’s standards in another” which means those potentially hazardous items could have seeped into the local groundwater supply undetected and then found their way into the local population’s drinking water if someone had not stepped up done a little bit of testing.

No one will step and test YOUR water for you, though, if you own a private well… and that means whatever contaminants your well pumps up become your responsibility to detect, report and ultimately get rid of.

A while back we wrote about a dual filter nitrate removal system manufactured by Crystal Quest. Since then we have received several emails asking us if Crystal Quest made a dual filter that mounts under the sink because they have limited counter space but want the benefits offered by a dual filter.

As a matter of fact, Crystal Quest DOES manufacture a dual filter nitrate filter system that mounts under the sink… and it comes with a third filter chamber (a carbon block filter designed to remove volatile organic carbon compounds (VOC’s), insecticides, pesticides, and industrial solvents) as an added bonus. OK, so they really call it a triple filter, but using our ‘math’ you can call it a double filter nitrate removal water filter… with a single carbon block filter on the side. Ha ha.

Why did they add the third filter?

We don’t know the actual reason, but we suspect Crystal Quest knows that nitrates will often appear in drinking water found in rural/agricultural areas where compounds such as atrazine may also show. Adding the carbon block filter means the filter will have the ability to reduce/remove nitrates AND volatile organic carbon compounds (VOC’s), insecticides, pesticides, and industrial solvents.

Manufacturer’s Product Number: CQE-US-00324

Replacing the filters?

Changing out filters on this unit takes very little time and the replacement filters don’t cost an arm and a leg, either.

Life expectancy for the filters?

• Roughly 6-9 months for carbon filter
• About 10,000 gallons (or 1 to 3 years) for 6-stage filter
• Around 1 year for the nitrate removal filter

We have previously mentioned that many people have started to pay closer attention to the quality of their well water when it comes to pesticides. In this case we’d like to point out that the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, abbreviated as MDA, but not to be confused with the Muscular Dystrophy Association, has put together a video that educates homeowners on the dangers of atrazine in their well water and ways to test for it.

The MDA also suggests that state residents with private wells also keep an eye on bacteria and nitrate levels. Elevated levels of either in drinking water can result in severe illness and some cases even death.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has created a video, educating homeowners on how to test private wells for atrazine. This video explains some of the ways a well could become contaminated, provides a step-by-step procedure for screening a well, and what to do if atrazine is detected. Information regarding other common contaminants is also provided.

The video is available online at www.mda.state.mn.us/privatewelltesting, where additional information on pesticides and well testing is also available.

In Minnesota, private well owners are responsible for testing their own wells. While state agencies periodically conduct surveys of water quality in private wells, it is ultimately the responsibility of the well owner to monitor for drinking water contaminants, including atrazine. Nitrates and Escherichia coli (E.coli) are perhaps the most common and important contamination concerns for private wells.

Atrazine concentrations in private wells are expected to be absent or below current health-based guidance of three parts per billion (ppb) set by the Minnesota Department of Health. Nevertheless, there is always a potential for atrazine contamination of drinking water in high atrazine use areas and geologically vulnerable areas. ( source )

So, just like everywhere else, owners of private wells in Minnesota must also accept ultimate responsibility for the quality of the water their wells produce. No government agency has the authority to force well owners to test their water and more importantly, no government agency will begin an investigation into sources of groundwater contamination if no one provides them with test data indicating a potential problem.

Everyone loves the taste of fresh, clean filtered drinking water, but not everyone likes their water ice cold or as cold as it gets when stored in a refrigerator. How do we know this? Simple: Martha wrote in and asked,

I’m thinking of getting a water filter pitcher. Must it be kept in the refrigerator in order for the filter to work? I prefer room temp. water.

Thanks, Martha

We knew that hot water posed a problem for certain types of filters and filter housings — hence the need for special hot water filters & housings — and we knew that frozen water would not work all that well, either (obviously!), but as for whether or not a filter would perform all that much differently at room temperature versus the temperature of a refrigerator, we never gave that a whole lot of thought.

Until now.

Our quick research has determined that water filter pitchers ought to work just as well at room temperature as they would in a refrigerator. We do, however, suspect that one could possibly need to replace the filters more frequently since warmer temperatures in the filter would make an excellent breeding ground for bacteria. We suspect that water pitcher filters that use certain blends of KDF Media may prove more resistant to bacterial growth than filters that do not use KDF Media.

The Crystal Quest Pitcher Water Filter does something that similar products made by other leading water pitcher filter manufacturers do not. It uses a total of FIVE stages of filtration.

• A one micron sediment pre-filter takes out dirt, rust, sediment and any other large particles.

• In filter stages 2 & 3… Blends of KDF55 and KDF85 resin media reduce dissolved metals (i.e. iron, mercury, copper, nickel, chromium) and harmful bacteria. As we mentioned before, KDF resin media also has properties which help to prevent the growth of bacteria in the filter.

• In the fourth stage of filtration a bed of ion exchange resin further reduces heavy metals including lead, copper and aluminum. This stage also reduces water hardness (calcium and magnesium).

• The fifth stage of filtration contains granulated activated carbon (GAC) reduces chlorine (99.9%), bad taste and odors. It also reduces pesticides and chemicals that science has linked to increased cancer risks in humans (i.e. VOC’s, benzene, TTHMs and toxaphene).

We have posted a number of articles about nitrates in drinking water and given a number of links to products that can remove nitrates from drinking water… and today we found out that FilterWater.Com has started carrying a highly effective nitrate removal system made by Crystal Quest that costs less than $150, features a dual filter system containing a total of 7 filtration stages, and qualifies for free shipping.

Do I have nitrates in my drinking water?

Nitrates occur naturally in the environment and may come from any number of sources in nature including, but not limited to, animal waste that filters down into the aquifer. Wells tapping into that aquifer as a source of drinking water then pull the water to the surface where it gets used by the well owner for cooking, drinking, bathing, etc.

• Testing for Nitrates in Drinking Water
  – includes a simple explanation of Blue Baby Syndrome

• Springtime Testing of Well Water in Farming Community?

• Simple Test for Nitrates and Nitrites in Water

• Nitrates in Well Water / Private Well Testing

What harm can nitrates in drinking water do?

The USEPA summed up the effects of nitrates in drinking in the following ways:

“Short-term: Excessive levels of nitrate in drinking water have caused serious illness and sometimes death. The serious illness in infants is due to the conversion of nitrate to nitrite by the body, which can interfere with the oxygen-carrying capacity of the child’s blood. This can be an acute condition in which health deteriorates rapidly over a period of days. Symptoms include shortness of breath and blueness of the skin.” ( source )

“Long-term: Nitrates and nitrites have the potential to cause the following effects from a lifetime exposure at levels above the MCL: diuresis, increased starchy deposits and hemorrhaging of the spleen.” ( source )

How can I get rid of nitrates in my water?

We started this posting by saying that Filter Water now carries a dual filter counter top nitrate removal system… so now we figure we ought to tell you a little more about it.

Stage 1 — This product uses as dedicated nitrate removal filter. Water first flows through a nitrate-selective resin cartridge designed to reduce nitrate levels in water by 90 to 95 percent. The cartridge has an expected nitrate capacity of approximately 5500 ppm and owners can regenerate (aka: recharge, flush out, clean) the cartridge using a sodium chloride brine solution when it gets full.

Stages 2 & 7 — Pre and post one-micron filter pads remove suspended particles such as silt, sediment, cyst (Giardia, Cryptosporidium), sand, rust, dirt, and other undissolved matter in the water.

Stages 3 & 4 — Specially formulated beds of copper and zinc (KDF-55D, and KDF-85D) use a process known as oxidation-reduction to exhaust any chlorine in the water and convert iron and hydrogen sulfide into insoluble matter which attaches to the surface of the media. Heavy metals such as lead, mercury, copper, nickel, chromium, cadmium, aluminum, etc. also get removed during stages 3 & 4.

Stage 5 — Ion exchange resins reduce heavy metals such as lead, copper and aluminum further and also reduce water hardness by filtering out magnesium and calcium.

Stage 6 — Granulated Activated Carbon (GAC), a universally recognized and widely used adsorbent for a wide variety of unwanted drinking water contaminants such as chlorine (99.9%), chemicals linked to cancer (i.e. THM’s, benzene) pesticides & herbicides such as atrazine and simazine, insecticides, volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), PCB’s, MTBE’s and hundreds of other chemical contaminants which could possibly exist in your water supply.

Other features of the Dual Filter Nitrate Removal System?

Many people simply do not want to mess around with plumbing under their sink so a unit like the Crystal Quest Dual Filter Nitrate Filter System which requires no plumbing will work out beautifully.

The unit sits quietly next to the sink on the counter top and connects easily to pretty much any standard kitchen faucet. It also comes with a diverter valve which allows people to switch between filtered and unfiltered water with the flip of a switch.

Not digging the stark white appearance of the filter? Don’t worry! You have the option of ordering the unit with a chrome finish if that better suits the decor of your kitchen.

How long will the filters last and what do replacements cost?

The manufacturer estimates that the filters ought to last between 1 and 3 years depending upon the initial quality of source water. Keep in mind, though, that a soaking of the nitrate-specific cartridge in sodium or potassium chloride solution at room temperature will recharge the cartridge for additional use.

1. Remove cartridge from unit
2. Immerse the cartridge in a sodium or potassium chloride and room temperature water for a period of 30 minutes
3. Rinse off and then soak the cartridge for 30 minutes in salt-free water
4. Shake excess water off of and out of the cartridge
5. Place the cartridge back in the filter housing
6. Run through the systems for a period of 5-10 minutes

When it comes time to replace the nitrate-specific filter cartridge it will cost around $50 and the 6-stage filter cartridge will cost about the same.

While the jury has not come back with a decision on whether or not fluoride in drinking water poses a serious health risk to people who drink water spiked with it, if you don’t want it in your water Crystal Quest has recently come out with a convenient, easily installed countertop water filter for fluoride — and many other unwanted potential drinking water contaminants.

Crystal Quest manufactures a product called the Countertop Disposable Single Fluoride Multi PLUS Water Filter System which installs in seconds and effectively removes fluoride AND hundreds of drinking water contaminants — if present in the water to begin with.

Water travels through a series of seven filtration stages in this unit. You will find detailed information on those stages below:

Pre and Post One-Micron Filter Pads: Used in stages 1 and 7, this filtration method removes suspended particles including silt, sediment, cyst (Giardia, Cryptosporidium), sand, rust, dirt, and other undissolved solid matter.

Fluoride Removal Cartridge: Used as the second stage of filtration, water flows through a fine mesh synthetic aluminum oxide absorbent media which has an extremely high affinity for fluoride, lead and arsenic. Through a combination of adsorption and chemical reaction the media effectively removes metals over a wide pH range.

How much fluoride can the filter hold before it needs servicing? The filter will reduce 10ppm feeds to 0.2ppm for a total of 6,000ppm fluoride removed.

KDF Media Bed: The third and fifth stages of filtration feature proprietary blends of high-purity KDF resins (KDF-55D and KDF-85D) which work using electrochemical and spontaneous oxidation-reduction (REDOX) principles. In these stages compounds such as chlorine get neutralized. Laboratory testing has shown that combination KDF/GAC cartridges can remove more than 99% of chlorine from greater than 20,000 gallons of water.

During these stages iron and hydrogen sulfide also get oxidized and become an insoluble substance that attaches to the surface of the media. Additionally, heavy metals such as lead, mercury, copper, nickel, chromium, cadmium, aluminum, and other dissolved metals get removed from the water by an electrochemical process at this point.

Ion Exchange Resin: The fourth stage of filtration uses an ion exchange to further reduce/remove heavy metals such as lead, copper and aluminum. This stage also acts a water softener by reducing calcium and magnesium levels (aka: total hardness) in the water.

Granulated Activated Carbon (GAC): The sixth stage of filtration makes use of granulated activated carbon, a material universally accepted as a highly effective means of eliminating a wide range of unwanted contaminants such as chlorine, potential carcinogens (i.e. THM’s, benzene, etc.), pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), PCB’s, MTBE’s and many more chemical contaminants that may show up in water. Many of these compounds create a ‘bad’ color, taste and/or odor in drinking water, but not all.

Important note regarding carbon filters… Some manufacturers use a lesser grade of carbon, but this filter uses a highly porous, and therefore more useful, carbon derived from coconut shells.

How do I know if I need a water filter like this one?

If you have concerns regarding fluoride in your drinking water, contact your local water department and ask for a copy of the most recent drinking water report. Some water districts have made their annual reports available online so you may want to look on your water district’s web site first.

If your concerns deal with potential water contaminants that may have entered your water supply after it left the water treatment plant — bacteria, lead, heavy metals, etc. — then at-home drinking water test kits like the following may work just fine for you.

Keep in mind, though, that if you have serious reason to suspect drinking water contamination, you should seek the assistance and expertise of a certified water testing laboratory.