“My friends and I own a small eatery with a bed-n-breakfast in the mountains and we have water from the town. Every once in a while the news tells us to boil until further notice. The last time it happpened a customer asked how long they could have been drinking bacteria water before the news told us to boil the water. I said we don’t know and they said we should know that sort of thing before we serve people food and drink. How long COULD the water have been bad?”

From the sounds of things you had a real snot eating or staying in your place. We hope he/she at least tipped well and didn’t cause you any other grief!

Regarding the answer to the question asked, you will have to talk to the town water department and ask them for information on their bacteria testing policies and public notification policies since some municipal water systems have tighter, more stringent testing requirements than others — but none can get any looser than those set by the State & Federal Governments.

Regular testing for bacteria?

We assure you that your local water department, if it follows State and Federal Water Treatment & Testing Guidelines, performs regular testing for bacteria, testing for chlorine and tests for a host of other important water quality contaminants and water quality parameters on a regular basis.

If you want more detailed information on the steps used by your local water company to protect you from bacteria and other unwanted drinking water contaminants, we suggest that you contact your local water department directly.

As we mentioned, city and municipal water departments take specific, regulated steps to protect their customers from bacterial contamination… but even in the best of circumstances sometimes things happen which could possibly put those customers at risk.

Water main breaks between the water treatment plant and customers’ homes as well as unexpected equipment failures at the water treatment plant can both certainly happen at any time and both may result in opportunities for bacteria to enter the drinking water supply.

Personal protection against bacterial contamination?

Recently a number of folks have started installing UV water sterilizers like the Crystal Quest UV 6 in their homes as a final layer of protection against bacterial contamination. These devices render bacteria unable to reproduce by exposing the unwanted critters to a specific wavelength of UV light.

So, while the devices do not necessarily kill the bacteria right away, UV water sterilizers like the Crystal Quest UV 6, when used in the right application, make certain the organisms do not have a chance to multiply and create problems for those who ingest them.

Please note, however, that UV water sterilizers should NOT get used as the first line of defense against bacteria when dealing with untreated and/or unfiltered water.

Why? Because UV water sterilizers can do nothing to remove unwanted particles, solids and/or chemical contaminants. To remove things of that nature one should consider a unit that uses activated carbon, reverse osmosis, etc.

While on the topic of commercial water filters…

Jacky had concerns about water quality in a commercial setting so it only makes sense that we end this article by mentioning the CQE-UV-00105, a commercial UV water sterilizer with a flow rate greater than 22 GPM.

Crystal Quest CQE-UV-00105

In both cases, and so many more, we would suggest getting a test kit such as the Water Quality Test Kit made by SenSafe or the City Water Test Kit made by WaterSafe… and doing some preliminary testing of their own.

In most cases people complaining about city water will have problems caused by contaminants such as dissolved metals (i.e. lead, iron, copper, etc.), chlorine content (free and/or total), total hardness (calcium and/or manganese), and/or rotten egg smells caused by dissolved hydrogen sulfide.

If you get unusual or questionable results, definitely seek the services of a certified water testing laboratory; preferably one not affiliated with a water filter system distributor.

What about bacteria?

We also get asked quite often about the likelihood of harmful bacteria showing up in tap water. Despite the efficiency of modern water treatment facilities and the exemplary track records most have when it comes to the quality of the water they produce, one must always remember two things:

1) Accidental machinery malfunctions can occur.

2) City water travels through lots and lots of piping before it gets to your tap… meaning it passes over thousands of joints where leaks in the pipes could allow the introduction of dangerous bacteria.

If you suspect for any reason that your water supply may contain bacteria, although home drinking water test kits work well as screening methods, times like this call for the services of a certified water testing lab.

You local health department can suggest a water testing laboratory in your area or you can use a mail order laboratory such as National Testing Labs.

Sensafe EZ Coliform Cult E.Coli Test Kit

Many times you have seen us post articles urging private well owners to test for the presence of bacteria in their wells on a regular basis — ‘cuz no one else will ever volunteer to do it for them. We have even given links to a basic bacteria in water test kit from two different companies (SenSafe & WaterSafe) and to a more advanced bacteria test kit from SenSafe that lets a person find out not only if they have coliform bacteria present in their water, but also if they have E. Coli present.

Today we have information about the ‘tools’ required to take full advantage of the advanced bacteria test kit from SenSafe and how to properly use them to test for the presence of coliform bacteria in water samples.

How to use the Sensafe EZ Coliform Cult E.Coli Test Kit

• First of all, make sure to keep the test kit dry and in temperatures of 15-27 C (59-81 F).
• Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water before gathering your water sample. Dry hands completely.
• Carefully remove the bottle cap from the Sensafe EZ Coliform Cult E.Coli Test Kit.
• Add 100 milliliters of sample water but make sure not to overfill.
• Quickly put the cap back on the test bottle and secure it tightly.
• Shake test bottle vigorously until all of the media (solids inside the bottle) dissolve. Solution should turn a clear yellow color at this point. Turbid samples will have a less clear appearance.
• Either incubate the sample for 24 hours at 35 deg C/95 deg F — or — for 48 hours at 25 deg C/77 deg F.

• At the end of incubation period, look at the color of the sample. A yellow color indicates a lack of coliforms while a bluish green color indicates the presence of coliforms.

For those who wish to learn if their water sample contains E. Coli, two options exist:

1. Shine a UV light with wavelength 365nm from the bottom of the sample. If bright blue fluorescence occurs, the sample contains E. Coli. Where can you obtain a UV light source to perform this test? WaterFilters.Net carries the Sensafe NVF-4 Handheld UV Light.

2. Addition of Sensafe Kovacs Indole Reagent will also let you know if the sample contains E. Coli. Unfortunately we do not, at this time, have specific information regarding how this process works.