Coliform Bacteria Test Kit

Late last week residents in a Massachusetts community outside of Boston received word that water samples from two of the town’s wells tested positive for the presence of bacteria (enterococci bacteria). Accordingly, health officials advised residents to not use their tap water without boiling it first.

Boiling the water before using it for cooking, drinking, washing, brushing one’s teeth, etc. would effectively kill off any bacteria potentially present.

as a general rule, health officials view the presence of enterococci bacteria as a sign that the water may have become contaminated with fecal matter and that, friends, could definitely make more than a few people sick.

For anyone with a compromised or otherwise suppressed immune system, ingesting water containing fecal matter could mean death.

No matter how you look at it, though, the very idea of drinking human or animal waste sounds… absolutely revolting.

The Town of Marshfield has ordered residents to boil their water before using it, after tests of water samples from two test wells found a high level of enterococci bacteria. Enterococci bacteria is an indicator of the possible presence of fecal matter, and when it is found in drinking water it poses a serious health risk.

The well sites on Spring Street and Church Street, two of six wells in the towns hi-zone water system, had high levels of the bacteria, according to results returned Thursday night.

Residents are being instructed to bring water to a rolling boil before drinking and cooking, or before brushing teeth, bathing, or washing their face. ( source )

Far too many people trust in modern technology these days and forget one of the most basic facts in the Known Universe: “Sh#t happens.”

Machines can break, valves can fail and unexpected leaks can occur. When any of those things happen, some of the bacteria from the sh#t that unavoidably happens has an opportunity to get into your water supply.

Who should test for bacteria in drinking water?

In most cases people with city water do not need to test for bacteria in their water, but an occasional test just to make certain nothing has gone wrong with the pipes between the water treatment facility and their homes never hurts.

For people who private wells, the odds of bacteria infiltrating their wells go way, way up. Therefore experts suggest a regimen of periodic testing for coliform bacteria to anyone who owns a private well.

Trained water experts perform daily testing of city water but no one will test your well water if you don’t.

WaterSafe Bacteria Test Kit

As if the residents of New Orleans had not dealt with enough water-related issues in the past few years, health officials advised residents in the French Quarter and Lower 9th Ward areas to not use their water for any purpose without boiling it first.

Boiling the water will kill off any bacteria which may have grown in the lines of a water treatment facility where recent electrical and mechanical problems resulted in lower than acceptable pressure readings.

When pressure drops, water sits stagnant and as we all know, stagnant water can become a breeding ground for bacteria.

While testing has not detected any bacteria in the water, yet, health officials in New Orleans decided to err on the side of caution and issue a ‘boil water advisory’ to the affected areas rather than risk widespread illness if harmful bacteria did manage to get into the water supply.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The most widespread boil-water order since Hurricane Katrina has been issued for the east bank of New Orleans, affecting more than 300,000 people.

Robert Jackson, director of community and intergovernmental relations for the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans, told The Associated Press on Saturday that the order was issued after a mechanical and electrical failure at a water treatment plant caused pressure to drop.

He said the order is precautionary, but residents should be prepared to boil all water for cooking and other uses until at least Sunday night. He says no one has been sickened by the water, but officials are still testing the water to ensure no bacteria formed while the pressure was down.

…

The area includes the city’s French Quarter and Lower 9th Ward areas. ( source )

No matter where you live, and what type of water you have (i.e. tap water or well water), the threat of bacteriological contamination will always exist. More so for people who have well water due to the stringent testing requirements followed by public water treatment facilities, but still, since miles of piping exist between the water plant and most people’s faucets, the risk of accidental contamination does exist for folks on city/municipal water systems.

Easy ways to test for bacteria in drinking water?

No home drinking water test kit takes the place of testing performed by a certified water testing lab, but spot checking with home drinking water test kit allows homeowners to keep an eye on the quality of their water between lab tests… at an affordable cost.

Companies such as WaterSafe and SenSafe manufacture simple test kits for coliform bacteria in drinking water that pretty much anyone can use and get results they can trust.

Basically speaking, State and Federal governments require that notices go out to anyone possibly affected by compromised water quality standards. These notices typically advise people to boil their drinking (tap) water for at least one full minute before consuming it in any form. One minute of rolling boil should kill off any potentially harmful bacteria.

Affected water consumption uses include brushing of teeth, water used to prepare food, water used for drinking, water used to make ice, water used to clean surfaces where food gets prepared, water used for gargling, water used to clean one’s face, etc.

As a general rule, any water that could find its way into the mouth (directly or indirectly) should get boiled before use.

The agency issuing the ‘water boil order’ will perform routine testing on the affected water supply and notify people when a sufficient number of water tests show that no more harmful bacteria exist in the water.

One should always remember that no government body will provide notification that the water feeding a private wells contains harmful bacteria and that 100% of the responsibility for the purity and safety of well water rests with well owners. Therefore health officials suggest well owners test the levels of bacteria in their water periodically.

Save a few dollars on bacteria in water testing when you purchase WaterWorks Bacteria Check by the case at Filter Water.