Max Contaminant Level – Water Testing Blog & Water Test Kit Store http://watertestingblog.com "It's your water, your health.. and ultimately your LIFE!" Thu, 30 Dec 2021 07:33:30 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.7.5 Secondary Drinking Water Standards http://watertestingblog.com/2008/07/22/secondary-drinking-water-standards/ http://watertestingblog.com/2008/07/22/secondary-drinking-water-standards/#respond Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:34:48 +0000 http://watertestingblog.com/2008/07/22/secondary-drinking-water-standards/ Consumers often ask the question, “OK, so my water is safe to drink according to my local Water Authority and a recent certified laboratory test, but why does it taste funny, smell bad and/or appear so cloudy?”

The answer to that question lies in something called Secondary Drinking Water Standards. The United States Environmental Protection Agency makes suggestions as to limitations for water parameters that do not necessarily pose health risks to humans, but can affect drinking water’s aesthetic properties (i.e. color, taste, odor, etc.).

Contaminant Secondary MCL Noticeable Effects above the Secondary MCL
Aluminum 0.05 to 0.2 mg/L* colored water
Chloride 250 mg/L salty taste
Color 15 color units visible tint
Copper 1.0 mg/L metallic taste; blue-green staining
Corrosivity Non-corrosive metallic taste; corroded pipes/ fixtures staining
Fluoride 2.0 mg/L tooth discoloration
Foaming agents 0.5 mg/L frothy, cloudy; bitter taste; odor
Iron 0.3 mg/L rusty color; sediment; metallic taste; reddish or orange staining
Manganese 0.05 mg/L black to brown color; black staining; bitter metallic taste
Odor (i.e. Hydrogen Sulfide or Tannins) 3 TON (threshold odor number) “rotten-egg”, musty or chemical smell
pH 6.5 – 8.5 low pH: bitter metallic taste; corrosion
high pH: slippery feel; soda taste; deposits
Silver 0.1 mg/L skin discoloration; graying of the white part of the eye
Sulfate 250 mg/L salty taste
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) 500 mg/L hardness; deposits; colored water; staining; salty taste
Zinc 5 mg/L metallic taste
* mg/L is milligrams of substance per liter of water

If you need to test for any of the above items, we currently carry testing products for a number of them in the Water Test Kit Store (Shop.WaterTestingBlog.Com).

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Free Chlorine Water Check Test Strips

Free Chlorine Water Test

The USEPA has set the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for free chlorine in potable water at 4.0 ppm.

This means water dispensed by a water stystem must contain less than 4.0 ppm free chlorine… or the system is in violation of Federal Law and subject to geting fined and/or shut down by the USEPA if their free chlorine readings continue to exceed Federal Guidelines.

How do they test for free chlorine residual?

As a general rule, most water treatment facilities use a method called “DPD Testing” to determine the free chlorine concentration in the water they distribute. Click here for more information on DPD Testing.

As of Spring 2007, though, the USEPA began allowing states to approve the use of an alternate, yet equal, faster method called SenSafe(tm) Free Chlorine Water Check. This method does not use liquids, tablets, powders or even meters, yet provides accurate free chlorine readings down to as low as 0.05 ppm. Click here for more information on SenSafe(tm) Free Chlorine Water Check.

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