Today we stumbled across an article from a Chicago area paper talking about how a Federal Judge must decide whether or not a water company and also two of its employees should face charges for allegedly raising free chlorine levels intentionally right before taking readings and then allowing them to drop to potentially unsafe levels at other times throughout the day.

In the spirit of allowing both sides to present their case, we will post the entire article… which left us with more than one nagging question.

Our first question…

… deals with the frequency of testing: “Why did the plant only need to test in the mornings?”

Our second questions deals with the real results of the raising chlorine levels (supposedly) to pass inspection and then lowering them to potentially unsafe levels: “Did anyone get sick or suffer any form of harm as a result of these actions?”

Don’t get us wrong based upon that second question. We just want to know more about how these folks got caught. If someone got sick as a result of what the water company did, then this case would have ended in a guilty verdict without the need for the judge to deliberate longer… right?

Bitter truth about public water systems?

While few people would argue that the United States of America, when examined as a whole, has one of the most technologically advanced network of public water distribution systems in the world. This does not, however, mean that all of the systems do all of the testing they should at all the right times.

The article above, as well as articles we’ve read over the years about public officials and private firms fabricating water test results in an effort to save money, makes us leery of our great system… yet grateful as heck that for the most part our greatest fears about our public water supply deal mostly with ‘minor’ breaches in protocol rather than instances of blatant disregard for the maintaining of sanitary practices in our water treatment facilities.

Testing for chlorine in drinking water at home?

Do average people have the ability to keep tabs on the amount of chlorine in their drinking water? Absolutely! Companies like WaterSafe and SenSafe make reliable, accurate and completely affordable test kits for detecting levels of both free and total chlorine in tap/drinking water.

City Water Test Kit

Chlorine and Hardness Test Kit

Well Water Test Kit

]]> http://watertestingblog.com/2011/07/16/monkey-business-at-the-wastewater-treatment-plant/feed/ 0 http://watertestingblog.com/2010/11/18/should-you-test-your-water-if-you-have-citymunicipal-water/ http://watertestingblog.com/2010/11/18/should-you-test-your-water-if-you-have-citymunicipal-water/#respond Thu, 18 Nov 2010 13:03:46 +0000 http://watertestingblog.com/?p=3036 We get asked this a LOT. Quite a few people write in ask things like, “I have city water, but it tastes funny. Should we test it?” or “The water in my town tastes different on different days. Is that a problem?”

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.

eXact Chlorine Photometer
for Free & Total Chlorine

Even with all of the technological advances one would find in a water treatment facility these days the fact remains that even the best and most expensive chemical dispensing and chemical monitoring equipment must get calibrated at some point… and technicians use old school chemistry methods to do it.

It seems that test kits using liquid, powder and tablet reagents will most likely never get phased out no matter how advanced and technologically advanced the art of water purification gets.

Companies like Taylor Technologies really like the sound of that, too.

KETCHIKAN — Ketchikan officials hope to start operations at the city’s new water treatment plant within the next month.

Water Division Manager John Kleinegger said state environmental regulators have given the city permission to operate the plant for testing purposes to ensure computers are working correctly.

He said the new treatment program has not yet received the go-ahead from the state. ( source )

What does all of that mean for the folks in Ketchikan, Alaska? Simple. A series of tests performed using very strict protocols will take place before the new water treatment plant can begin processing water and distributing water to the public.

Does water testing stop once the plant goes online?

Absolutely not! State and Federal guidelines require plant operators to perform and document routine testing from the time the plant begins operations to the very last day it pumps out water to the public. To make sure that all required testing gets done, State, Federal and sometimes third party auditors will occasionally drop in to check the records of a water treatment facility. Any discrepancies or peculiar anomalies in a facility’s record keeping can jeopardize the facility’s ability to stay in business… and plant operators know this.

Therefore most take extra precautions to make sure all the t’s get crossed and i’s get dotted in their testing log books.

If all that testing gets done, why should I test my tap/city water?

As we have said many times before, your tap water may leave the water treatment plant wholesome and clean, but it has many miles of (often older) piping to get through before it gets to your faucet.

All that travel through piping (that may have gone into the ground 40 or 100 years ago) whose integrity you have no control over and no ability to monitor leaves plenty of opportunity for water to pick up dissolved metals or other common drinking water contaminants.

Best way to test drinking water?

Experts will disagree on the ‘best way’ to test your drinking water if you choose to do the testing yourself. Some will argue that water testing meters have the accuracy and reliability required for the task, others will say that traditional reagent-based test kits using time tested liquid, tablet and powder reagents provide the most reliable results, and a third group believes the convenience, portability, affordability, and simplicity of water test strips the most useful water testing option.

Experts will agree, though, that the best testing will get performed by an independent certified water testing laboratory such as National Testing Laboratories

• Cryptosporidium, a gastrointestinal parasite, contaminated the municipal drinking water of Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1993 and caused one hundred deaths. ( source )

• A deadly strain of e.coli bacteria found its way into the municipal water supply of Walkerton, Canada in 2000 causing hundreds of residents ill and eventually taking the lives of seven people. ( source )

It sounds shocking that such horrible water quality tragedies could happen in modern times given the frequency of municipal water testing, but two very important facts stand out if you take the time to think about the way in which municipal water systems operate:

1. Municipal water systems test for a set number of water quality parameters and sometimes rare, unusual, and often not-tested-for water vermin like Cryptosporidium can easily slip past even the most stringent water testing programs. Example: Milwaukee, WI in 1993.

2. Municipal water systems test water at the point of distribution, not use. This means the water leaves water treatment facilities fully tested and approved for consumption… but keep in mind that the water must travel through many miles of piping and plumbing with literally thousands of joints and welds where harmful contaminants could find their way into the water if only one of those places has cracked or otherwise become deficient.

So as you can see, even the best water treatment plants in the world with the best records for drinking water quality cannot issue a 100% guarantee that your tap water will contain no unwanted contaminants. Once water leaves their grounds its quality can change for innumerable reasons and in innumerable ways… so ultimate responsibility for making sure you have safe, clean tap water falls on… your shoulders.

Installing the correct point-of-use water filtration and/or purification system (i.e. countertop, undersink, whole house, shower, etc.) can negate pretty much all the possible risks associated with water contamination between the distribution point and your favorite glass.

Take the time to learn about the different point-of-use water treatment options you have available and, of course, don’t forget to test your drinking water periodically, even after installing a filtration/purification system, to make sure it continues to function properly!

Here’s the list of metropolitan areas, with the number of pharmaceuticals detected and some examples of specific drugs that were found, or where tests were negative, not conducted or awaiting results:

Albuquerque, N.M.: tests negative Arlington, Texas: 1 (unspecified pharmaceutical) Atlanta: 3 (acetaminophen, caffeine and cotinine) Austin, Texas: tests negative Baltimore: no testing Birmingham, Ala.: no testing Boston: no testing Charlotte, N.C.: no testing Chicago: no testing Cincinnati: 1 (caffeine) Cleveland: no testing Colorado Springs, Colo.: no testing Columbus, Ohio: 5 (azithromycin, roxithromycin, tylosin, virginiamycin and caffeine) Concord, Calif.: 2 (meprobamate and sulfamethoxazole) Dallas: results pending Denver: (unspecified antibiotics) Detroit: (unspecified drugs) El Paso, Texas: no testing Fairfax, Va.: no testing Fort Worth, Texas: no testing Fresno, Calif.: no testing

Honolulu: no testing Houston: no testing Indianapolis: 1 (caffeine) Jacksonville, Fla.: no testing Kansas City, Mo.: no testing Las Vegas: 3 (carbamazepine, meprobamate and phenytoin) Long Beach, Calif.: 2 (meprobamate and phenytoin) Los Angeles: 2 (meprobamate and phenytoin) Louisville, Ky.: 3 (caffeine, carbamazepine and phenytoin) Memphis, Tenn.: no testing Mesa, Ariz.: no testing Miami: no testing Milwaukee: 1 (cotinine) Minneapolis: 1 (caffeine) Nashville, Tenn.: no testing New Orleans: 3 (clofibric acid, estrone and naproxen) New York City: no testing Northern New Jersey: 7 (caffeine, carbamazepine, codeine, cotinine, dehydronifedipine, diphenhydramine and sulfathiazole) Oakland, Calif.: no testing Oklahoma City: no testing Omaha, Neb.: no testing

Orlando, Fla.: no testing Philadelphia: 56 (including amoxicillin, azithromycin, carbamazepine, diclofenac, prednisone and tetracycline) Phoenix: no testing Portland, Ore.: 4 (acetaminophen, caffeine, ibuprofen and sulfamethoxazole) Prince George’s and Montgomery counties, Md.: no testing Riverside County, Calif.: 2 (meprobamate and phenytoin) Sacramento, Calif.: no testing San Antonio: no testing San Diego: 3 (ibuprofen, meprobamate and phenytoin) San Francisco: 1 (estradiol) San Jose, Calif.: no testing Santa Clara, Calif.: no testing Seattle: no testing Southern California: 2 (meprobamate and phenytoin) Suffolk County, N.Y.: no testing Tucson, Ariz.: 3 (carbamazepine, dehydronifedipine and sulfamethoxazole) Tulsa, Okla.: no testing Virginia Beach, Va.: tests negative Washington, D.C.: 6 (carbamazepine, caffeine, ibuprofen, monensin, naproxen and sulfamethoxazole) Wichita, Kan.: no testing.

About the study:

At least one pharmaceutical was detected in tests of treated drinking water supplies for 24 major metropolitan areas, according to an Associated Press survey of 62 major water providers and data obtained from independent researchers.

Only 28 tested drinking water. Three of those said results were negative; Dallas says tests were conducted but results are not yet available. Thirty-four locations said no testing was conducted.

Test protocols varied widely. Some researchers looked only for one pharmaceutical or two; others looked for many.

Some water systems said tests had been negative, but the AP found independent research showing otherwise. Both prescription and non-prescription drugs were detected.

Because coffee and tobacco are so widely used, researchers say their byproducts are good indicators of the presence of pharmaceuticals. Thus, they routinely test for, and often find, both caffeine and nicotine’s metabolite cotinine more frequently than other drugs.

Source: The Associated Press ( our source )

So naturally the question many people may have at this time sounds a lot like, “OK, well can we test for these pharmaceuticals and other things ourselves?” Sadly, we report that we do not know of any at-home test kits for complex molecules such as pharmaceuticals.

You can, however, contact an independent water testing laboratory if you have concerns about the possibility of these items existing in your drinking water.

You can get the names and contact information for State Certified Laboratories in your area by calling 1-800-426-4791 or visiting http://www.epa.gov/safewater/labs/index.html.