water quality testing

Is Your Water Up to Snuff?

Does your drinking water taste good, or does it have a funny taste? Taste really isn’t an indicator of whether or not your drinking water is pure or safe to drink. Public water utility companies are required to comply with standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), but even keeping pollutants within acceptable ranges doesn’t mean the water will taste the way you would like. Conversely, if your water comes from a well, there could be a host of things wrong with it, and you might be completely unaware. In any of these cases, the results you may get from a water testing lab could be very eye-opening.

Samples are submitted and tests are run for a number of pollutants. The mineral content is also checked. When the tests are completed, a report is sent detailing the findings. If your water passes the bar, it is up to you and your taste buds as to whether or not you want to continue to drink it.

If the sample does not meet your expectations, you can contact your water utility company with the water testing lab results and ask what they can do about it. You can also look into having your own filtration system installed in your home, if you obtain your water from a well. Another option is to have drinking water brought to your home from an outside source.

Having your water tested is always a good idea, because at least you can make an informed decision on how to proceed. If you are dissatisfied with the smell or taste of your water, talk to your water utility company to see what options you have.

Is Nearby Industry Contaminating Your Water Supply?

Most people do not think anything about their water unless they turn the faucet and nothing comes out. Residents who live near the Athabasca River recently found out that taking such things for granted may not be in your best interest, and that doing so can impact more than just your morning coffee.

When the Obed Mountains Mine contaminated the Athabasca River with shale, sediment, and other particles, it didn’t just impact people who wanted to use the water from their sink for drinking and cooking. It also impacted how farmers dealt with their livestock. Of course, even with a minimal knowledge of history, you know how serious getting livestock to water can be, as well as the literal wars it can start. But how much do you think about your own drinking water, much less the water that your animals drink?

With industries growing at such a fast pace, and the cost of proper waste water disposal being something they want to avoid, it is always a good idea to have your own drinking water tested. Water test laboratories make it very easy to send a sample in of your own water supply, but water test laboratories don’t just test the water. They can also test your soil and other elements of your environment, so that you know exactly what you are putting into your body. The question boils down to two things: how much do you trust the industries around you, and how much do you trust the people who are supposed to monitor them?

Many people do not bother doing much to winterize their lawn other than one final mowing and sprinkling some fertilizer. It seems as if springtime is when people feel that caring for the lawn is important but there are many tasks you can take care of in the fall that will help your lawn and/or garden look much better next growing season.

After you have cut the grass, spend a little time looking at the bare or thin patches of your lawn. While fertilizer may be the answer, you can find out what the problem is by having soil testing done on samples from those areas. There is a good chance that the patches may be over-fertilized and that the soil is, in fact, killing the grass. You may also have drainage issues or sediment that is causing the roots to not form well. Soil testing is one important part of any sort of growing you plan to do. Find out what the issues are with your soil, this fall, and you can remedy the problem so that you can have a beautiful lawn next year.

Protect your grass and enrich the soil by chopping up fallen leaves with a lawnmower, and allowing them to provide mulch for the lawn through the winter. This is much easier than raking pile after pile and disposing of them. No one expects your lawn to look good through the cold season, but if you want it to burst forth lush and green next spring, take a bit of time this fall to winterize it.

How You Can Help Protect Public Water Supplies

While natural pollutants and contaminants can creep into the public drinking water supply, from time to time, there are other harmful materials that humans introduce to local water sources. In order to help keep your public water source cleaner, there are several steps you can take. You may also want to have environmental testing done on your drinking water, to see exactly what pollutants may be in the potable water supply.

Properly disposing of cleaning chemicals and solutions can help to preserve the environment and keep your drinking water clean. Pouring them down your sink drain or in your yard can contaminate the water supply. Likewise, you should not flush any medications down the toilet, as this can have serious implications for your drinking water.

Clean up after your pet. Not only does this keep the neighborhood more appealing and clean, but it can also keep the water supply safe, as well. Many bacteria and parasites are found in waste solids, which seep into the ground water over time. By properly disposing of this matter, your ground water and well water will stay safe.

Never pour anything down storm drains, as those chemicals flow straight into the drinking water supply. You may want to ask your local municipality to put signs up informing the community of this, which can help create a better understanding of how actions directly affect public health.

Environmental testing can reveal all of the harmful chemicals that might be in your water supply, and can give you a better understanding of just how important it is to treat the environment with respect. Everything that you put into your lawn, drains, and sewers can directly affect your access to clean and safe water.

Have you noticed your family having health issues that seem to be somewhat similar and all around the same time? Many people attribute things like this to a virus or a “bug,” and actually bug may be more accurate than they think. Bacteria in drinking water can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and other symptoms of illness that people never stop to think could be caused by the water they are drinking. There are also other items that can cause your drinking water to make you sick, including minerals and naturally occurring ores that are not good for your body.

Even if you do not get your drinking water from a well on your property it could still have sediment, bacteria and other harmful ingredients. Municipal water sources are not infallible, and any time there is a disruption between the water plant and your home, such as a water main break, an earthquake or flooding in the area, the contaminated water could make its way to your home. The same is true on a much more likely level if you have a water well on your property.

Water quality testing and reports are usually made available by municipal water plants, and people who have their own water wells are usually diligent about having drinking water testing. But it’s important to remember that water can change overnight: all it takes is one small organism to get into your water supply to make your family sick. Keep an eye on the water in your home, and if you notice any different odors or coloring of the water, call someone to have your water tested, right away.

So many of us simply turn on the tap or twist off the top of bottled water and take a big drink. We brush our teeth, wash our bodies and let our children drink water without a second thought. But when you stop to think about water and what it goes through to get to your sink or your water bottle, you may consider the many additional things that could be in your water. Because there are regulations for municipal and commercial water sources, filtering, additives and testing, you can generally rest easy and know that your water is clean and good for drinking.

Water testing labs process samples of water for counties and municipalities, as well as bottled water processing companies and individuals who have water wells on their property. Water quality testing ensures that the water that people drink is free of bacteria and contaminants, and that high levels of water additives, such as chlorine or fluoride, are adjusted. Without water testing, you would have no idea what is in your water — and it could make you very ill.

Water quality testing is what makes it possible for us to drink the water from our taps, or swig from bottled water without fear of getting sick or ingesting any bad things such as viruses or bacteria. Thanks to these tests, it is easy to have peace of mind and use or drink your water without a second thought. If you have well water, it is important to make sure that you get your water tested to make sure it is safe for your family’s use.

There are many reasons why you might want to have your water tested. Maybe your city uses additives; maybe someone in the family has an allergy to some particles in your water. But when it comes to having a well for your household water supply it is always important to perform water quality testing to make sure it is safe to drink. Water quality testing is also helpful for deciding what kind of filters you need for your well system and inside your home for drinking water.

If your well has hard water with a lot of lime and minerals it can have an effect on the types of hair and skin care products you use. The same is true for what is known as “soft” water which does not have a lot of minerals and may need additives. All of these things can impact the safety of your drinking water and drinking water testing should be performed at a minimum of every 6 months. The idea of fresh clean water from the ground is great, but with all the pollution and standing water there is always a chance that your well water is not as safe as it should be.