Suburban Laboratories will be closed on Monday, 09/01/14, for the Labor Day holiday.
This includes both the Geneva and the Oakbrook Terrace locations.
No deliveries will be accepted by USPS, FedEx, UPS, or drop off on these days.
Do not ship samples on Friday, 08/29/14.
BOD samples will not be set up on the preceding Wednesday, 08/27/14.
Samples with short holding times should be pre-arranged with your Project Manager.
Suburban Laboratories will be exhibiting at the Midwest Water Analysts Meeting January 31, 2014 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. This is a very well attended conference for drinking water and waste water professionals. For more information, visit http://www.midwestwateranalysts.org/
Is Your Well Water Safe to Drink?
If you own a home or are planning to buy a home that gets its water supply from a private well, you may want to check on how safe that water is for drinking and cooking purposes. Unlike public water utility companies, the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, does not regulate wells, meaning the water coming from them can vary greatly, and, in some cases, may not be safe to drink. Well water comes up through the ground, and, for this reason, it can be chock-full of contaminants it picks up from the ground.
For example, if you live in or around an agricultural area, there may be nitrate, coliform bacteria or pesticides in your water. If the pipes are old, they may be made of lead and there could therefore be lead in the water. A drinking water testing lab can tell you whether or not these or other pollutants are in your well water. That same well water may be safe to use for toilets, bathing, or washing clothes, but you would not want to use it for cooking, drinking or washing dishes.
There may be other pollutants you are unaware of and you can contact the EPA to find out what you should be looking for in the area where you live. Then you can contact a lab that does drinking water testing and have them analyze a sample. Once you know what you are dealing with, you can determine if the well can be treated or if it needs to be replaced.
