“I Think My Water Might be Contaminated…”

Our lab receives hundreds of calls every month from people all across Lake County. Many of these calls come from concerned individuals who want to know if their water is safe to drink.

The first Question we ask is “Why do you think your water is unsafe?”

Everyone has their own reason for concern: The water is discolored, it has a funny smell, or sometimes people can see some kind of sheen on the surface. Regardless of what the reason is, they all share the same desire: they just want to know if their water is safe to use, and can we test it for them to make sure that it is?

As much as it would be nice to place a sample in a device that scanned it, analyzed it, and gave us an answer about whether or not water is safe to drink, that just is not how water testing works. Water testing and analysis is complex, and there are dozens of tests, reaching into the thousands of dollars to complete.

And the simple and legal truth is, inspite of all of that testing and analysis, we still cannot tell you whether or not your water is safe to drink. The only person who can make that determination is: You. Our role in that determination is to give you as much information as we can to guide you in your judgement.

The second truth is: Most of that testing is really unnecessary.

How Can I Tell if My Water Is Safe To Drink?

The quickest and simplest way to tell, is whether or not you are on your own well, or a public water system. If your water comes from a utility provider of some sort, that provider is required by law to do all that expensive testing for you. You can see the results of that testing by reading the Community Confidence Report (CCR). As your provider for a copy, or you can find it on Oculus, DEP’s database of public water providers (PWS).

If you are connected to a PWS, chances are high that you water is fine, and any observation you are making about it (Color, odor, etc) are cosmetic or preferential in nature, and do not pose an impact on health.

If you have a private well, and you have concerns about your water, here are some quick steps you can take:

First, how long have you been living there and consuming the water? How much water do you estimate is used in your home on a daily basis, a little – shower and light cooking, or a lot – multiple showers, load of laundry, lots of drinking and cooking?

Second, when did the problem or concern arise? What were the conditions? What changed before/after?

Third, describe the aesthetic quality of the water, how does it look, taste, or smell? It’s common for water in older wells, with light use, to discolor as a result of iron from the well casing or pressure tank. Hydrogen sulfide is also a common natural occurrence that can cause an odor similar to that of rotten eggs.

Is your well located on or near old farm, ranch, or orchard land?

Has there been an unexplained illness?

After answering these questions, now its time to move to the next step: testing your water.

If you have a private well, you should get in the habit of testing your well water at least annually. It’s important to check that conditions have not changed.

If this is your first time, or you have a special concern, you can always use a clean plastic water bottle to bring in a sample to share with the lab staff to discuss the aesthetic conditions of the water. We can’t use this water for actual testing because we can’t certify that the sample container was sterile. However, we can provide you with sterile containers free of charge to collect and return your sample to the lab.

Or you can order a well sample kit, and we can ship the bottles to your address and save you a trip, but you will have to drive in to submit the samples to the lab for analysis.

Out of all the tests you can do for your well, there are three that are the most essential, and thankfully, the lowest cost.

The first test you need is a Total Coliform bacteria test. This detects the presence of potentially harmful bacteria in your water supply.

Second is Nitrate & Nitrite test. These are two tests, but they are processed from a single sample. Nitrates are a derivative of fertilizers, and elevated levels could be harmful to consume, especially to children.

Additional testing that we would recommend is: Lead, Iron, and Copper.

Once you are equipped with this information, you can have piece of mind that you are making a responsible and informed decision.