If your home drinking water comes from your local water
authority,
you have assurance that it’s safe to drink. But what if it comes
from your own drilled or bored well? How do you know then if it’s
safe?
Having your water analyzed is as easy as visiting your county
Extension Service office.
Your county agent can provide you a water sample kit you can
mail to the University of Georgia’s water testing labs. Last year
the labs tested about 4,000 water samples from Georgia
homeowners.
"Using our basic water test, we analyze water samples
for pH, mineral content and hardness," said David Kissel,
head of the UGA Agricultural and Environmental Services
Laboratories.
"We can also test for levels of nitrate, chloride, sulfate,
phosphate and fluoride."
Once your water sample is tested, you get a report showing
results that are above EPA’s primary and secondary maximum
levels.
"If your water’s copper content exceeds 1.3 parts per
million, that would be above EPA’s maximum levels and a health
concern," Kissel said. "Secondary levels aren’t health
concerns but indicate the water contains minerals that are
staining
your sink or causing an odor or other nuisance."
The basic test costs only $10. Your county Extension Service
office can arrange it.
The lab can also do a separate $25 test that analyzes water
for bacterial content.
"When people think their water is contaminated by
bacteria,
they usually take a sample to their local health
department,"
said Paul Vendrell, the AESL program coordinator who manages the
bacterial testing.
"If you have a positive test from your health department
that routinely measures just the presence or absence of bacteria,
we can analyze your water further to tell you how high the
bacterial
counts are," Vendrell said. "It helps knowing the
bacteria
counts when trying to diagnose the source of
contamination."
Testing water from a bored well for bacteria is especially
important. "The samples we receive that test positive are
almost always from a bored well in the Piedmont region of the
state," he said. "These shallow wells are very
vulnerable
to contamination because the water is near the surface and
doesn’t
go through enough filtration."
Many people never make the connection between family illnesses
and contaminated water.
"People think they have a stomach virus and don’t think
about it coming from their well water," Vendrell he said.
"To be graphic about these bored wells, their well water
could be water from their neighbor’s septic system."
Vendrell said most of the bacterial tests his lab conducts
are done in connection with new home loans.
"If you drill or bore a new well or you’re selling a home
where a well is the primary water source, you’re required to have
your water tested for bacteria," he said. If your water
tests
positive for bacteria, the AESL recommends ways to disinfect it
and protect your well from future contamination.
Last month, the AESL introduced a new Georgia Expanded Water
Test.
"This test is a comprehensive package that includes the
basic test, the anions, soluble salts and alkalinity,"
Kissel
said. "With these tests we can calculate a saturation index,
which is used to determine if your water is either corrosive,
neutral or scaling."
Scaling water causes deposits in plumbing such as the buildup
of solids in your water heater, Kissel said. Corrosive water can
corrode your plumbing, adding toxic metals such as copper and
lead to your water. The $45 EWT package tests for copper but not
for lead. A separate $20 test could detect lead.
"Lead is rarely found except in older homes with lead
in the plumbing," Kissel said.
To learn more about any of these water tests, contact your
county Extension Service office. Or call the AESL at (706)
542-5350
or 542-7690.
