Who tests drinking water?
Which facility tests the water that comes out of my faucet?
Answer:
There are several companies that perform water tests for a fee. Many of them will mail you a kit with instructions and vials that you can fill and return for testing.
As for the local water, your local water company is mandated to perform tests that meet national guidelines for water safety. Water quality changes by region.
One factor that can affect the content of water is the pipes in your house. Old houses usually have iron pipes that can leach trace metals into your water supply, but even newer copper plumbing can leach lead into your water supply because they are soldered with lead.
A reverse osmosis system can be installed that will help to remove most contaminants.
Lastly, if you suspect lead poisoning (or heavy ingestion) contact your Pediatrician. There are many tests that he/she can run to determine any problems.
Check your utilities bill.
Your local water supplier should be listed there.
Contact your city's water department; they should be able to point you to some labs that do water testing. It's possible they may do it for you, but you'll have to ask them about that part.
Good luck!
The water from your faucet is very good water. I drink it all the time and gave it to both my children. Check google for drinking water testing, I am sure something will pop up.
Bottle water is not tested and some is worst than tap water. But if you live in a very old house you could have some lead in your water from your own very old pipes. But not in modern houses.
You can call the companies that deliver bottled water to your house to come out they test it for free. But your best bet is never to drink sink water
The Safe Water Drinking Act of 1974 mandated uniform national safety and quality standards for drinking water.
The EPA adopted the lead/copper rule in 1991. This requires the drinking water in your community to be tested for both lead and copper. The number of sampling sites is based on number of connections or services. Any public water system exceeding the lead action level must deliver an EPA approved public education program to their customers within 60 days. These include bill stuffers,daily newspapers, and radio and TV public service announcements. The lead/copper test is done at consumers kitchen faucet on a random sampling basis.
In addition, the water provider must provide customers with a Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) that show the Maximuim Constituent Level (MCLs) and in what amount they exist in your drinking water for different organic, inorganic and radiological components. The sampling is to be representative of the community. It is done at random points in the water distribution system.
Your greatest source of information for this is your local water company. Many labs test water. Check with your county health department for state certified labs. Your water company does test the water every day for chlorine residual (disinfectant) and once a month for bacteriological concerns.
And yes, public drinking water in the US is the safest in world.
If you are on a community public water supply, you should be receiving an annual Consumer Confidence Report every July. This report is produced by your water system and provides you information on the quality of your drinking water. They are suppose to tell you where the water comes from, what treatment they provide, what contaminants they test for, what have been detected, what violations they have incurred, etc. It also will give you what health effect are possible for each detected contaminant. If you have not received one, you can contact your water system for a copy, or your state drinking water program.
If you want to have your water tested independently, there are certified labs that test the drinking water. You can contact your state drinking water program or your regional EPA office both should be able to provide you with a list of certified drinking water labs. However, please be aware, some of these tests can be expensive.
My suggestion is since most states have primacy over the drinking water program is to start there, and if they can not or will not help, than go to the EPA Office..
Your local water department can advise you or you can go to the people in the attached web site.
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