image by: Rohit Choudhari For Unsplash+

HWN Suggests

Testing your tap water for contamination is way easier than you think

Do you trust that your drinking water is safe? Recent surveys suggest that nearly half of Americans are unsure. In the wake of environmental tragedies like the Flint water crisis, it's not shocking that many citizens feel this way. But while the technology exists to take testing into ones own hands, monitoring air and water quality is still generally considered the responsibility of a municipality, not an individual homeowner. That is, of course, as it should be. Still—if official promises of safety can't always be trusted, can at-home products make up for government shortcomings?

Testing your home for contaminants can seem daunting. Traditional water testing can be expensive, and…

read full article

Featured

  e-WaterTest

e-WaterTest.com's Priority Water Test Kit follows U.S. EPA-approved water testing methods. Eliminate any doubts about the quality of the water your family uses everyday...water testing puts you in control. Once you have the results of the water test, you are in a much better position to eliminate any and all contaminants found in your drinking water. Let e-WaterTest.com test your drinking water today.

  WaterCheck.com

How safe is your drinking water? The National Testing Laboratories, Ltd. Network will strive to supply our customers with information to allow them to make educated decisions to protect themselves and others around them.

  Tap Score

Get independent laboratory water testing for hundreds of contaminants from the comfort of home.

 The Best Water Quality Test Kit for Your Home

After 50 hours of reporting, and after testing 11 different home water quality test kits, we’ve found that the SimpleWater Tap Score Advanced City Water Test is the best water quality test kit for your home. It measures a wide range of more than 100 potential contaminants and delivers the results in an easy-to-read, richly detailed report.

Articles of Interest

How to test your tap water for lead

People don’t trust the water that comes out of their tap, and not just in places without adequate sanitation. A 2016 survey by The Meyocks Group, an Iowa-based marketing firm, found that 43 percent of Americans either believe their tap water is unsafe to drink or are unsure of its safety.

Rapid water quality tests better protect beachgoers

Beach water quality has an impact not only on the public, but on businesses dependent on beach visitation such as restaurants, shops, parking, rental vendors and snack bars. The use of the rapid testing approaches to ensure return to good water quality and reopening of a high-use beach with thousands of beachgoers each day can be a boon for beach economics, keeping restaurants and shops open and active. But most importantly, fast water quality results would reduce the number of illnesses associated with swimming at recreational beaches.

Testing The Waters

Megan Glover is the CEO and cofounder of 120WaterAudit, an industry-leading cloud-based water testing software platform born out of the Flint water crisis.

A Speedy Test For Norovirus Could Help Water Supplies Check For Contamination

Water utilities regularly check for contamination, but Reynolds says existing tests for norovirus take time and require sophisticated laboratory equipment. So when Tucson's water utility approached her for help improving on the status quo, Reynolds she thought she knew how to find a cheaper, and faster approach.

Drinking Water Not Tested For Tens Of Thousands Of Chemicals

Water companies don't regularly test for tens of thousands of other chemicals. This limitation of testing makes it essential that companies that spill chemicals tell utilities about all the chemicals that might have spilled, regulatory agencies and water companies say.

How Do I Know If My Tap Water Is Safe?

So how do these contaminants get in our water in the first place? And how can you, as an individual, know whether or not your tap water is safe for you and your family to drink?

New York Changes How It Tests for Lead in Schools’ Water, and Finds More Metal

Water absorbs lead when it sits stagnant in pipes for long periods of time. For that reason the E.P.A. recommends that schools testing for lead take samples after water has been sitting in pipes for at least eight hours.

Real-Time Wastewater Analysis Shows What Drugs Are Being Used Where

Drugs have been found in wastewater around the world.

Should You Be Worried About Whether Your Tap Water Is Safe?

Testing your own water supply isn’t easy. “You can check to see if the community has a history of health-related violations online,” Reckhow says. “Beyond that, it’s really tough.” Your utility company must provide an analysis of your water with your bill once a year. There are also tests you can use at home...

Waste water tests could monitor 2 billion people for the coronavirus

We don’t know exactly how many people have been infected with the coronavirus due to a lack of comprehensive testing, but we could begin monitoring about 2 billion people worldwide right now, simply by looking for the pathogen in waste water.

Wastewater testing gains traction as a Covid-19 early warning system

“Wastewater offers the opportunity to provide near real-time trend data to evaluate the impact of policymaking,” such as re-opening the economy, said Mariana Matus, CEO and co-founder of Boston-based Biobot Analytics. It can provide “early warning for second waves, and the opportunity to mass-test up to 75% of the U.S. population on a regular basis at a fraction of the cost of clinical testing.”

‘Forever Chemicals’ In Your Drinking Water, It Is Worse Than Previously Thought

Nothing lasts forever. Except for perhaps that drunk text that you sent and PFAS in your drinking water.

Resources

8 Best Water Testing Kits of 2020

Water testing kits are an easy way to gain valuable insight into the quality of the water you rely upon for drinking, cooking, bathing, laundry, and more. These kits generally use either test strips submerged into a water sample or drops that react with various contaminants if present. Other testing kits require you to mail a submission into a laboratory. While these tests are usually the most comprehensive, they're also the most expensive.

Wellowner.org

The National Ground Water Association (NGWA) recommends well owners test their water at least annually for bacteria, nitrates, and any contaminants of local concern.

120Water

120Water is a digital water solution that protects public health now and in the future. Our platform is a turnkey solution that makes drinking water and wastewater program management and compliance simple.