Importance Of Water Testing Equipment In A Soil Test Practice

Standards That Purified Water Users May Need To Think About

There are no agreed definitions of the purity levels of “Purified Water” or “Ultrapure Water” but standards or guidelines which directly specify limits on impurity levels in purified water for specified types of application have been produced for many years. Some are general in nature but others relate to the concerns of particular industries, notably pharmaceutical and electronics. After some general comments, current standards are outlined.

I have been a member of committees that developed two such guidelines and users of these documents should not underestimate the lengthy discussions and debates that are involved. The issues that need to be considered include the implications of any changes to current standards, as these are often specified in analytical or other methodologies, practical application, unambiguity and robustness to remain relevant as laboratory practises evolve, as well as accuracy and acceptability.  The result of such constraints and the time and effort involved is that standards evolve carefully and cautiously! No-one wants to rewrite them more often than needed.

For these reasons, most of the standards have not been revised for a number of years. This does not mean, necessarily, that they are, in any way, out of date. The standards are revisited periodically and, if there are sufficient reasons, they will be updated. However, sometimes inertia sets in and a standard that is clearly behind the times cannot generate enough support to be changed. A clear example is the ISO standard “Water for Laboratory Use”  which was last updated in 1995 and uses analytical parameters from that era.

In addition to specifying purity limits for standards, all these documents contain extensive advice on how to produce, store and use purified water successfully. They also define starting water purity and the combination of treatment processes needed to achieve the required purity. Many indicate the purity of water needed for various types of application. They, therefore, are worth reading. They contain a lot of expertise!

Purified Water Standards For The Pharmaceutical Industry

The pharmacopoeia specify a number of different grades of water for bulk use in various pharmaceutical applications. The same grades are often specified for laboratory testing. The most commonly used are Purified Water (PW) and Water for Injection (WFI). Neither is as pure in terms of resistivity or TOC as CLRW or ASTM type I. WFI includes tighter bacterial and endotoxin specifications.

 

Healthy Beaches Program

follow the CDC guidance by limiting their gathering to no more than 10 persons and distancing themselves from other parties by 6 feet. Local authorities have been given discretion by the Governor to make decisions about whether public beaches should be closed.

This decision is made in an attempt to reduce the spread of the virus into new communities and to slow the spread of infection in communities already affected by the virus. Before you drive there, we suggest you visit the city or county webpage to see if they have closed their marine beach(es) for the next several weeks.

In addition, sampling under the new program include fecal coliform as well as enterococci bacteria. The rationale for selecting these two bacteria for analysis and implications of the sampling results are described below.

Changes to funding levels in 2011 resulted in a return to bi-weekly sampling, the elimination of all fecal coliform sampling, and a reduction of the number of sample locations. Since enterococcus bacteria are indicators of the same types of pollution as fecal coliform bacteria

Health Implications

Enterococci are enteric bacteria that normally inhabit the intestinal tract of humans and animals. The presence of enteric bacteria can be an indication of fecal pollution, which may come from stormwater runoff, pets and wildlife, and human sewage. If they are present in high concentrations in recreational waters and are ingested while swimming or enter the skin through a cut or sore, they may cause human disease, infections or rashes.

 

Three ways to test pH levels in water

Water, being a liquid and a solution (i.e., when it’s not 100% pure H20) has certain chemical properties because of its makeup. All solutions are acidic, basic, or neutral, and this is determined by the pH (power of Hydrogen) scale, with values ranging from 0 to 14. Essentially, this is a measure of how many hydrogen ions are present or hydroxide ions are present.

Acidic solutions are found on the lower end of the spectrum (such as citric acid, at 2.2 pH) and can have millions of times more hydrogen ions than basic solutions. Basic solutions are found on the higher end of the spectrum (such as bleaches and oven cleaners, at 13.5 pH) and can have millions of times more hydrogen ions than acidic solutions.

A pH measurement of 7 is considered neutral. Water, in its purest form, has a PH level of exactly 7, and this provides the foundation for measuring pH levels. It is relatively easy to test the pH level of water and here are three ways to do that.

USING A PH METER

According to thehomedweller, firstly, consult with the manufacturer’s instructions and specifications to calibrate the probe and meter. One way to do this would be to test the probe by dipping it in a substance with a pH level that you are already aware of. It may be an idea to carry out the calibration exercise several hours prior to using it, if you are using the probe in the field rather than a lab. Clean the probe before using it by rinsing it with clean water and wiping the water off with a clean tissue.

USING PH PAPERS

Firstly, fill up a clean container with test water. You will need to make sure that the water level is deep enough to cover the pH testing strip. Secondly, dip one of the test strips into the container of water for a few seconds. The testing strip will change color momentarily. Once the strip has changed color, you will then be able to find out the pH level.

 

Lead & Drinking Water

Water produced at the City’s drinking water treatment plants does not contain lead. Lead can be found in:

water service pipes in homes built before the mid-1950s

solder used to join pipes together before 1990

leaded-brass fixtures, such as faucets and valves

As these items corrode and breakdown, lead can enter drinking water. Apartment and other buildings with more than six units do not have lead pipes, regardless of age. Lead is too soft to handle the pressure needed for these types of buildings. Lead can affect how the brain and nervous system grows

those most at risk include:

pregnant women

infants (in particular those who are fed formula made from tap water)

children under the age of six

Public Health strongly recommends replacing your side of the lead service pipe at the same time that the City is replacing its side. Cutting the pipe to replace just one portion can cause particles of lead to enter drinking water, which can lead to a temporary spike in lead levels.

The water service pipe delivers water into a building. This pipe is divided into two parts.

  1. The part that the City owns runs from the watermain on the street up to the property line.
  2. The part from the property line into the home is private property and the responsibility of the homeowner.

Lead pipes affect residential homes

 

Accredited Standards of Minimum Requirements

The American Water Works Association first published consensus documents in 1908. Today there are more than 180 AWWA Standards. From source to storage, from treatment to distribution, AWWA standards cover all areas of water treatment and supply.

These documents reflect the state of the industry. As new technologies emerge, new Standards develop. These AWWA standards address all facets of water treatment and delivery.

From the initial standards covering pipes, water meters and steel water storage tanks, AWWA volunteers have guided the expansion of the standards program. The Council has grown from five to 24 members, with nearly 1,600 volunteer subject matter experts serving on 72 Committees. There are 189 current AWWA Standards, and Standards Committees have produced 16 of AWWA’s Manuals of Practice.

The Importance Of A Water Testing

Water analysis

Drinking water

The water quality report shows typical values for a selection of characteristics from the last quarter. These values are a range of all results from the 10th to the 90th percentile unless stated otherwise.

Appliances

When installing new appliances like dishwashers, steam ovens and coffee machines, you may need to know the hardness, pH, or other information about your water. Depending on where your appliance was made, you may need this information in different formats to help your appliances work efficiently. We’ve provided the information in the most common units of measure.

Education

If you’re a student looking for information for research or an assignment, our Education pages may help. Read below to find out more about how we manage the water supply.

Water management

We supply you with high quality, safe drinking water managed under our drinking water management system. This means our drinking water

Quarterly Drinking Water Quality Report

To read our quarterly report, simply enter your address so we can show the results for your area.

 

Bacterial Safety of Well Water

Well Management Program

It is not practical to test water for every disease-causing microorganism, but it is easy to test for a group of indicator bacteria called total coliform bacteria. These bacteria are good indicators of sanitary protection of the well and water system because they are everywhere on the surface of the ground, but do not usually occur past a few feet into the soil. If they show up in a water test, they can indicate that surface contamination has gotten into the water and that disease-causing microorganisms may be present. Just as disinfection kills most disease-causing microorganisms, it also kills coliform bacteria

Health Risks

While most coliform bacteria do not cause disease, their presence suggests there may be disease-causing microorganisms in your water. These microorganisms can cause diarrheas, dysenteries, salmonellosis, hepatitis, and guardians. Symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, cramps, nausea, headaches, fever, fatigue, and even death sometimes. Infants, children, elderly people, and people with weakened immune systems are more likely to get sick or die from disease-causing microorganisms in drinking water.

Test for Coliform Bacteria Every Year

MDH recommends you use an accredited laboratory to test your water. Contact an accredited laboratory to get sample containers and instructions, or ask your county environmental or public health services if they provide well testing services

Prevent Bacterial Contamination

You can do the following to help maintain this natural protection:

Make sure your well is located and constructed properly. Work with a licensed well contractor to do this.

Inspect your well regularly and repair any damage. Things to look for are:

Damage: Any cracks or holes in well casing, corrosion, loose wires, or soil settling?

Well cap: Is it securely attached to the well casing? Is it broken or missing?

Connections: Are the electrical conduit and other connections watertight?

Mark your well with flags or posts to avoid hitting it with vehicles.

Keep the well area clear of debris.

Maintain minimum isolation distances from contamination sources, such as fertilizers, pesticides, septic systems, and feedlots (see Protecting Your Well for guidance).

Do not tie animals to your well.

Have a licensed well contractor seal wells that you no longer use. A well that you no longer use can be a pathway for contaminants to get into groundwater and is a safety hazard.

 

Testing Your Water

Contaminated wells

Contaminants could show up in your drinking water, potentially putting your family’s health at risk. Because you may not taste, smell, or see many types of contaminants, the state Department of Health (DOH) believes regular water testing is very important.

Well water testing

If you own a private well, you are responsible for testing your own water. In most counties when you buy or sell a home with a private well, the county health or planning department, or the lending institution involved, may require the seller to provide water-sampling results to show the water is safe to drink. Contact your local county health or planning department for information on the requirements and the testing needed.

DOH recommends that private well owners test their drinking water every year for coliform bacteria and nitrate. These two contaminants rapidly could affect a person’s health—possibly even with just one drink of water. If your nitrate level is 5 milligrams per liter (mg/L) or higher, you may want to re-test in six months

General Sampling Procedure

The provisions of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act requires public water supplies to collect microbiological and chemical samples at various frequencies. This sample collection frequency is determined by each source’s water quality history compliance with previous monitoring requirements, and waiver status.

To assist water systems on when to sample and what types of samples to collect, the Office of Drinking water sends out an annual Water Quality Monitoring Reports to Group A systems

 

Drinking water quality

Supplying high quality drinking water at all times is a priority to us. Sometimes things can go wrong, so we’ve provided some information to help if your water doesn’t seem right.

Over the course of a year some 300,000 water tests are taken and analysed, and of the water we supply, 99.96% meet drinking water quality standards at customer taps.

Your water can also be affected by work or incidents in your area. You can check for planned or emergency works near you with our In Your Area service below

Discoloured water is usually caused by the disturbance of deposits in the water pipes. The disturbance of deposits can happen when a water main is shut off due to essential maintenance or in an emergency.

Discoloured water is unlikely to be harmful to health but we wouldn’t expect anyone to drink it when it looks unpleasant. It usually clears fairly quickly after a few minutes of flushing your taps through but it may take around 45 minutes of running the tap before it clears.

 

Ways to Find Out If Your Drinking Water Is Safe

The news is full of dire warnings about pollutants, toxins, bacteria, and other worrisome extras turning up in drinking water. But how do you find out if the water coming out of your kitchen tap is safe? It’s not as hard as you might think—there’s a surprising amount of information out there, if you know where to look for it.

Check With Your Water Company

You know that bill you pay every month, or every quarter, for your drinking water? It’s the first stepping-stone on your search. Every year, your water agency is required by the United States Environmental Protection Agency to supply you with a Consumer Confidence Report, which is an annual water quality report that details any and all contaminants that may be present in your water and alerts you to the health risks they pose.

Search the Environmental Working Group’s National Drinking Water Database

This watchdog agency maintains a handy-dandy (and easier to use) database of water quality reports, searchable by zip code and by water company.

At first glance, the results can be scary. That’s because the EWG highlights chemicals that are found to be above what it terms the “health limit” in addition to those that exceed the legal limit for safe water. The EWG’s data also includes many chemicals that aren’t regulated—meaning chemicals for which the EPA has not set legal limits. For these chemicals, it uses zero as the baseline, so water that contains any amount of the chemicals is flagged.

Use the EPA’s Drinking Water Watch Program

Eighteen states participate in the EPA’s Drinking Water Watch program, which links to a searchable database of detailed information on water quality violations, reported health hazards, and actions taken by the state to enforce water quality or clean up pollution.

Tips To Make A Water Testing In Your Home

Why a Water Test Kit Can Make a Difference

What is a home water test kit?

Home water test kits come in a variety of methods, styles, and shapes. They include simple test strips that you dunk in the water and swirl around for a few seconds and then compare the test strip colors to the colors on the side of the bottle. Test kits also include chemical titration tests that work for hardness and iron, a photometer, or a TDS electronic handheld meter that test for total dissolved solids (TDS) and pH or ORP (oxidation reduction potential).

 

Typical low-tech, portable, field test methods for chemical water quality monitoring fall into three categories:

  • Test strips – These are small, single-use strips that change color to indicate the concentration of a specific chemical. Depending on the particular test, the user “activates” the paper or plastic strip by dipping it into the water sample and swishing it around, or by holding the strip in a stream of water. After waiting for a short time, the user compares the test strip color with a color chart to read the concentration of the chemical. These kits are extremely simple, but they are less accurate than other methods, especially if users don’t follow the instructions.
  • Color disk kits – Color disk test kits are available for a wide range of chemical tests.  In a typical set-up, the user adds a powder packet or a few drops of a liquid reagent to a water sample in a reusable plastic tube.  The user then places the sample tube in a small plastic viewing box.  This viewing box contains a plastic disk with a color gradient printed on it.  The user rotates the color disk to find the part that best matches the color of the sample, and then reads the concentration of the chemical from the disk.  Color disk kits typically have multiple steps and often include prescribed wait times, so they’re a little more complicated and costly, but generally more accurate.
  • Hand-held digital instruments – Lightweight and portable digital meters, colorimeters, and photometers are available for water testing.  They provide the most accurate results of these three testing methods, but they are also more expensive and delicate than the previous options.  These instruments require batteries and calibration.  While digital instruments are helpful to field technicians and are an essential part of any continuous or remote monitoring network, they are unlikely to be suitable for “citizen science” or crowdsourced water quality testing.

 

What is the best way to test water quality for your purpose?

  1. Biological Indicators

Biological monitoring metrics is the simplest and least expensive method. It involves monitoring the presence and abundance of members of bio-indicators common to the area, eg:

  • Insectssuch as the mayfly, stone-fly and caddisfly. Generally, the greater the number found, the better the water quality. Organisations in the United States, such as EPA offer guidance on developing a monitoring program and identifying members of these and other aquatic insect orders.
  • Bivalve molluscsare largely used as bio-indicators to monitor the health of aquatic environments in both fresh water and the marine environments. A typical project is the Mussel Watch Programme, but today they are used worldwide.
  • Benthic macro-invertebrates (such as the aquatic earthworm) is a bio-monitoring tool that is used by the Southern African Scoring System (SASS) system to measure river health. miniSASS is a simpler scoring system that can be used by anyone, even school children.
  1. Test Strips

Test strips for various water quality parameters are available, such as pH, chlorine, etc. Here you dip a little paper strip with graduated colours into your water sample and match it with a colour on a printed list, to determine the level of the parameter.

Test strips are inexpensive, quick and easy to use, but offer the least accuracy and precision, due to printing variations, poor resolution and the variability of the human eye.

  1. Titration / Drop Test Kits

This simple method uses visual titration. A chemical (reagent) is added to a water sample and the concentration is then determined by counting the number of reagent drops or tablets required to induce a colour change.

It offers higher accuracy than test strips, but involves some technical ability, because careful counting, basic calculations and and the ability of the human eye will be required. It is a rapid, economical test for all chemical parameters, such as pH.

The exception to the rapidity of the testing are microbiological tests, such as those for coliform / e.coli. These require incubation for 12 – 48 hours.

  1. ATP / Luminescence Tests

A luminometer and a consumable testing device can be used to instantly measure the presence or absence of bacterial contamination in water. It is ideal for quick screening, but more in-depth and time consuming testing will need to be undertaken if more detail is required.

  1. Electro-Chemical Testers

These testers comprise of a pen-type, hand-held or bench-top meter and an electrode. They are very useful for in-the-field / in-situ testing and are usually rugged and waterproof. However, the electrode needs to be carefully maintained and will need to be replaced every few months to few years, depending on circumstances.

Only a few key parameters can be measured in this way, such as pH, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen, total dissolved solids and salt. The many other water quality parameters will need to be measured using another method

  1. Colorimetric / Comparator Test Kits

Colorimeters or comparators have been widely used by companies for well over 100 years, to measure the quality of water. A reagent is added to a known sample of water. The intensity of colour is then compared with coloured plastic or glass filters, in order to see the concentration of chemical present in the water (eg. Chlorine).

  1. Photometric Test Kits

The most popular option today is the modern electronic photometer. This is the easiest and most accurate way to test water, if you are performing frequent water testing, or require precise results.

  1. Spectrophotometers

For specialised water testing that requires many parameters to be tested with the highest precision levels, a spectrophotometer is the ultimate instrument.

This instrument features a dual beam optical system, one of which is reference beam, for above average accuracy. UV light and / or visible light can be used. Further functions can include measurement of transmission and absorbance, scanning of spectra and kinetics analysis.

 

Five Sources Of Error In Water Testing…And What To Do About Them

  1. The sampling location

Take a sample of water that is representative of the whole pool or spa—not from the surface, which is subject to special conditions, and not in the immediate vicinity of a return line for the same reason. For pools, sample midway between the shallow and deep ends. Use a clean plastic bottle. Insert it bottomside up so the trapped air keeps out the water momentarily, and then turn it rightside up when you get to elbow depth and let it fill.

  1. The operator

It may seem obvious, but experience shows people still need to be reminded to read the testing instructions completely before beginning to test. You should do this:  A) whenever you buy a replacement test kit or bottle of strips, just in case the manufacturer has changed something in the procedure, and B) whenever you buy a brand for the first time because manufacturers’ products all are a little different, including our test strips. You should continue to read over the instructions before starting the tests until you are completely familiar with each step.

  1. The lighting

Doing color-matching tests in artificial light, or with your sunglasses on, is a no-no. You can buy an inexpensive, portable daylight simulator, like photographers use, if you must read colorimetric tests indoors. Some countertop testing stations have these daylight lamps already built in.

Use your meter’s light shield to prevent stray light from interfering with test results.

  1. The water chemistry

If you’ve just treated the water, wait to retest until the proper amount of time has elapsed (as specified by the treatment chemical manufacturer, typically at least one turnover (typically 6‒8 hours).

There also could be interferences in the water that cause the wrong color to develop, or no color to develop—for example, a high level of sanitizer, the presence of a monopersulfate-based oxidizer, or metal such as copper from an algaecide or iron from your fill water. The best testing products tell you what to do in these cases. Call for technical support when in doubt.

  1. The testing tool

Buy equipment from a reputable manufacturer. With that caveat, these other sources of error are easily remedied.

Most test methods are limited by an operational range. Testing a parameter outside of the range specified by the manufacturer means the results cannot be interpreted correctly. For instance, chlorine over ≈10 parts per million (ppm) and bromine over ≈20 ppm may partially or completely bleach out the pink color of a conventional DPD color-matching sanitizer test. In this instance, one can dilute the sample and retest to obtain an approximate sanitizer value. But dilution is not always the answer. For example, a high level of either chlorine or bromine can also cause the pH test and the total alkalinity test in both liquid kits and test strips to give false readings. Here, one must wait until the sanitizer level returns to normal to retest. Another example is phenol red. Whether used as a liquid reagent or on a test strip, this indicator only works between pH 6.4 and 8.4. If the pH of a sample is beyond this range, use another test method (e.g., an electronic meter or another indicator that will test as high, or as low, as needed), or retest, this time adding 1 drop Thiosulfate N/1 (R-0007) to the sample first if using a 2000 Series™ comparator or a sureCHECK™ test kit comparator.

 

Verdict: Which is the Best Water Test Kit?

Home water test kits have their limitations, and they’ll never be as accurate as tests performed in professional labs.

But, they can be helpful as a first step toward diagnosing problems with your drinking water.

If there’s any indication that your water is not safe, you should always follow up with a professional test.

Sure, you can buy more expensive home test kits that will test for a greater variety of contaminants. But, they’re still going to be much more prone to human error than testing done in a lab.

And, if you’re going to spend $100+ on a home test, why not just have a professional do it instead? You could probably get testing done by your state health department for less than the cost of one of the fancy home test kits for sale online.

So now that we’ve taken a closer look at these test kits and tried them out, the question is which one is the best?

In terms of overall accuracy, I’d say it’s a toss up between First Alert and Watersafe.

If you have well water, I’d recommend the Watersafe Well Water Test Kit because it tests for iron and copper in addition to the other basics.

But if you’re on city water, you could go with the First Alert Water Test Kit.