Testing Water for Chemicals, Bacteria, Lead, Nitrate, Nitrite, PH, Iron and Turbidity
If your family gets drinking water from your own well, do you know if your water is safe to drink? What health risks could you and your family face?
Reasons to test your water and what water tests to order for various situations:
| Conditions or Nearby Activities: | Test for: |
| Recurring gastrointestinal illness | Coliform bacteria |
| Household plumbing contains lead | pH, lead, copper |
| Radon in indoor air or region is radon rich | Radon |
| Corrosion of pipes, plumbing | Corrosion, pH, lead |
| Nearby areas of intensive agriculture | Nitrate, pesticides, coliform bacteria |
| Coal or other mining operations nearby | Metals, pH, corrosion |
| Gas drilling operations nearby | Chloride, sodium, barium, strontium |
| Dump, junkyard, landfill, factory, gas station, or dry-cleaning operation nearby | Volatile organic compounds, total dissolved solids, pH, sulfate, chloride, metals |
| Odor of gasoline or fuel oil, and near gas station or buried fuel tanks | Volatile organic compounds |
| Objectionable taste or smell | Hydrogen sulfide, corrosion, metals |
| Stained plumbing fixtures, laundry | Iron, copper, manganese |
| Salty taste and seawater, or a heavily salted roadway nearby | Chloride, total dissolved solids, sodium |
| Scaly residues, soaps don’t lather | Hardness |
| Rapid wear of water treatment equipment | pH, corrosion |
| Water softener needed to treat hardness | Manganese, iron |
| Water appears cloudy, frothy, or colored | Color, detergents |
Source: EPA 816-K-02-003 January 2002