Drinking water: where it's from 2

Where our drinking water comes from cont.

The water may be tested for taste, odor, color and hardness (aesthetics) in your home by a water treatment seller. Once your water has been tested, you will be able to determine the proper treatment. It is important to become knowledgeable before you purchase a water treatment product.

The EPA must analyze the health and safety effects that the contaminant could cause in order to establish their standards for drinking water. After that is done, the EPA suggests maximum contaminant level goals (MCLGs). These are set at zero for contaminants that are considered human carcinogens. However, for the noncarcinogens, MCLGs merely set a margin of safety. Then the EPA suggests a maximum contaminant level (MCL) of the drinking water standard. (This is set as close to the MCLG as possible, because technological and economic concerns must be taken into consideration.) The EPA will pass final regulations after the public has had a change to comment on the review of the MCL and MCLG. Then the states have 18 months in which to implement the standards.

Utility companies are required by SDWA standards to carry out regular tests of public water supplies. These tests are done to make sure that the water treatment plants are operating correctly to deliver high quality drinking water nd make sure the water quality is in line with the MCLs.

If there are high levels of a contaminant that exceeds the standards of the state or EPA, the state may want a sample of the water to confirm the results of a problem. The states are responsible, under EPA guidelines, to enforce the federal drinking water standards. Although, there is not a particular check on how well these standards are enforced.

Another problem with contaminants is that the standards, which were implemented by the EPA fifteen years ago, are out of date. There are many new contaminants as a result of advanced industry that were never even known fifteen or more years ago. In addition, standards for what is considered healthy have changed since that time.

The remaining U.S. population, approximately 15 percent, utilizes drinking water from wells, cisterns and springs. Most of those households are situated in rural areas of the country. If you receive your water from a private well, you must be responsible for the safety of that water. The states regulate those wells on a very limited basis, and they are not subject to federal regulations. Even though the main responsibility is that of the well owner, local health departments may help well owners by testing the water for bacteria or nitrates. However, from time to time the well owner should be versed on the threats posed to the well and groundwater and the source of the threats. There are natural contaminants that may infest the well water, which include bacterial, viruses, uranium, radium, nitrate, arsenic, chromium and fluoride; all of which may cause a health risk when contained in drinking water. The contaminants are natural because they are found in rock formations. Of course, there are contaminants that are not natural but are due to agriculture, industry and human error. Harmful chemicals may be leaked into the well water as a result of leakage from waste disposal, from their treatment or storage locations, and also discharges from factories or sewage treatment plants. The agricultural contaminants may be a result of leaking from air or land applications of pesticides and fertilizers. Other contaminants may result from chemical spills, leakage from underground storage tanks, and improper dumping of household chemicals such as cleaning fluids, paint and motor oil. The well owner must sanitize and properly treat water from their wells in order to remove these contaminants.

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