Safe Water for Napal

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My Rotary club in Westford MA is working with this group, Water Missions International (WMI), to build a water treatment system in a village in Honduras that will provide clean, safe drinking water to 1200 people. We chose to work with WMI for a couple of reasons: 1) the organization was founded by two Rotarians so they understand the and follow the key principle of “Service Above Self”, and 2) they have managed and worked on many, many projects around the world so they know how to manage a project and they understand how to manage complex logistics.

Right now they are jumping in to directly provide clean, safe drinking water to those in need in Nepal. We urge you to donate to support their efforts. Here’s the link to do that:

http://www.watermissions.org/nepal

“Water Missions International is currently responding to meet the urgent need for safe water in Nepal as a result of the massive earthquake and aftershocks impacting the region. More than 10,000 people have been injured and the death toll has risen above 5,000 as rescue teams are reaching isolated communities outside of the capital of Kathmandu. Over 1.4 million people suffer from inadequate food and water supplies, and the threat of cholera grows each day as a result of unsanitary living conditions.”

Even Your Pets Need Safe Drinking Water

Most of us really never think about the water we give to our dogs and cats. But, what you may not know is that your pets may be even more sensitive to the quality of their drinking water than you are. healthy water for dogs and cats

Our lab director and I were talking about this recently and it was an eye opener for me. He said that he’s had customers come to him over the years because their vets cannot pinpoint why their pet is not feeling well. As a near last resort, they ask the owners to have their drinking water get a comprehensive test. It’s amazing how often there is some parameter that is at a higher level than normal. Once the appropriate treatment is put into place, usually a water filter, their pet no longer has a problem.

I went searching for an article that talks about this important topic. I found on that focuses on why cats need the ‘right’ drinking water. If you have a pet, I encourage you to read this brief article. I think it will prompt you to have your drinking water tested for your pet’s sake–it may even be good for you.

Water Water Everywhere, but What’s a Cat to Drink?

Our Bang-for-the-Buck Essential Indicators Water Test is perfect for finding out just how safe your drinking water is for you and for you pet(s). You can learn more about it here.

Informational Clinic and Private Well Water Testing Offered in Smyth County, VA

Virginia Household Water Quality Program

I saw this article in SWVA.com today. Any well owner in the Smyth County should attend the free clinic being offered. We find that most well owners do not really understand how to properly maintain their wells, especially when it comes to the health and safety of the water that their family drinks and uses.

As part of these clinics, the county is offering water testing for 14 parameters at a cost of $60. We think that’s a pretty good deal.

But, if you want to have your well water tested for over 100 parameters, you may want to consider a test we offer that is targeted especially at well owners called the ‘Bang-for-the-Buck’ Essential Indicators Water Test. We test for 23 toxic metals, heavy metals & inorganic chemicals, 89 Volatile Organic Compounds. We include a self-test for the presence/absence of 8 pathogenic bacteria. This test is normally $149 but we are offering now for $129 (see below for a time-sensitive special discount coupon).

We want well owners to take control and manage the quality of their drinking water. We think testing your well water is the best first step. Once you get the results, you will then know if you need to take steps to correct any problems. For instance, if you see that you have an elevated level of pathogenic bacteria, you need to sanitize your well immediately. We have a product to help you there called the Well Water Wellness Kit. It contains everything you need to chlorinate your well including a link to a video that shows you step-by-step how to chlorinate your well the ‘right’ way.

We urge well owners in Smyth County to take advantage of the free clinic—this is important stuff. And have your well water tested either by the Virginia Tech lab or by a professional lab like ours. This is a ‘must’!

You can read more about our water test by going to this web site: www.dwspros.com/bfb  If you use this coupon code, smythspeical, you will save an additional 15% off the already special price. This discount is only available until May 31, 2015.

Read the original article from SWVA.com using this link: http://goo.gl/T1wLGV

Safe, Clean Drinking Water

Trying out a software tool for creating memes.

EPA Says Agriculture is Polluting 68% US Lakes, Reservoirs & Ponds

(AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

In this Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015 photo, Barb Kalbach stands near a hog confinement facility, near Orient, Iowa. Kalbach has fought for more than a decade against the construction of huge hog operations, and has joined Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, a nonprofit that?s against such enterprises because members believe they are ruining Iowa?s waterways. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

According the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, agriculture is the main culprit endangering about 68% of the country’s lakes, reservoirs and pond and more than half of its rivers and streams.

This is leading to lawsuits around the country against large-scale livestock farmers. Studies are showing high levels of bacteria, nitrate, and phosphorus from fertilizer and a build up of manure in water supplies. These contaminants can show up in well water in the affected areas at levels that may be harmful to humans and their pets. They also cause air pollution, and can lead to respiratory health problems.

Some farmers pump treated liquefied manure and urine into large sprinkler systems which fling it into their fields as fertilizer. You can imagine the smell drifting into the air and out to their neighbors!

If I lived in one of these affected areas and had a well for my drinking water, I’d be testing that water at least annually and I’d be sanitizing my well on the same schedule.

You can read the article written by David Pitt of the Associated Press where I read about this by going here: http://goo.gl/wFkKmY

To learn more about water testing and sanitizing your well go here: Drinking Water Specialists

State agencies to pay for Vienna residents’ water testing after oil spill

I’ve begun to explore

State agencies to pay for Vienna residents’ water testing after oil spill.

21 News Now, More Local News for Youngstown, Ohio –

If you live in Vienna Township, Ohio and believe your well water may be affected by the recent oil spill near Vienna and Mosquito Lake, make sure you contact the Ohio EPA about having them pay to have your well water tested. While they believe that the spill did not reach the aquifer, every well owner in the area should have their well water tested.

If the Ohio EPA turns down your request to pay for you to have your water tested, there is a cost-effective alternative. This test includes, among other things, dangerous contaminants that can affect your health in both near and long term.

This is a mail-order service from a professional laboratory located in New Jersey that uses EPA testing methods to test drinking water from wells, as well as from municipal water companies. The test, called the ‘Bang-for-the-Buck’ Essential Indicators Water Test, covers over 100 contaminants. The only contaminants that the well owner tests for are pathogenic bacteria—you can read ‘why’ here: Why test pathogenic bacteria yourself. All of the other contaminants are tested by lab professionals.

You can learn more about the ‘Bang-for-the-Buck’ Essential Indicators Water Test at their web site: DrinkingWaterSpecialists.com/bfb

To read the entire news article about the Vienna Township oil spill go to the wfmj.com web site.

Methane in drinking water unrelated to fracking, study suggests

.  Fracking Well

…and the controversy continues

Here’s a study, using data supplied by Chesapeake Energy Corp. which has large oil and gas stakes in Pennsylvania, that refutes the notion about the level of methane in well water is caused by hydraulic fracturing:

Fracking doesn’t appear to be allowing methane to seriously contaminate drinking water in Pennsylvania, a new study finds—contrary to some earlier, much publicized research that suggested a stronger link. But the lead authors of the two bodies of research are sparring over the validity of the new results.

The new study of 11,309 drinking water wells in northeastern Pennsylvania concludes that background levels of methane in the water are unrelated to the location of hundreds of oil and gas wells that tap hydraulically fractured, or fracked, rock formations. The finding suggests that fracking operations are not significantly contributing to the leakage of methane from deep rock formations, where oil and gas are extracted, up to the shallower aquifers where well water is drawn.

The result also calls into question prominent studies in 2011 and 2013 that did find a correlation in a nearby part of Pennsylvania. There, wells closer to fracking sites had higher levels of methane. Those studies, however, were based on just 60 and 141 domestic well samples, respectively.”

You can read the rest of the article at: http://goo.gl/GIRhyz

EPA releases first part of fracking study, an analysis of chemical disclosure

Hydraulic Fracking WellThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is starting to release its long-awaiting study on the impact of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water. The complete report is expected to be released later this spring.

The study ran from January, 2011 to February, 2013

The first part of the report that has been released says that less than 1% of the fluid used in the fracking operation contained additives in their analysis of 39,000 wells. 

The report stated, “The agency identified 692 separate frack water ingredients. Maximum concentrations of these chemicals were usually below 2 percent of the total mass, while half of the chemicals were below 0.3 percent of mass. The chemicals that were found to be the most present in the wells were hydrochloric acid, methanol, and hydro-treated light petroleum distillates. Hydrochloric acid is used to keep the well casings free of mineral build-ups, while methanol is used to increase viscosity. Petroleum distillates are refined products like diesel, kerosene, or fuel oil, and are used to make the fluid “slick,” or soapy, and thereby reduce friction.”

The full EPA report will address the questions regarding the toxicity of the chemicals that were found in the water.

Once again, the release of this information about fracking points to the need for well owners to take some matters into their own hands if they want to be sure they and their family are drinking safe, clean well water. 

We urge well owners living near a fracking well operation to test their well water and use it as a ‘baseline test’. Then, on at least an annually basis, they should have their well water tested to see if any contaminants are beginning to show up. If they are found, the well owner should observe their level of concentration over time to see if it growing. This information enables the well owner to put the right filtration treatment in place to make their water safe and clean.

Learn more about well water testing at Drinking Water Specialists

You can read the original article about this report here.

McHenry County Department of Health offers reduced fee water testing in April

Testing Well Water

We think it’s terrific when a local health department takes the initiative to make it easy for well owners in their jurisdiction to have their water tested for key contaminants. 

I ran across this news article from a county northwest of Chicago, McHenry County, that is offering well owners a water test for coliform bacteria and nitrate for only $18. Since these are the dangerous to humans and pets, all well owners in the county should take advantage of this offer. All you need to do is pick up the sterile vials, fill them with your unfiltered well water and drop them off for testing. 

We hope more and more health departments start doing this. I can’t tell you how many well owners we talk with who have never—as in ‘never’—had their well water tested. I guess they figure if they are still alive, and the water tastes and looks fine, and they have no problems.

We know that’s not necessarily true. About 25 to 30% of the well water we test has an unhealthy level of pathogenic bacteria. That’s a very high percentage. These are hidden contaminants because you cannot see them, smell them or taste them. In addition to coliform bacteria, there are also other ‘hidden’ bacteria such as H. pylori that can cause peptic ulcer disease, or giardia lamblia that can cause serious illness with symptoms such as stomach pains, diarrhea, and dehydration.

These ‘hidden’ bacteria are not easy, or inexpensive to test for. That’s why they are not normally included in standard tests. 

Treating for all bacteria including coliform and the ‘hidden’ bacteria is not hard. In fact, we put together a kit that you can use to sanitize your well. As long as you can remove the cap to your wellhead and can run water from hose connected to an outside faucet, you can easily do this. Not only did we make it affordable, but you will do a better job than the average ‘expert’.

Bottom line: have your well water tested at least once a year and sanitize your well annually.

We’ve made a video you can view for free that explains, in terms the well owner can understand, more about wells and how to treat them: The Why and How Behind Chlorination

You can read the article about the well water testing available for McHenry County IL well owners McHenry County IL Well Water Testing.