WATER TESTING AND INTERPRETATION

WHY TEST YOUR WATER?  25% of private water supplies have never been tested, another 20% have only been tested by a water treatment company!  Many contaminants have no obvious symptoms in water  Routine water testing gives you legal protection

Drinking Water Standards  “Acceptable” level of the pollutant in drinking water, enforced by DEP for public supplies  Specific to intended water use  Primary and Secondary Standards exist for drinking water  Limits set by the U.S. EPA, enforced by the PA DEP – on public water systems only!  Primary = health based (MCL) –Total coliform bacteria = absent (<1/100 mL) –E. coli bacteria = absent (<1/100 mL) –Barium = < 2.0 mg/L  Secondary = aesthetic (RMCL or SMCL) –Iron = 0.3 mg/L –pH = 6.5 to 8.5

Water Test Reports  “Parameter” or “Test” = what was tested  “Result” = the concentration in your water sample  “Unit(s)”  milligram per liter (mg/L) for most  pH unit  Specific conductance (uS/cm or umhos/cm)  Coliform bacteria = CFU/mL or colonies per 100 mL  E. coli = MPN per 100 mL or “present/absent”  Hardness = mg/L or gpg (gpg is about 17 mg/L)  Quantitation Limit = lowest level they can measure  Method, Analyst (or “By”), Date, Qualifiers are also included  A “<“ sign in front of a numbers means “less than” the level they could detect

UNITS OF MEASURE milligram per liter (mg/L) = parts per million (ppm) microgram per liter (µg/L) = parts per billion (ppb) Other Special Units Bacteria = colonies per 100 mL pH = pH units Hardness sometimes in grains per gallon Radon = pCi/L

How do I know what to test my water for?

 Coliform bacteria  $20-$30  Sample in different seasons from year to year General Recommendation Every Year

Coliform and E. coli Bacteria Coliform are “indicator organisms” that occur from surface runoff, insects, etc. May cause flu-like symptoms Both should be zero in drinking water Often related to construction of water well or spring Percent with Bacteria

Every 3 Years Add A Couple Tests 1.pH Secondary standard = 6.5 to Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Sum of all ions dissolved in water (iron+nitrate+ hardness + etc.) Both of these tests are good general tests, readily available and cheap Should not see big changes in pH or TDS over the years 3.Add a third test targeted at local land uses

TARGET TESTING AT LOCAL LAND USE Industry Organics, Petroleum Agriculture Bacteria, Nitrate, Pesticides Mining Metals, pH Landfills Organics, ? Roads Chloride, Sodium Houses Bacteria Nitrate Sediment Yard Chemicals Gas Drilling Barium, chloride, TDS

Example - Nitrates Originates from fertilizers or from animal or human wastes Highest levels in PA are found in southeastern and southcentral counties Reported as either NO 3 or NO 3 -N Primary drinking water standard is 10 mg/L as NO 3 -N or 45 mg/L as NO 3

Water Testing Near Gas Drilling Industry pre-drill testing - within 2,500 feet (many going further), cooperate, get identification of person collecting samples, must be done by a state accredited lab, free copy to homeowner, make sure to understand report Chain of custody or “third party” testing Critical for legal documentation of water (whether by industry or by homeowner) Timeframe for testing Pre-drilling - within months before drilling starts Post drilling – presumed responsibility only lasts for 12 months Continuous monitoring – simple meters

Testing Parameters Critical indicators Total dissolved solids, pH, barium, chloride, iron, manganese, methane gas Excellent additions Suspended sediment, hardness, sodium, total organic carbon, strontium, lead, arsenic, alkalinity, oil/grease, surfactants, coliform bacteria, sulfate, nitrate Expensive additions BTEX, volatile organic compounds (VOC), radium, radon, gross alpha CostProtection ~$200 Less $800+ More More Testing = More Protection

Use Symptoms to Target Testing White residue, water heater damage = hardness Mostly from calcium and magnesium No drinking water standard Soft = < 17 mg/L Moderately hard = mg/L Hard = mg/L Very hard = >120 mg/L Reddish stains, metallic taste = iron Common in sandstone, shale or near mining RMCL < 0.3 mg/L Black stains, metallic taste = manganese Often occurs with iron RMCL < 0.05 mg/L

Use Symptoms to Target Testing Rotten egg odor - hydrogen sulfide gas Very common in wells in certain shale formations No drinking water standard, nose is best testing method Slime residue, blocked water pipes, musty odor = iron bacteria Harmless bacteria that feed on iron No drinking water standard Blue stains, metallic taste - corrosive water Generally caused by low pH and soft water RMCL = non-corrosive May cause lead and/or copper if home has metal plumbing

What About Radon in Water? Naturally occurring radioactive gas released from water Most wells in PA have significant amounts of dissolved radon gas Proposed standard of 300 pCi/L (80% will fail this standard) But, it takes 10,000 pCi/L in water to get just 1 pCi/L in air So, best to test indoor air first, then test water if air concentration is high Can be easily removed with carbon filtration

Where to Get Your Water Tested Certified state accredited labs List from local DEP or Extension Penn State Extension County offices carry test kits Regional DEP office Generally only do bacteria testing Penn State Water Testing Lab

How Do You Take a Water Sample? Use a clean container from the certified laboratory Follow lab instructions carefully Be especially careful with bacteria sample collection Keep samples cool for delivery to lab

Chain of Custody Water Testing Lab employee or independent consultant visits the home to collect the sample Ensures proper sample collection and handling Provides legally valid results Slightly more expensive but critical if the objective is to legally document water quality Water test becomes legal document List of labs offering this service at

Water Test Reports Test reports are usually available within about two weeks Receipt of pre-drilling (industry) results may be longer Test report components (no two reports are the same!) Letter - description of sample handling, comments Water supply information (address, type, date, etc.) Parameters tested Units for each test parameter Results for each parameter Drinking water standards (if applicable) Methods (EPA methodology used for analyses) Quality Control and Assurance (results of QC analyses)

Common Water Test Report Comments and Qualifiers ND = not detected “<“ = below a detection level BD = below detection “MRL” or “DL” = maximum reporting or detection limit “Flags” = problems or comments about sample

A Penn State Water Test Report Simple User friendly Less information

Benchmark Analytics Inc. - Example Simple Result and unit combined Flags and comments interspersed MCL provided

TestAmerica More complex Flag = comment about analysis MRL = maximum reporting limit No comparison to standards