People who get their water supplies from public sources as opposed to privately owned wells or springs tend to take it for granted. After all, city water has to be safe, right?
Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Flint, Michigan is a case in point, and an excellent lesson in why public water system testing in Gainesville, VA is so important. Even more disturbing is the fact that right now, as you’re reading these words, there are more than a thousand communities all across America with public water supplies in even worse shape than Flint’s.
To make sure your family isn’t at risk, and to give yourself peace of mind, we recommend taking advantage of our public water system testing services in Gainesville, VA once a year. After all, a lot can happen in a year and the water table is ever-changing. Over time, threats can emerge that simply weren’t there before and testing is the only way to be sure.
In terms of detecting health threats, our public water system testing services in Gainesville, VA offers three different options. These are:
Total Coliform Bacteria – Coliform bacteria is one of the most common causes of gastrointestinal illnesses. If you, or members of your family are experiencing chronic diarrhea or stomach cramps, the water you’re drinking may well be the culprit. This test will either confirm that or rule it out.
This should be considered the standard water safety test. Note that if the sample you send us fails this test, then we will automatically test further, for the presence of E-Coli bacteria.
Lead – This was precisely the problem with Flint, Michigan’s water supply. In their case, the lead was introduced by automotive plants in the area, but many older homes in our area may have lead in their water leeching in from older pipes inside the home itself. This test will tell you exactly what the lead levels in your water are.
And Nitrates – If you live in an area where there’s lots of agricultural activity, you could easily have a high concentration of nitrates in the water you are drinking. The results of this test will tell you if the level of nitrates in your water is a problem.
Testing is important for reasons other than safety, however. Just because the water coming out of your tap is drinkable, that doesn’t mean it’s high quality and unfortunately, water companies are under no particular obligation to ensure that you’re drinking high-quality water.
There are plenty of things you can do to improve the quality of your water, but before you can do that, you have to know what’s degrading its quality in the first place. That’s why we offer half a dozen different tests on that front. If you’re interested in improving the quality of the water you and your family rely on, we can help with that. Give our office a call today.