How Do I Know What’s in Arizona Water?
Do you rely on your local municipal water supply for your drinking water at home? If so, you might be curious about what exactly is in that water, considering it’s a major part of your everyday life.
In general, you can assume the water you get from your tap is safe, but that doesn’t mean it’s free from contaminants or extra unwanted minerals or substances. There are 316 different types of contaminants that have been found in drinking water across the country, and while you’re not going to find all of those contaminants in a single water source, it gives you a sense of just how much extra “stuff” can be in the water that flows through municipal systems. In addition, about 60 percent of those contaminants do not have any federal standards and thus are not regulated.
As we have increased our reliance on disinfectants, herbicides and pesticides, and as there have been growing levels of environmental pollution, this all increases the risk of contamination of drinking water. Fortunately, there are filtration methods you can employ to remove some of these chemicals and contaminants, which commonly include chloramines, chlorine, mercury, herbicides, pesticides and volatile organic compounds.
So how can you find out exactly what’s in your water, and how will this affect you choosing whole house filtration in Scottsdale, AZ? Here’s some information.
Try home water tests
You can purchase home water tests (or have them conducted by professionals) that make it easy for you to locate contaminants in your water. You can find these water tests at various home supply stores and online. The test involves water passing through a distribution channel, and will tell you which contaminants are present in the water. It will show E. coli, pesticides, lead, nitrates and nitrites, chlorine, pH and water hardness. While these tests won’t be 100 percent accurate in most cases, they can at least give you a starting point to determine what’s in your water.
Water quality reports
Cities should put out water quality reports each year, typically referred to as Consumer Confidence Reports. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires all water suppliers to issue this report to the general public each year. Get a hold of this report, and analyze its statistics about contaminants in the water. The report will tell you where the water comes from and any contaminants that may be present, which include any chemicals used by the treatment facility to disinfect the water. This information may be available online.
Lab tests
You can submit samples of your drinking water to an independent testing laboratory, which will give you by far the most accurate test results. This is a more expensive option, but if accuracy is important to you and you want to know the exact levels of substances in your water, this is the way to go.
For more information about the steps you can take to find out what’s in your water to help you move forward with whole house water filtration buying in Scottsdale, AZ, contact the experts at WES Water today.
Categorised in: Water Purification System