Water Filtration

Private water supplies are not regulated by the EPA, although some states and municipalities have standards that apply to these wells. If you have a private well, you are responsible for testing your water to make sure it is safe. This is especially important in areas where homes and nearby businesses are on septic systems. Since many contaminants are colorless and odorless, testing is the only way to determine whether your well water is safe to drink. The EPA drinking water standards and health information are good guidelines for you in protecting your own drinking water.

Wells should be tested annually for nitrate and coliform bacteria to detect contamination problems early. Test more frequently and for more potential contaminants, such as radon, pesticides or industrial chemicals if you suspect a problem. Contact your state laboratory certification office for a listing of certified drinking water laboratories in your state. In addition, you can help protect your water supply by carefully managing activities near the water source. The organization, Farm*A*Syst/ Home*A*Syst, (608) 262-0024, provides fact sheets and worksheets to help farmers and rural residents assess pollution risks and develop management plans geared towards their circumstances.

The Safe Drinking Water Hotline, (800) 426-4791, can provide you with the phone numbers for these organizations.

Once you have compiled all the available information on your well water, the next step will be to install the appropriate water filtration system or water purifier that will do the best job of providing you with clean healthy drinking water. Considering the wide range of contaminants found in many U.S. wells, a reverse osmosis water treatment unit is probably going to be your best bet. Simply type “reverse osmosis” into any search engine and you will have more than enough products to review. After that, the brand, price and size should be the only things left to consider.

You must be logged in to post a comment.