Water Quality: What's in Your Drinking Water?

WATER QUALITY

Walk into the kitchen, turn on the faucet and fill up a glass of water. Go into any gas station or grocery store and in front of you may be 6-10 different brands of bottled water to choose from. Many of us can travel a few feet instead of miles to acquire water for cooking dinner or doing daily chores and personal hygiene.

These tasks in many of our daily lives are often viewed as mundane, routine, and sadly taken for granted. However, those across the world living in 2nd and 3rd world countries, the above scenarios are often scarce or even non-existent because there is no access to potable water. But before we go so quickly dismissing the notion that we in the United States or Western hemisphere are immune to poor water quality, let's take a closer look. We may very well have rational concerns right here at home. Closer than we thought.

Many factors go into measuring and analyzing the quality of our drinking water. Below are some of the key elements the Ohio Department of Health analyzes:

Turbidity- this is a measure of the cloudiness within a sample or specimen. This can range from benign particles of sediment, for example, to something more alarming as toxin-carrying bacteria or microorganisms. The standard for turbidity within public health is defined by the U.S. Environment Protection Agency. Two standards have been outlined: one for drinking water and one for public water. Drinking water is set a 1NTU (nephelolometric turbidity unit). While public water's turbidity standard must not exceed 0.3 NTU in 95% of the daily water samples taken within a month time period.

Looking further into our drinking water, some places in the world, and even in rural areas in CONUS, many individuals still acquire their drinking water from private wells. These mediums can pose other diseases and concerns from microorganisms.

Giardia- this is a diarrheal disease caused by a microscopic parasite. The parasite will reside within the intestines and the host will pass the parasite through the feces. Within the past 3 decades, Giardia has become profoundly common within the United States and can be found nationwide. The Giardia standard varies widely from state to state, as well as the federal government. The regulatory limit from the federal statute is that drinking water must achieve a 99.9% inactivation/removal of Giardia.

Cryptosporidium (Crypto)- this disease is profoundly similar to the above mentioned Giardia. Crypto is a diarrheal disease caused by a microscopic parasite. It is often transmitted through feces of an infected human or animal. Standards with Crypto are the same as Giardia (99.9% inactivation/removal) in drinking and private well water.

Radon- is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that can cause lung cancer, among other severe diseases. It is colorless, tasteless, and completely odorless. In contrast to the standards of turbidity, there is truly no safe levels of Radon. Radon, even in small amounts is a carcinogen, however there are recommendations from the federal government to help assist homeowners to reduce radon levels within their homes and communities.
The EPA has provided guidelines for radon levels, which is also known as an action level.

• 4 pCi/L= "action limit": fix your home and take action! (e.g., standard)
• 2 pCi/L= "consider taking action": consider fixing your home (e.g., standard)

One profound takeaway from the above bullets is this... Action Limit is NOT a Safety Limit! 

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COLIFORM BACTERIA 

In the environment, coliform bacteria are the collection of relatively harmless microorganisms that live in large number's in plants, soils, warm-blooded humans (intestines), and cold-blooded animals. There are 16 species found in the environment of total coliform bacteria. 

PREVENTION

• properly constructed well (underground drinking water) will have little to no contamination
• use portable or in-home water filters 
• use good hygiene and hygienic practices in public and around home to decrease risk of contamination

STANDARD

EPA mandates that no coliform bacteria be present in any public drinking water. It is recommended that low to no levels (i.e., zero is the standard) be found in private wells and underground water sources as well. Much like radon in relationship to there are no safe levels of coliform contamination in water. 

                             Glaciers and global icebergs are a large source of the earth's water.

HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM (HAB) CYANOTOXINS

HAB's are caused by cyanobacteria which are naturally found in Ohio lakes, ponds, and slow-moving streams. Most species of cyanobacteria are not harmful however some species can harmful algal blooms. Each state has various tests and processes for testing and prevention for standards. However, similar to radon and coliform, there is no safe level of HAB's in drinking water. Therefore, the optimal standard for HAB is zero.