Drinking Water Testing Is Becoming Increasing Important

By Minnie Whitley


The quality of water sources has continuously decreased over the last few years due to urbanization and industrialization. As a result drinking water testing should never be ignored. There are a lot of factors that affect the quality of H2O as it is transported from the sources. Some of them are ageing systems of supply, direct contamination at the source and nature of plumbing in our homes.

It is difficult to tell if H2O is safe for drinking or not. Factors that people are keen on in determining the quality of are obvious while others are not. Some of the things we check for are visible while others are invisible. Due to this it important that aquatic professionals in various areas be on watch. It can be hectic for the professionals to visit every homestead daily to determine the quality. However, occasionally they can give every home a free plumbing audit and H2O analysis.

It is a concern that some people claim to determine the quality of their drinking H2O. This involves mere observations and using senses which may not be reliable. This is because senses can only identify those impurities that are visible, those that have unappetizing taste and smelly. For instance the presence of sulfur or excess chlorine is determined by a pungent rotten smell.

Contaminated H2O causes various health symptoms. These effects range from slight to severe ones like diarrhea and cramps. The intensity of the health effects due to drinking H2O is determined by amount of harmful chemicals or contaminants present in the water, length of time they have been present, and the quantity of such water taken.

Testing is extremely vital especially in a household using well, springs and cisterns. There are several reasons why such households and others using private H2O should always carry out a test. Most importantly there is no government program or agency that is charged with the responsibility. Due to this H2O analyses is solely the duty of the parties concerned. Unlike public supplies that are analyzed by the government time to time private supplies are not.

It is sad to note that most private supply systems are never analyzed at all. Latest survey has indicated that more than half of the private supplies are not tested. People should be enlightened on the importance of testing and their impacts of taking contaminated H2O. In many countries the testing is economical and convenient. The governments of various countries have made the test services more convenient by establishing a variety of analysis laboratories throughout the country.

Another reason why people should be careful on testing is because most of the pollutants found in our systems may not have obvious symptoms. Some of the symptoms are not direct but have long time impact. Some of these tests help save our future generations. This is because information collected from the analyses is kept safely and used in future to determine the quality.

Looking at water and concluding it is safe for consumption is absolutely wrong and should be discouraged. Past tests and carrying out analyses are the only two reasons that should make one confident that water is safe for drinking. If one realizes that H2O has a strange smell, taste or color, they should keep off the source until a test is conducted.




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