Drinking Water Testing Kits Corrosion Lead Copper Metals – My Drinking Water is it Safe?
Article for: private well owner, spring user, city water customer, regulated water supply, water utility customer, homeowner, landlord, tenant, drinking water
The Flint water crisis reportedly started in 2014 and ended in 2019, but in reality the “crisis” started prior to 2014 and probably has not ended. Why? The problem with corrosion within the water system and individual’s homes clearly started prior to 2014 and the customers and users within the system were not aware of the short-comings in their drinking water quality, the need for corrosion control, need to replace service laterals, plumbing within their homes, the need to be proactive in protecting your personal and families’ health, lack of public outreach and education, and not knowing the wrong signs of a corrosion problem The main purpose of this article is to help identify the warning signs of a potential corrosion problem with your drinking water. The signs of a corrosion problem come in many forms, but it is important for the user to take responsibility for keeping their eyes open. Corrosion of our drinking water supplies is a very common water quality and public health issue that is related to not only the raw water quality, level of pretreatment, status of the community distribution system, the internal plumbing for a building, the usage and management of water within the building, and the fixtures used within the system. This sounds overwhelming, but there are clear warning signs you may have a problems.
The most common signs of a problem with corrosion included the following:
- Blue-green or greenish water or even reddish brown or brown water that may be intermittent and worse in the hot water than the cold water.
- Staining of porcelain fixtures, such as sinks, drains, or tubs that appear green, blue-green, and reddish brown.
- Coatings on aeration devices that appears greenish-gray or bluish green and particles on the screen of the aerator that appear green, bluish-green, greenish-gray, reddish-brown, yellow-brown, or even bluish-gray.
- Discoloration of water piping near solder joints and/or pin-hole leaks in piping and the premature failure of water appliances and water heaters.
- Old piping in a home that may include lead pipes or piping that was installed using high lead solder, such as lead service lines and galvanized piping.
- The first flush of the water from the tap may have a bitter taste.
What is the age of your home, when was the house last remodeled, and the piping in your home?
YOUR household plumbing may be the cause for lead in your drinking water. In older homes, lead was used to make the piping and/or solder. In homes, built prior to 1930’s water pipes were primarily made from lead. These pipes can be identified because the piping tends to have a dull gray color, can be scratched with a key, and a magnet will not stick to the piping. In buildings built between the 1930’s and early 1980’s, copper pipes were often used, but the solder contained elevated levels of lead. The primary source of the lead includes the use of lead pipes, lead lined tanks, and use of 50/50 lead/tin solder. Because of the concern with lead, the EPA banned the use of high lead solders in 1986.
In the 1950’s and 1960’s galvanized water lines was utilized in new home construction. Currently, this type of piping is not widely used, but it is more commonly used with well water applications. This piping is steel piping that has a zinc coating to reduce the tendency for the piping to corrode. When this pipe corrodes, the pipe rust from the inside of the pipe and then works outward. When this occurs, the water may produce intermittent discolored water that tends to be brown, yellow, or reddish brown, and the piping will likely clog with rust and most likely collapse over time. This does not mean that a newer home is safe from lead contamination; in fact, the available data suggests that buildings less than 5 years old can have high levels of lead.
In fact, buildings built prior to 1986 likely contain some lead plumbing. Prior to 2014, the legal definition for “lead free” was plumbing fixtures with a lead content of less than 8 %. In 2014, the term was redefined to include only fixtures with a lead content of 0.25% and newly installed fixtures must use the “lead free” materials, but this did not apply to fixtures currently in use.
What You Can Do to Protect Yourself and Your Family?
After getting this information, you should do the following:
- Inspect your plumbing system for signs or evidence of a corrosion problem and low cost lead screening testing (water) or (paint,dust, soil).
- Take note of the visual and aesthetic signs of a corrosive water problem.
- Try our Free Drinking Water Diagnostic Tool.
- Order the Drinking Water Guide.
- Get Your Drinking Water Tested and the Results Reviewed by a Professional. At a minimum, we recommend the “Corrosion Check” Water Test Kit.
- Act to improve your drinking water quality by reporting problems to your local water authority for public water supplies or if your water comes from a private water source take the necessary action to reduce the risk to the health of yourself and your family and to reduce the potential costs associated with the premature failure and/or invalidating the warranty of water related appliances, water leaks and associated damage, and/or the additional operational costs associated with inefficiencies associated with clogged or corroded piping/equipment.
- Update fixtures and piping and consider the use of point-of-use filters or a whole-house water treatment system. Before installing a water treatment system, please get a comprehensive water quality test (City Water) or (Well Water).
Our Motto is ” Learn / Diagnose / Test “
Learn – learn about your source and system.
Diagnose – determine the warning signs or symptoms of a problem and get the water tested and problem diagnosed.
Test – implement an approach to mitigate the problem and test to make sure the problem is corrected.
Source: Oram, Brian; “Lead In Drinking Water – Is There Lead In My City Drinking Water ?”, Water Research Center / Know Your H20 Program, 2020.
Recommended Reading:
The Poisoned City: Flint’s Water
More on Lead
Podcast Pike County with Brian Oram Septic and Environmental Issues
On September 19, 2019, the Pike County Conservation District hosted a 2-hour informational work and training session. The topic – Properly Maintaining Your On-Lot Septic System. In January 2020, I visited with Pike County and did a podcast. When Pike County Informs Me – I will post a link to the Podcast here. In the interim, this was the information on the September Talk.
To help Pike County residents keep local lakes and ponds clean, the Pike County Conservation District is hosting a free three-part workshop series titled “How your Backyard Activities Affect your Lake.”This is the third workshop in the series. It will be held at the Dingman Township Fire Hall, 680 Log Tavern Road. Presenter Brian Oram, a Professional Geologist with Water Research Center and B.F. Environmental Consultants Inc., will discuss the basic functionality of an on-lot system and best practices to help prevent water pollution.
During the session – Mr. Brian Oram promised to post a few items:
- Here is a color copy of the presentation septicsystemspresentation92019. Please note copyright terms and conditions.
- Here is a copy of a document the presenter found available on the local agency website on septic systems.
- The Keystone Clean Water Team on-line store, get a copy of our educational booklet, order a neighborhood hazard report, mail order water testing program, at-home water screening and more.
- Keystone Clean Water Team new diagnostic tool and free phone app for drinking water issues. Go To – http://www.drinkingH20app.com
Other Training On Septic Systems (ONLINE)
1. EPA Onsite Wastewater Treatment: Systems Management
2. EPA Onsite Wastewater Treatment: Processes and Systems
Reading Recommendations
Wells and Septic Systems Paperback
The Septic System Owner’s Manual Paperback
audioEARTH, a podcast from the American Geosciences Institute – Greenhouse
audioEARTH, a podcast from the American Geosciences Institute
Listen now to Episode 6: “Greenhouse“
The word “greenhouse” brings to mind a few different ideas. Agriculture and growth, for starters. Protection from the cold, perhaps. Glass walls. Glass ceilings. Greenhouse also refers to a fundamental idea in climate science – the greenhouse effect. But did you know that the greenhouse effect was first discovered by a woman? In this episode we’re telling the story of this discovery by geoscientist Eunice Foote, and we’re talking with some of the people and organizations that are promoting women in the geosciences.
Guests are Mackenzie Cremeans, Ph.D. (Association of Women Geoscientists), Professor Collin Roesler, Ph.D. (Bowdoin College), and Heather Houlton (American Geosciences Institute).
This is the final episode of season 1! If you’ve enjoyed listening, please consider leaving a review on iTunes. It helps others find the show. Thanks!
audioEARTH connects Earth, science and people by sharing compelling audio stories about geoscience.
Suggested Reading:
President signs water infrastructure legislation advancing NGWA key policy priorities
President signs water infrastructure legislation advancing NGWA key policy priorities
President Donald J. Trump signed into law the America’s Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) on October 23, a re-authorization of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) combined with legislation building on the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Doing so provides support to several programs including flood control, water storage, and drinking water programs.
NGWA CEO Terry S. Morse, CIC, hailed the legislation’s passage, calling it “a validation of the collective efforts made by NGWA volunteers to promote the importance of investing in groundwater.”
AWIA was passed overwhelmingly by the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate in September. Typically, WRDA legislation has a narrow focus on navigation, dams, and levees, but after concerted efforts by NGWA and other organizations, the AWIA legislation includes a significant number of provisions affecting drinking water programs.
NGWA’s top priorities in AWIA:
- Drinking Water Infrastructure: Authorizes increased funding for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund. DWSRF funds can be used for a range of purposes including supporting construction, upgrading, and maintenance of rural infrastructure such as wells and well systems.
- $1.174 billion FY2019
- $1.3 billion FY2020
- $1.95 billion FY2021
- Groundwater Recharge: Re-authorization of the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFA) program for two years at $50 million per year, which finances large projects like managed aquifer recharge projects. The legislation also removes the “pilot” designation of the program.
- PFAS: Requires water systems serving more than 3,300 people to monitor for unregulated contaminants.
- Resilience Planning: Provides funds to water systems to develop resilience plans to address extreme weather.
Passage of AWIA highlights the effectiveness of NGWA advocacy as several provisions NGWA advocated for during the NGWA Groundwater Fly-In in 2016, 2017, and 2018 were signed into law on October 23.
For more NGWA Government Affairs information, including details of the 2019 NGWA Groundwater Fly-In, visit: https://www.ngwa.org/get-involved/advocacy.
Blog Post related to Social Justice, Climate, Water Infrastructure and the Water Professional.
Just a few points:
For Professionals and Planners
- Please remember we must work with the processes on Planet Earth and not against them and we need to ADAPT!
- We must start being honest, the biggest problem or concern is not carbon dioxide or methane emissions, but inefficiency, building in the wrong areas (like floodplains, unstable ground, and land that is actively sinking.)
- We must consider water as a resource in all its forms. So instead of stormwater, wastewater, drinking water, we have to consider this as a resource to reuse, promote groundwater recharge, and stop water mining and over allocations.
- Education – Continuing Education Courses and PDH Credits
For Public and Citizen Scientist
- We must remember that water is not the only path for contamination migration and many times we are are the last line of defense and it is our home environment and the consumer products and lifestyle that plays a major role.
- We recommend, the following:
- Get in indoor air quality checked – mold, radon, lead dust.
- Get your drinking water tested and please clean the screen on your sink faucets.
- Conservation Helps
- Get a Neighboorhood Hazard Reports.
- Get the Facts and Do not Push the fear!
Sustainable Infrastructure & Resilience Webinar Series
NCSE, Arizona State University School of Sustainability, and the Security and Sustainability Forum are hosting a series of webinars in a lead up to the NCSE 2019 Annual Conference. The first webinar focused on Actionable Science Solutions for Local Resilience. Speakers shared successful practices at the local science-policy intersect and explored the role of universities in local resilience. Learn more and watch the webinar recording.
National Pipeline Mapping System – National Gas and other Hazardous Liquids Pipeline
The U.S. Department of Transportation offers the public access to their National Pipeline Mapping System via a free online, interactive map and an iPhone app. It displays general information for pipelines carrying gas and hazardous liquids, liquefied natural gas plants, and breakout tanks within a county-wide zone.
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While the mapping system is not to be used as a precise identifier of pipelines in a location, the public can access general knowledge about potential sources of contamination in their area. By turning on the visual indicators for accidents and incidents in the area, it’s possible to judge remediation efforts based on past events. Watershed organizations can submit a data request report or find the companies that are operating pipelines in your area. The system is also a useful tool for community outreach and education efforts, whether you’re simply identifying topics for public forums and workshops or looking critically at local remediation efforts.
Featured Training Program
Susquehanna River Basin Commission – Water Withdraws – Fact Sheet Registration.
The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (Commission) is contacting you because you may have clients who are affected by a new program for registration of unapproved water withdrawals and consumptive water uses in the Basin. We are seeking your assistance to help ensure that facility managers are aware of and complete registration by the deadline of December 31, 2019.
An initial contact letter and registration factsheet (GFregistration-grandfathered-water-withdraws-factsheet) was sent to more than 1,300 facilities by direct mail this week. The targeted grandfathered facilities/sources are those where water withdrawals or consumptive uses equal or exceed the regulatory thresholds, but began operating before the applicable regulations became effective. These water withdrawals and uses are generally considered to be exempt from obtaining a Commission docket, provided there has been no environmental harm and no changes are made at the facility.
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The Commission has initiated the registration effort after reviewing the results of our Cumulative Water Use and Availability Study that highlighted major gaps in the data the Commission needs in order to effectively manage the water resources of the Basin. We estimated that there are possibly more than 700 older, unpermitted facilities with an estimated water use of nearly one billion gallons per day. If accurate, this volume of water use is roughly equal to the total amount currently accounted for, and managed, by the Commission across the entire Basin.
Informational webinars explaining the registration program will be conducted by Commission staff on November 14 and December 13, 2017. To register for a webinar, visit www.srbc.net/grandfathering-registration.
If you need additional information or assistance, visit the website or contact Commission staff at GFregistration@srbc.net.
Thank you,
Susquehanna River Basin Commission
President Trump’s Executive Order designed to change the ACA rules.
This was not added for political reasons but general information as it relates to general health and welfare. We have attempt to keep this site fact based and non-biased on many issues and apolitical. We work with a benefit coordinator in our area and this was the information we got from them.
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“On Oct. 12, 2017, President Trump signed an executive order affecting the ACA, following Congress’ failure to pass legislation repealing the law. Specifically, the executive order would make changes to certain ACA rules by expanding access to association health plans, health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) and short-term, limited-duration insurance.
The executive order does not, itself, make any specific changes to existing regulations. Instead, it directs federal agencies to issue new regulations or guidance to implement the order’s policies. As a result, it is difficult to know how any existing ACA regulations will be specifically impacted before any further guidance is issued.
In any case, the immediate impact of the executive order will likely be small, since it will take time to implement policies, regulations and other guidance to carry out these changes. Therefore, employers should continue to prepare for upcoming requirements and deadlines to ensure full compliance.
It is our goal to guide you through this ongoing change. If you have any questions regarding this topic, please contact Creative Benefits, Inc. at 610.325.0200.”
Kind Regards,
Your Creative Benefits Team
Creative Benefits, Inc.
3809 West Chester Pike, Suite 190
Newtown Square, PA 19073
610-325-0200
http://www.creativebenefitsinc.com
Please support this portal
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Ohio Waste Treatment Facilities Charged with Clean Water Act Violations
“The centralized waste treatment plant owned and operated by Patriot Water Treatment LLC and the city of Warren’s publicly-owned wastewater treatment plant in Trumbull County (Ohio) were sued by the FreshWater Accountability Project (www.FWAP.org) for significant and ongoing violations of the Clean Water Act. Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services (www.fairshake-els.org) brought the lawsuit on behalf of FreshWater Accountability Project through the Citizen Suit provision of the Clean Water Act that allows “any citizen” to “commence a civil action on his own behalf…against any person…who is alleged to be in violation of (A) an effluent standard or limitation under ⦋the Act⦌ or (B) an order issued by the Administrator or a State with respect to such a standard or limitation.”
It appears that the pretreatment standards may have not been meet and there is a question if the proper wastewater treatment assessments or wastewater characterization were conducted as part of an Industrial Pretreatment Permit. I am not sure if the issue of “were not carried out to protect public health and safety or the bio-accumulative impact ” is a real issue, because it would depend on the nature of the contaminant and potential to exposure. With respect to radiological parameters radon half life is about 3 days and most radium and uranium would likely be bound to sludge and solids, so monitoring of the waste sludge would be a big concern. No matter what – proper waste characterization and treatability studies should always be conducted.
Read more at http://fwap.org/ohio-waste-treatment-facilities-charged-with-clean-water-act-violations/
Lawyers – lawsuit can be accessed at http://fwap.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Time-Stamped-FWAP-v.-Patriot-Water-Treatment-et-al.-Complaint.pdf
Training
“Fracking” Environmental Consequences
Protecting People Against Terrorist Attacks: Chemical, Biological, and Radiological (CBR) Threat Protection
Ethical Decision Making Webcast
Training Professionals – Career Training
DEP Launches Electronic Informal File Review Request Form
The Department of Environmental Protection launched an electronic informal file review request form that provides a guide to DEP Regional Offices to promote a department-wide uniform standard process for receiving, processing and coordinating Informal File Reviews.
The form will assist department staff, preserve resources and remove ambiguity from the Informal File Review Process DEP makes a wealth of information available through its website including information about program areas, applicable laws and regulations, as well as, DEP policies and reports. Through the website’s eFACTS system, a variety of information about regulated facilities is available. If the information required is not available on the DEP website, you can request public information by scheduling an informal file review or requesting specific documentation under the Pennsylvania Right to Know Law (RTKL).
DEP recommends doing an informal review first; it is the easiest and quickest way for the public to access DEP records.
Records available under an informal file review include notifications, inspection reports, notices of violations, enforcement orders, applications, permit review letters, sample results, remediation plans, approvals, denials, pollution prevention plans and external correspondence. Internal email correspondence and records considered privileged (attorney-client, attorney work product or other privilege) or records otherwise considered confidential are not available under an informal file review.
Informal file reviews are scheduled between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Appointments are scheduled in half-day and full-day sessions. Hours can vary depending on office location.
For more information, visit DEP’s Informal File Review webpage. The form.
360training.com, learn2serve.com & OSHAcampus.com Black Friday & Cyber Week Deals
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