With news events like the lead-contaminated drinking water in Flint, Mich., natural disasters such as hurricanes temporarily harming water supplies and general reports of water-quality issues, consumers may be more interested in testing the water in their homes.
A recent survey by water-filtration company Bluewater showed 56 percent of Americans worry that their drinking water contains toxins, with one-third concerned about lead and toxic metals.
Marc Edwards, professor of civil engineering at Virginia Tech, and one of the scientists who uncovered the lead-poisoned water in Flint, said consumers’ concerns are legitimate.
“Even if 95 percent of the waters out there are safe to drink and are meeting federal law, the fact that 5, 10 percent are not, is enough to justify fear,” Edwards said.
Tom Round, vice president of business development at Silver Lake Research Corporation, which produces the WaterSafe Test Kits (starting at $19.95 www.watersafetestkits.com)
“We really got to the inflection point after the Flint crisis,” Round said.
Although water experts say the U.S. has some of the best water supplies in the world, aging municipal infrastructure and other potential environmental issues mean people shouldn’t take their water safety for granted, said Birnur K. Aral, the health, beauty and environmental sciences director at the Good Housekeeping Institute.
Although municipalities test water at the source, it can be contaminated along the way after it’s sent out, Round said. For homes built before 1990, the plumbing may have lead connectors from municipal water mains, which is where problems arise for homeowners.
Do the kits detect water quality issues? Overall, yes.
The Good Housekeeping Institute worked with the Water Quality Lab at the University of Nebraska to measure the accuracy of commonly available water kits. Aral said the kit that came out tops in their tests was PurTest Home Water Analysis Kit ($36.60, www.grainger.com)
Other review websites like The Spruce also cite kits from WaterSafe, First Alert ($15.95 www.firstalertstore.com) and Baldwin Meadows ($22.99 www.baldwin-meadows.com)
Before buying a kit, Aral said, homeowners in major cities should ask their water departments for the annual consumer confidence reports. These give a general overview of water quality and the regulated contaminants the municipality detected in the treated water, and the level of contamination for the preceding calendar year. Some city water departments offer free or subsidized kits, Edwards said.
The majority of the at-home test kits use quick-read chemical strips to detect major hazards including lead, some chemicals, some pesticides and bacteria. Most of these give indications on a pass/fail scale rather than explain how much of a certain substance may be in the water, Aral said.
“If you’re just really worried about lead and you just want to get a quick read without waiting to send something to a lab, this is a good start,” she said.
Consumers can also buy mail-in test kits, such as ones from 120WaterAudit ($54, www.120waterdaudit.com), which has a basic lead testing kit, or Drinking Water Specialists ($129 www.drinkingwaterspecialists.com)
Both Edwards and Aral say if the tests come back positive, it’s a sign the water contains that particular substance. From there, consumers can go the Environmental Protection Agency’s website to find accredited labs for greater water testing if they choose, Aral said.
When consumers use these kits, they should consider them snapshots in time, because what’s in the water can change. The EPA recommends that people test municipal water annually. Round and Aral said people who have well water should test more often because it is at higher risk for bacteria contamination.
When it comes to lead, Edwards said the kits do a good job of measuring dissolved solids, which is akin to measuring how sugar is dissolved in water. They have a harder time if small chunks of solder, pipe or rust break off in the water.
Consumers who find problems with drinking water have several options that don’t include ripping out old pipes. While every case is different, fixing problems can be as simple as buying NSF-approved water filters. Edwards said filters that are certified to stop lead “absolutely do work.”
Other steps may include getting a water delivery service, Aral said.
Water-testing kits have their place as consumers seek to understand the quality of their water, Edwards said.
“As long as there are lead pipes in front of houses, there are no guarantees about water safety unless you use a lead filter that removes the lead when it comes off,” he said.
