5 Important Reasons for Drinking Water Testing in Chicagoland
In this article, you will learn:
Well water requires regular testing because its contents change frequently.
City water needs testing because contamination persists despite the city’s efforts.
Drinking water testing can save you money and protect your health.
Angel Water takes care of water testing for you and explains the results to you.
Why is Drinking Water Testing Essential? Find Out Here!
When was the last time you tested your drinking water? If it’s been over a year, then you’re overdue! After all, a lot can change in a year, especially when it comes to the contents of your water.
We cannot overstate the importance of getting your water tested regularly. Whether you have city water or well water, drinking water testing is essential for protecting your health and wellbeing. It’s the only way to know for sure that you’re not drinking any potentially harmful contaminants.
If you need more convincing, you’ve come to the right place! We’ve compiled a list of five good reasons to get your water tested at least once a year. We hope these reasons convince you to take this important step for your health and family.
1. Well Water Needs Frequent Supervision
If you live in a home with well water, you should know the EPA recommends that you test your water regularly. But you probably didn’t know that, did you? No worries if you didn’t!
The reason you probably weren’t aware is that no one was making you get your water tested. And no one will. The onus of making sure your water doesn’t contain any harmful substances is on you.
But why do you need to get your well water tested? After all, didn’t they assure you that they tested the water back when you moved in? Your water received a clean bill of health back then, so why on earth would you spend money to get it tested again?
The reason you should regularly test your water at least once a year is, like everything else in nature, your water quality is ever-changing. As the water sits in the aquifer, nature and human activity frequently alter its contents.
The two main causes of well water contamination are natural contamination and pollution from human activity. We will discuss each below.
Natural Contamination
Since well water comes straight from the ground, it should be no surprise that nature has an impact on its contents. As the water table rises and falls, the aquifer supplying the well water can interact with all sorts of naturally-occurring contaminants. These include potentially harmful substances like arsenic, fluoride, manganese and radium-226 and -288.
Moreover, these fluctuations can sometimes occur rapidly over the course of the year. The barometric pressure, precipitation and the shifting of the seasons all contribute to these shifts. As a result, your water could be fine one month and full of contaminants the next.
Human Activity
While nature bears some of the blame, people are especially guilty of causing well water contamination. There is a seemingly endless list of human activities that have resulted in private well pollution over the years. Here are just a few:
- Septic System Outflow
- Pesticide or Fertilizer Use
- Chemical and Petroleum Spills
- Sewer Leakages
- Poorly Constructed Wells
Pesticides and herbicides sprayed on the grass travel through the earth 10 feet per year. So, contaminants from years ago can infect your water today.
The problem with all of these activities is it’s so easy to be unaware of them. A sewer pipe could leak into your well water, and you’d have no way of knowing. Clearly, for all of these reasons, well water needs regular monitoring.
2. The Government Can’t Fully Protect City Water
Water testing is also crucial for people with city water. Even though the local government is supposed to keep city water clean, the sad fact is they can’t. News stories still come out all the time about Chicago water contaminated by lead, chromium-6 and other harmful chemicals.
How does this pollution persist, you ask? Well, despite the local government’s efforts to keep the water clean, other factors keep muddying up the works.
Here are a couple of examples of city water contamination that persist in the Chicago region:
Lead from Service Lines
Would you believe that most of Chicago’s service lines are still made from lead from the early 1900s? It’s true! In fact, Chicago has the most lead service lines of any city in the United States! And these old service lines are causing a lot of drinking water pollution in the city.
The problem has been exacerbated by the city’s practice of only partially replacing the old lines with copper piping. When the copper combines with the lead, it causes the lead to corrode and leach into the water. As a result, many Chicago homes have lead in their water and don’t even know it.
Chromium-6 in Lake Michigan
Another contaminant that continues to be a problem in Chicago is hexavalent chromium (also known as chromium-6). The problem persists because industrial companies use chromium-6 as a coolant and dump the waste in Lake Michigan. Although recent lawsuits have sought to curb this practice, the widespread contamination persists.
There are many health defects linked to consuming hexavalent chromium in drinking water. The contaminant can cause brain injury, heart disease and high blood pressure. Sadly, people in our region continue to put their health at risk by drinking this contaminated water.
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Clearly, your local officials can’t protect you from everything. So, don’t wait to get sick! Instead, take the time to get your city water tested. Your health and family will thank you.
3. Drinking Water Testing Can Save You Money
Not only can drinking water testing protect your health. It can also protect your wallet! After all, sometimes testing can reveal that you don’t need to spend extra to defend against pollutants.
A lot of people completely dismiss drinking their city water or well water outright. They decide that they’re not even going to bother with it and instead opt to purchase bottled water. This is a huge mistake because it might not be necessary.
Before deciding to go the bottled water route, you should get your water tested. The testing will show you what you’re up against. It may be the case that your tap water isn’t all that bad. In fact, a relatively inexpensive water filter could turn out to be the solution you need.
By taking the initial step of drinking water testing, you will give yourself options. You can see how much contamination there is in your water and weigh the cost of the potential solutions to the problem. It’s always nice to have more choices than just purchasing expensive bottled water.
Plus, choosing an option other than bottled water can also save the environment. After all, you won’t be producing any plastic waste from all those empty bottles! We call that a win-win.
4. You Are What You Drink
We don’t know about you, but when we put something in our bodies, we want to know what’s in it. The thought of blindly consuming water from the city or a private well makes us break out in a cold sweat. It just seems like too much of a health risk to be worth it.
The truth is you are what you drink. Contaminated water will weigh you down in a lot of detrimental ways. The contaminants frequently found in Chicago water have led to all of the following health problems and more:
- Cancer
- Heart Defects
- Kidney Damage
- Liver Damage
- Problems During Pregnancy
Even if you have already been drinking water that could be contaminated, it’s still good to get it tested. Doing so can help you learn how to enhance your water quality, which will improve your health.
5. Drinking Water Testing is Easy!
You may be thinking, this all sounds good, but I don’t have time for water testing. I don’t want to have to bring a sample of my water into a lab somewhere and then get these complicated test results that I probably won’t even understand. Why would I put myself through that when buying bottled water is a lot easier?
You make some good points. But here’s the thing: Angel Water makes water testing easy!
Instead of having to lug your water down to a testing facility, you can call us, and we’ll come to collect a sample of your water for you! Our experts know the proper collecting procedure and will do it in a way that doesn’t inconvenience you at all.
Then we will bring it to an independent testing facility, which meets EPA standards. They will put your water through the test and give us the results. Our experts will then contact you and take the time to go over the results and what they mean for you.
We always make it a point to take our customers through all the results and make sure they understand everything. Then we help them decide what the best course of action is based on what the test determined.
Our licensed professionals can recommend top-quality water filtration options based on which contaminants are in your water. We can also recommend alternative options if the tests show that filtration might not be the right path.
Ultimately, we want you to have the cleanest water for your health and family. Our team will do everything in our power to give you those results in the most convenient way possible.
Did We Pass the Test?
So, what do you think? Are you convinced that your city or well water should be tested regularly? We hope so because we want you to be healthy, and we certainly don’t want you to waste your money on bottled water!
If you’re interested, contact us today to schedule an appointment. We can’t wait to help you understand what’s in your water so that you can have peace of mind. Stay healthy!
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