Drinking Water Testing
Aqua Legion Provide drinking water testing for compliance or reassurance purposes. There are a number of reasons to implement a drinking water testing regime. If you need your drinking water or process water services tested you have come to the right place.
Our standard drinking water testing services include a combination of both microbial and chemical parameters which can be used to instil a level of confidence in the drinking water supply or verify that the most obvious and common contaminants are absent or below control limits.
It is not normally practical and can be extremely expensive to test your drinking water for all possible contaminants. However, our drinking water testing suite will confirm whether the drinking water in your building is likely to cause any significant effect on occupant health or safety. Contact us to get a drinking water test proposal.
Common Reasons for Water Testing
Drinking water testing should be considered in older buildings were corroded pipes may be an issue or where lead pipes may be present. You should also consider drinking water testing if you are having a new baby and intend to use the tap water to make formula milk.
Knowing whether you have lead pipes and if the levels of lead in your drinking water is dangerous will help you make an informed decision about the water you choose to drink or use to make up your baby’s formula milk for example.
General Drinking Water Improvements options
In most cases the installation or purchase of an in line point of use water filtered or filter jug will be sufficient to remove the most dangerous contaminants in your drinking water. However without conducting a drinking water test we cannot tell if the water in your building is fit for purpose.
Water supply companies such as Thames Water have the duty to provide clean wholesome water to your property every 24 hours. After the water passes the water meter in your building. The maintenance of it’s quality becomes your responsibility. As such the upkeep of the water services inside the property is extremely important in maintaining water quality. If you are concerned, have lead pipe work or have an issue with the taste, colour or odour of your drinking water, contact us to arrange a water sampling service.
Taste and Odour Issues are common but often not dangerous
If you have an issue with the taste, colour or odour of your drinking water we can arrange a drinking water test to check if there are any significant or obvious contaminants. There is a range of chemicals and bacterial contaminants that can impair drinking water quality. If you need support in verifying the quality of your drinking water you are in the right place.
Drinking Water Chemical Testing and Analysis
There is a huge number of reasons why people or Organisations carry out drinking water testing on both an adhoc and routine basis. Issues with old lead pipe work, corroded steal pipe work or even risk of external contamination is common. However, it is difficult and often too expensive to test for everything so we have developed a testing suite that covers the main and most common issues with the drinking water supply in the UK. If you require chemical drinking water testing for statutory, reassurance or verification, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Is Tap Drinking Water Safe?
Providing that the water system is suitably maintained, the municipal drinking water supplies in the UK is normally safe and fit for purpose. However, if you do not monitor your drinking water quality by having it tested, you nor ourselves can be certain whether your drinking water supply is safe. As such, whilst it is not the cheapest of test’s it is the only way you or we can be sure the quality is suitable for drinking.
Nonetheless, your local Water Authority is duty bound to provide you with clean, fresh wholesome drinking water up to the point of the mains connection. Once water enters your property the maintenance of its quality becomes your responsibility.
This important point is to confirm or emphasise that once the water passes the water meter, the maintenance of its quality effectively becomes the responsibility of the property owner, property agent or facilities management company.
Consequently, the quality of your drinking water is largely determined by the quality of the water system and services inside your property. It is for this reason that all our drinking water sampling services come with a site inspection so our consultants can review the condition of the water system inside the property.
Bacteria, parasites, and viruses can result in a water supply being unsafe to drink and indeed illness. These microbes can exist in both ground and surface water supplies, and can cause immediate health effects if not properly treated for. Furthermore, localised contamination of outlets can also significantly impair water quality.
In addition, if your system, outlet and or drinking water is contaminated with such bacteria it is unlikely that you will detect it unless the water is discoloured or has a significantly bad taste or odour.
Far too often we believe people blame their feelings of sickness on the food they had to eat the night before or even a few days before or that afternoon. However, we know that the feeling of sporadic sickness can often be attributed to poor water quality and hygiene practices both in the work place and at home.
Our Standard Drinking Water Test Suite can reveal contaminants that have an accumulative effect in the body.
There are certain chemical contaminants found in drinking water supplies that indeed can have a long term health effect if enough of the water is drunk on a daily basis. Such toxic accumulations can takes years to actually manifest itself as an illness.
Also such toxicological contamination may only be detectable when it is too late to offer any options for ratification. Substances such as lead for example have an accumulative effect in the body and therefore should be included in the analysis.
Whilst there is some argument, some fact and some myth that low levels of silver in the body can have a positive effect up to a point. Lead in drinking water will offer no such benefit, factually or as a myth. Drinking high levels of lead is dangerous. Given the amount of lead pipes that remain in our occupied buildings, it is considered sensible to check the lead levels in your water supply if you are aware that you have lead pipework. In 2013, the acceptable levels of Lead allowed in Drinking Water was lowered due to the known dangers and a programme of lead pipe work removal was instigated. However, many properties still contain lead inside the building.
Common Drinking Water testing parameters to consider?
Given the extensive range of drinking water tests parameters available to us, it makes sense to curtail them to the cover the core parameters and indicator parameters that can be used to either declare a drinking water facility as fit for purpose, or unlikely to cause harm to occupant health or safety, or indicate that further testing and control measures may be required. As such we have devised test suites that do just that.
If you require help in selecting a suitable range of tests, please contact us today!
Our minimum drinking water testing package for domestic and work place environments include:
TVC, Coli form and E.coli bacteria, Nitrate, pH, Sodium, Chloride, Fluoride, Sulphate, Iron, Manganese, Total Dissolved Solids, Hardness, Copper, Lead, Zinc and Aluminium.
Coli form bacteria tests are used to indicate the presence of microorganisms in the water that may cause potentially harmful to human health.
Nitrate is a common contaminant found mainly in groundwater supplies. High nitrate concentrations should be of particular concern for babies under six months. Exposure for such young babies can cause interference with ability of the baby’s blood to carry oxygen. This illness is more commonly known as blue baby syndrome.
Ions such as sodium, chloride, sulphate, iron and manganese can reduce taste or odour qualities.
Excessive amounts of sulphate can cause a laxative effect or gastrointestinal irritation, along with a noticeable taste.
Excessive amounts of fluoride can cause dental problems. However, this is not as much of an issue in the UK as it is in the USA where fluoride is used/ added to the mains water supplies.
Total dissolved solids (TDS) represent the amount of inorganic matter such as iron salts etc that are dissolved in the water. High TDS levels can reduce taste and will impair the visual quality of the drinking water supply.
Drinking Water Testing can be targeted to detect a suspected issue
If you have a particular issue or reason to suspect that a specific contaminant may be present or if you are suffering from a particular or un-resolved illness, then it may be recommended that a more detailed set of parameters be examined in line with the complaint or issue specified.
Please contact for further information or advise on our drinking water testing services and we are always happy to help.
Private Drinking Water Supplies Testing
All private drinking water supplies should be tested in line with the Private Water Supply, Water Quality Regulations. Drinking water supplies served via shallow, surface or deep water wells will require frequent testing.
If you have a private water supply serving your drinking water service contacts Aqua Legion UK Ltd for support in the statutory requirement for testing.
Why else do you need to test your drinking water?
If you have installed any critical water treatment equipment or new plant such as a tank, it is recommended that a suitable water test be conducted as part of the commissioning process in line with British Standards. This will ensure quality is maintained and that the water treatment programme or equipment is working effectively. Whilst routine drinking and domestic water testing is not normally needed, there are many circumstances that will warrant an initial test to be conducted.
With regards to legionella sampling of domestic water systems, whilst it is not a legislative requirement. The HSE give a number of reasons why routine legionella sampling is necessary. For example, if your routine temperature control regime or chemical water treatment programme is failing, it will be necessary to carryout legionella sampling. Likewise, if there are particular risks associated with your system, such as dead legs, blind ends, poor management controls, or reason to doubt the efficacy of the control regime, sampling will also be necessary. Furthermore,
Detailed Drinking Water Testing – Other chemical parameters that may need to be tested for include:
Calcium, Carbonate, Tannin, Magnesium, cyanide, Conductivity, Radon, Boron, Total Alkalinity, Chloride, trihalomethanes, Turbidity, Ammonia, Potassium, Sulphate reducing bacteria, Aluminium, Arsenic, Barium, Heterotrophic Plate Count, Cadmium, Chromium, Dissolved organic carbon, Selenium, cyan bacteria, Uranium, Total phosphorous, Faecal Coli form, True Colour, pesticides and Dissolved oxygen for example.
Microbiological Indicators used for assessing Drinking Water Quality.
Laboratory results will provide information on levels of Total Coli forms, Escherichia coli (E-Coli), and Heterotrophic Plate Count (HPC) which are used as microbiological indicators of the quality of the water.
So what is the significance of these test parameters being found in Drinking Water?
Total Coli forms identified in Drinking Water
The presence of these bacteria indicate potential contamination in a water supply. However, identification or presence of Coli forms alone will not constitute a major risk to health risk. Nonetheless, such results do provide a firm indication that further monitoring may be required.
Escherichia coli in drinking water
E. coli has been demonstrated to be a specific indicator for the presence of faecal (human or animal waste) contamination.
This is a potentially dangerous situation and should be addressed immediately when identified including precautions taken to disinfect the tap outlet and water supply if necessary to remove any potential source of contamination.
Water containing E. coli bacteria must not be consumed or used where the water could be a health hazard such. Even brushing your teeth with this water can pose a significant health risk.
So as you can see, there are many reasons why you should consider testing your drinking water. This may be on at least an annual basis or indeed more frequently if results indicate the requirement to do so.
If you need help support or advice contact us now