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BUSINESS PROFILE: Annual drinking water tests are vital for central Maine homeowners
By Zac Smith
The most important pillar to a healthy home and family is often taken for granted here in the United States. Unless you’ve recently had issues with it or just bought a new home, odds are you’ve not even stopped to consider that the water you drink, the water you give to your children and grandchildren may contain harmful levels of tasteless, colorless and odorless chemicals. Healthy living starts with the water in your home that you rely on for drinking, cooking, bathing, and cleaning. Every day, unaware Maine families consume harmful levels of arsenic or lead.
Testing your drinking water is a homeowner’s responsibility that is far too often left by the wayside. Tests should be performed annually to ensure that the water is safe and remains safe for consumption. The biggest reason to test regularly is the simple fact that contaminates can be extremely hazardous to your health, elevating cancer risks, causing organ failure and causing extensive dermatological issues. The contaminates have no taste, color or smell.
Peace of mind, and the safety of you and your family, rest in the hands of analytical testing laboratories, like Northeast Laboratory Services.
In 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey published a study that used well water concentrations of arsenic from private residential wells over the course of 2005 to 2009. The conclusion of the study was that, statistically, more than 20 percent of all private wells in Maine are in excess of the 10 part per billion safety limit established in the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations under the Safe Drinking Water Act by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The study said that “most towns have at least one well exceeding the arsenic drinking-water standard of 10 micrograms per liter (parts per billion), but in some towns, more than 30 percent of the wells have arsenic levels above the drinking-water standard.”
The study also revealed a handful of hot spots that found wells contaminated with levels in excess of 500 to 1000 parts per billion; that’s 50 to 100 times the EPA safety limit. The hot spots are in the southwestern portion of the Kennebec valley, the lakes region and a few coastal towns. In some cases, results came back in excess of 300 times the EPA safety limit.
Northeast Laboratory Services urges residents to test well water annually. It treats each sample as an expedited priority and provides results within one to three business days. “Ensure the safety of your family, test your well water today.”
