Hard water, or water conditions such as smelly, rusty, or milky water, as well as water which causes stained fixtures, can be easily fixed and/or avoided if a few simple guidelines are followed. These water conditions are covered separately in the articles, Common Water Problems and Hard Water

More serious problems such as the presence of certain contaniments, pollutants, and bacteria can seriously affect the quality and safety of drinking water.

There are a number of on-line articles and websites that address the topics most frequently discussed concerning the purity and safety of our water supply.

• News & Current Events
• Common Pollutants
• Legal/Gov't Resources
• Have your water tested. EPA Test Labs

 
News and current events:
American Water Works Assn
   News and current events concerning safe drinking water
Drinking H2O.Com
   Online information system for the drinking water community

 
Common Pollutants:
Bacteria in Drinking Water
   Reprint from Water Quality Initiative pub WQ102
Drinking Water: Iron and Manganese
   From Coop Extension, Inst of Agriculture & Natural Resources Univ of Nebraska
Iron in Drinking Water
   From Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources
Locating Safe Drinking Water
   Emergency Sources of Safe Drinking Water

 
References:
EPA Safe Water site
   Federal Agency - extensive articles on water quality
Ohio Drinking Water Rules and Regulations
   State Agency - laws pertaining toOhio
NSF International
   Non-profit organization dedicated to certification services and standards
Water Quality Association
   Consumer awareness site

 
Approved EPA Labs:
In all cases of water suspected of being impure, to be on the safe side, take a sample to a testing lab and have it analyzed. These Cincinnati-area labs have been approved by the Ohio EPA:

Advanced Testing lab. Inc. (B)
4700 Smith Road, Suite K
Cincinnati, OH 45212
(513-531-9222)

Cincinnati Health Department (B)
3101 Burnet Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45229
(513-357-7230)

Environmental Enterprises, Inc. (B, W, I, O, R)
10163 Cincinnati-Dayton Road
Cincinnati, OH 45241
(513-772-2818)

Q Laboratories
1400 Harrison Ave
Cincinnati, Ohio
513-662-1300

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