{"id":984,"date":"2014-07-15T12:04:04","date_gmt":"2014-07-15T16:04:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/safewater\/?page_id=984"},"modified":"2014-07-15T12:04:04","modified_gmt":"2014-07-15T16:04:04","slug":"testing","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/safewater\/private-well-testing-and-protection\/testing\/","title":{"rendered":"What to Test for"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Your drinking water looks, tastes, and smells fine, why test it?<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s Why:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Germs, chemicals and toxic waste in or on the ground can pollute your drinking water under the ground. You might not see, smell, or taste them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Some local rocks contain harmful substances that can dissolve into your well water.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p align=\"left\">If you have never tested your well water, test for\u00a0<strong>everything<\/strong>\u00a0listed below. After this first complete test, you can follow the schedule below that spreads out the tests and the costs.\u00a0<strong>For a list of labs that test well water, see page 3 <a href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2248\/TipSheet01_Smartwellowner.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><strong><a title=\"Postcard\" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2248\/No_Expiration_Date_Coupon_2019.pdf\">Click here<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0to get your coupon for 15% off well testing packages at participating state-certified labs.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\">\n<table style=\"height: 1084px\" border=\"1\" width=\"562\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"2\" align=\"center\">\n<h4><strong><span style=\"color: #000000\">Well Testing Schedule<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"2\">\n<h4><strong><span style=\"color: #000000\">Every Year<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"213\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000\">Test for:<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"330\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000\">Why?<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a title=\"Bacteria\" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2248\/TipSheetC03-Bacteria.pdf\">Coliform bacteria (germs)<\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"color: #000000\">Key water quality test<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a title=\"Nitrate and Nitrite\" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2248\/TipSheetC11-NitrateNitrite.pdf\">Nitrate<\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"color: #000000\">Infant blood problems<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a title=\"Nitrate and Nitrite\" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2248\/TipSheetC11-NitrateNitrite.pdf\">Nitrite<\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"color: #000000\">Infant blood problems<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/cels.uri.edu\/docslink\/wq\/has\/PDFs\/Color%20sum.pdf\">Color<\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"color: #000000\">Key water quality test<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/cels.uri.edu\/docslink\/wq\/has\/PDFs\/Turbidity%20sum.pdf\">Turbidity (cloudy water)<\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"color: #000000\">Key water quality test<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a title=\"Sodium and Chloride\" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2248\/TipSheetC14-SodiumChloride.pdf\">Chloride and Sodium<\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"color: #000000\">Salty tasting water<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"2\">\n<h4><span style=\"color: #000000\">Every 3 &#8211; 5 Years<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Test for:<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Why?<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a title=\"Fluoride\" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2248\/TipSheetC06-Fluoride.pdf\">Fluoride<\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"color: #000000\">Too much fluoride:Bone disease, stained teeth<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000\"> Too little fluoride: tooth decay<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a title=\"Iron and Manganese\" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2248\/TipSheetC07-IronManganese.pdf\">Iron<\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"color: #000000\">Laundry or plumbing fixture stains<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a title=\"Lead\" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2248\/TipSheetC08-Lead.pdf\">Lead<\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"color: #000000\">Physical and mental development delays, kidney problems, high blood pressure<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a title=\"Iron and Manganese\" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2248\/TipSheetC07-IronManganese.pdf\">Manganese<\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"color: #000000\">Laundry or plumbing fixture stains<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a title=\"Sulfate and Hydrogen Sulfide\" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2248\/TipSheetC15-SulfateHydroSulfide.pdf\">Sulfate<\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"color: #000000\">Diarrhea<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a title=\"pH\" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2248\/TipSheetC12-pH.pdf\">pH<\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"color: #000000\">Can ruin appliances and plumbing<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a title=\"Copper\" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2248\/TipSheetC1https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2248\/TipSheetC05-Copper.pdf5-SulfateHydroSulfide.pdf\">Copper<\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"color: #000000\">Stomach upsets, Cramps, Diarrhea, Vomiting<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>a title=&#8221;Zinc&#8221;<\/td>\n<td><span style=\"color: #000000\">Metallic taste<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>a title=&#8221;Cadmium&#8221;<\/td>\n<td><span style=\"color: #000000\">Kidney Damage<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/cels.uri.edu\/docslink\/wq\/has\/PDFs\/Tests%20for%20corrosiveness%20sum.pdf\">Tests for corrosiveness<\/a>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Alkalinity<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Total dissolved solids<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Hardness<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Specific Conductance<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td><span style=\"color: #000000\">Can ruin appliances and plumbing<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"2\">\n<h4><span style=\"color: #000000\">Every 5 &#8211; 10 Years<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><span style=\"color: #000000\">Test for:<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><span style=\"color: #000000\">Why?<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a title=\"Man-made Chemicals\" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2248\/TipSheetC09-ManMadeChem.pdf\">Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)<\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"color: #000000\">Increased chance of cancer and other negative health effects<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a title=\"MtBE\" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2248\/TipSheetC10-MtBE.pdf\">MtBE<\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"color: #000000\">Gasoline pollution<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Other times to test:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Test whenever you notice a change in your drinking water&#8217;s taste, smell, or color.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Test if your drinking water well has been\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/water.epa.gov\/drink\/info\/well\/whatdo.cfm\">flooded<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>You may need additional tests depending on well type, plumbing type, and where you live. See the\u00a0<strong>Additional Tests<\/strong>\u00a0chart below.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>We can help you. Call or email Alyson McCann, Program Coordinator<br \/>\n<strong>Phone<\/strong>: 401-874-5398<br \/>\n<strong>E-mail<\/strong>: alyson@uri.edu.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div align=\"center\">\n<table border=\"1\" width=\"533\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"2\" align=\"center\">\n<h4><strong>Additional Tests<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"166\"><strong>Pollutant<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"351\"><strong>Why?<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a title=\"Arsenic\" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2248\/TipSheetC02-Arsenic.pdf\">Arsenic<\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"color: #000000\">If you live near agricultural land &#8211; especially fruit orchards or land that was a fruit orchard. Also, if you live near industrial sites.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a title=\"Beryllium\" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2248\/TipSheetC04-Beryllium.pdf\">Beryllium<\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"color: #000000\">Occurs naturally in the bedrock in some areas of Rhode Island, including East Greenwich, West Greenwich, Coventry, Exeter, western Cranston, Johnston and Scituate.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a title=\"Copper\" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2248\/TipSheetC05-Copper.pdf\">Copper<\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"color: #000000\">If your plumbing system has copper pipes it is possible that the copper in the pipes can dissolve into the water.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a title=\"Man-made Chemicals\" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2248\/TipSheetC09-ManMadeChem.pdf\">Man-made Chemicals<\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"color: #000000\">In some areas of the state industrial solvents, manufacturing chemicals, ammunition wastes, and pesticides have been detected in groundwater.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.health.ri.gov\/programs\/privatewell\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #000000\">Contact the Rhode Island Department of Health<\/span><\/a>\u00a0for information about areas of known drinking well water pollution.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a title=\"Radon\" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2248\/TipSheetC13-Radon.pdf\">Radon<\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"color: #000000\">There is no drinking water standard for radon. However, radon in the water can contribute to radon levels in indoor air, which is of greater concern.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Your drinking water looks, tastes, and smells fine, why test it? Here&#8217;s Why: Germs, chemicals and toxic waste in or on the ground can pollute your drinking water under the ground. You might not see, smell, or taste them. Some local rocks contain harmful substances that can dissolve into your well water. If you have [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4861,"featured_media":0,"parent":362,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-984","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/safewater\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/safewater\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/safewater\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/safewater\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4861"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/safewater\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=984"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/safewater\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/984\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/safewater\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/safewater\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}