Things To Know About a Water Testing Facility
As a first-time owner of a farm, ranch or other kind of large acreage, one of the most important things you must do is to make sure that the quality of water is optimal. Contracting with a water testing facility is an effective way to determine the water quality on your property, and to help you understand their full range of services, here are some of the things you can expect these types of labs to do.
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They Test All the Water On Your Property -- Although the primary purpose of you contacting a water testing lab is to determine the quality of water that irrigates your land, these facilities will test all the water sources on your property, including fresh drinking water, groundwater, and wastewater. This type of multiple testing allows the lab to provide you with a comprehensive analysis of all the water on your property and can often unearth contamination from unexpected sources.
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They Utilize Mobile Sampling Equipment -- Water testing facilities send out their technicians in mobile labs that are equipped with all the latest collection material necessary to obtain valid water analysis. For example, a typical water testing technician will use a chlorine colorimeter to determine the level of chlorine in a water sample. The technician will also use water hardness test strips to determine the level of alkaline and pH in a sample and microbe vials that can properly measure the type and number of microbes in any water sample.
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They Test For Multiple Contaminants -- Water testing facilities aren't just concerned about pH, acid, chlorine and microbes, but are also testing to determine the level of contaminants such as arsenic, Salmonella, algae, E. coli, sulfate, sodium, chloride, nitrates, phosphates, saline, chloride, solids and bacteria. Taken alone, these contaminants may not present a danger to your property, but if there is a sufficient number of contaminants in your water at the same time, it could pose a threat to your health, the health of your livestock, and the ability of your land to grow crops.
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They Provide Consultation -- After the water testing facility has sent you the results of their analysis, you can contract with them to provide you with ways to eliminate the contaminants that are present in your water. These labs can also create a monitoring program that includes frequent re-testing of the water to ensure that your property maintains acceptable levels of water cleanliness. Consultation can also be vital if your property includes a river or other body of water that contains marine life, as in some instances diseases related to fish and frogs can affect the purity of your water.
For more information, visit waterlab.com.au