Is your Drinking Water Safe? Have your Water Tested!

Penn State Extension – Monroe County, the PA Groundwater Association and the Master Well Owner Network are sponsoring a Safe Drinking Water Workshop on Thursday, May 31 from either 1:30 – 3:30 or 6 – 8 pm at the Monroe Extension office at 724 Phillips Street in Stroudsburg.

The clinic will provide education on proper location, construction, testing, maintenance, protection and treatment of private drinking water supplies. Participants can bring a sample of their drinking water for on-site water testing for several water quality parameters including coliform bacteria, E. coli bacteria, pH, total dissolved solids and nitrate. All tests except bacteria will be done during the two hour clinic so participants can discuss their results with the water specialists. The results are only for the education of the homeowner since the water test kits will only provide basic information about water quality. Sample codes will be provided to allow participants to access their bacteria results (by phone or web) within two days after the clinic.

Sampling Instructions: Buy a bottle of drinking water (12 to 16 oz). The inside of a new bottle of water is sterile and will give you the most accurate results. On the day of the workshop, pour the water out of the bottle. Take the sample from a cold water faucet that is in regular use. Run the water until it is cold then rinse your bottle out three times. Fill the bottle, put the cap on, and put it in the refrigerator until you bring it with you to the workshop. If you have treatment equipment and want to test the raw water instead of what comes out at the tap, make sure you grab the sample before it reaches your treatment equipment.

The cost of the workshop is $10/person and is limited to 25 registrants for either the afternoon or evening session. To register for the Safe Drinking Water Workshop, go to the following website – http://agsci.psu.edu/safe-drinking-water/stroudsburg

For more information on the Safe Drinking Water program or water testing, contact Peter Wulfhorst at the Penn State Extension office at 570-296-3400 or go to the Monroe County Extension website at http://extension.psu.edu/monroe and go to events.