Nancy J. Schmitt
It is becoming clear that it is important to monitor our water for possible contamination so that corrective measures may be taken if found necessary. Currently, water samples are taken and then tested to make sure that the levels of contaminants are within accepted regulated levels. The required number of samples taken on a daily and monthly basis is also regulated. In some cases, volunteers or seasonal workers are enlisted to collect samples and submit them for appropriate testing.
Bacteria and microorganisms are measured against the heterotrophic plate count or HPC, which indicates the level of bacteria that are naturally present in the environment. This allows for determining if there is an unusual amount of bacteria present. The lower the concentration of bacteria in a water system, the better maintained it is. The guideline is no more than 500 bacterial colonies per milliliter. Bacteria like cryptosporidium must not be in the water at all.
Turbidity or the cloudiness of water may be an indication of water quality and effective filtration. Higher turbidity would indicate that there may be high levels of disease causing microbes such as viruses, parasites and bacteria. But higher turbidity alone does not mean that microbes are present, or that the ones present are disease-causing microbes. Total coliforms must be measurably at zero. If a water system tests positive for coliform then it must be treated and retested.
There is not yet any defined hormone level guidance, nor any standard monitoring of what these levels are. However, since some of the endocrine disruptors are also pesticides and herbicides, there are guidelines for their maximum levels.