All across the country, Drinking Water Week (May 3rd – 9th) brings attention to our most precious natural resource: water. A cool drink on a hot day...a crisp, green salad at dinner...in everything you eat or drink, water makes it work. More information about Drinking Water Week can be found on the American Water Works Association website (https:// www.awwa.org/Events-Education/ Drinking-Water- Week). There is no such thing as naturally pure water. In nature, all water contains some impurities. As water flows in streams, sits in lakes, and filters through layers of soil and rock in the ground, it dissolves or absorbs the substances that it touches.
Some contaminants come from erosion of natural rock formations. Other contaminants are made by humans. Every living thing on the planet needs water to survive, however humans require their water to be especially clean.
The McDonough County Groundwater Protection Education Committee (MCGPEC) will be offering free nitrate screening tests for homeowners with wells.
Bring a sample of your tap water to the McDonough County Health Department (505 E. Jackson St., Macomb) between 7:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. on May 4th-7th.
Water testing for bacteria is recommended once a year, or after repairing a well or distribution system. Bacteria test kits are sold at the McDonough County Health Department at a discounted price of $55 during Drinking Water Week for the first 36 McDonough County residents (regular price = $70). Test kits are always available free of charge at the McDonough County Health Department for those residences in which an infant resides; for newly constructed wells; or in cases of a suspected waterborne illness.
