Have a lab test and are curious what the results mean? Here is a list of the drinking water standards for the jurisdiction I live in. They show the maximum acceptable level of many contaminants present in drinking water. This is not a complete list, just the parameters legislated by the government.
Parameter followed by the maximum allowable level
Microbiological Parameters
1. Escherichia coli (E. coli): Not detectable
2. Total coliforms : Not detectable
Chemical Parameters
1. Alachlor: 0.005 mg/l
2. Aldicarb: 0.009 mg/l
3. Aldrin + Dieldrin: 0.0007 mg/l
4. Antimony: 0.006 mg/l
5. Arsenic: 0.025 mg/l
6. Atrazine + N-dealkylated metabolites: 0.005 mg/l
7. Azinphos-methyl: 0.02 mg/l
8. Barium: 1.0 mg/l
9. Bendiocarb: 0.04 mg/l
10. Benzene: 0.005 mg/l
11. Benzo(a)pyrene: 0.00001 mg/l
12. Boron: 5.0 mg/l
13. Bromate: 0.01 mg/l
14. Bromoxynil: 0.005 mg/l
15. Cadmium: 0.005 mg/l
16. Carbaryl: 0.09 mg/l
17. Carbofuran: 0.09 mg/l
18. Carbon Tetrachloride: 0.005 mg/l
19. Chloramines: 3.0 mg/l
20. Chlordane (Total): 0.007 mg/l
21. Chlorpyrifos: 0.09 mg/l
22. Chromium: 0.05 mg/l
23. Cyanazine: 0.01 mg/l
24. Cyanide: 0.2 mg/l
25. Diazinon: 0.02 mg/l
26. Dicamba: 0.12 mg/l
27. 1,2-Dichlorobenzene: 0.2 mg/l
28. 1,4-Dichlorobenzene: 0.005 mg/l
29. Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) + metabolites: 0.03 mg/l
30. 1,2-dichloroethane: 0.005 mg/l
31. 1,1-Dichloroethylene (vinylidene chloride): 0.014 mg/l
32. Dichloromethane: 0.05 mg/l
33. 2,4-Dichlorophenol: 0.9 mg/l
34. 2,4-Dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D): 0.1 mg/l
35. Diclofop-methyl: 0.009 mg/l
36. Dimethoate: 0.02 mg/l
37. Dinoseb: 0.01 mg/l
38. Dioxin and Furan: 0.000000015 mg/l
39. Diquat: 0.07 mg/l
40. Diuron: 0.15 mg/l
41. Fluoride: 1.5 mg/l
42. Glyphosate: 0.28 mg/l
43. Heptachlor + Heptachlor Epoxide: 0.003 mg/l
44. Lead: 0.010 mg/l
45. Lindane (Total): 0.004 mg/l
46. Malathion: 0.19 mg/l
47. Mercury: 0.001 mg/l
48. Methoxychlor: 0.9 mg/l
49. Metolachlor: 0.05 mg/l
50. Metribuzin: 0.08 mg/l
51. Microcystin LR: 0.0015 mg/l
52. Monochlorobenzene: 0.08 mg/l
53. Nitrate (as nitrogen): 10.0 mg/l
54. Nitrite (as nitrogen): 1.0 mg/l
55. Nitrate + Nitrite (as nitrogen): 10.0 mg/l
56. Nitrilotriacetic Acid (NTA): 0.4 mg/l
57. N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA): 0.000009 mg/l
58. Paraquat: 0.01 mg/l
59. Parathion: 0.05 mg/l
60. Pentachlorophenol: 0.06 mg/l
61. Phorate: 0.002 mg/l
62. Picloram: 0.19 mg/l
63. Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB): 0.003 mg/l
64. Prometryne: 0.001 mg/l
65. Selenium: 0.01 mg/l
66. Simazine: 0.01 mg/l
67. Temephos: 0.28 mg/l
68. Terbufos: 0.001 mg/l
69. Tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene): 0.03 mg/l
70. 2,3,4,6-Tetrachlorophenol: 0.1 mg/l
71. Triallate: 0.23 mg/l
72. Trichloroethylene: 0.005 mg/l
73. 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol: 0.005 mg/l
74. 2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4,5-T): 0.28 mg/l
75. Trifluralin: 0.045 mg/l
76. Trihalomethanes: 0.100 mg/l
77. Uranium: 0.02 mg/l
78. Vinyl Chloride: 0.002 mg/l
Radiological Parameters maximum allowable limit expressed as becquerels per liter
1. Beryllium-7 4000.0
2. Bismuth -210 70.0
3. Lead-210 0.1
4. Polonium-210 0.2
5. Radium-224 2.0
6. Radium-226 0.6
7. Radium-228 0.5
8. Thorium-228 2.0
9. Thorium-230 0.4
10. Thorium-232 0.1
11. Thorium-234 20.0
12. Uranium-234 4.0
13. Uranium-235 4.0
14. Uranium-238 4.0
15. Americium-241 0.2
16. Antimony-122 50.0
17. Antimony-124 40.0
18. Antimony-125 100.0
19. Barium-140 40.0
20. Bromine-82 300.0
21. Calcium-45 200.0
22. Calcium-47 60.0
23. Carbon-14 200.0
24. Cerium-141 100.0
25. Cerium-144 20.0
26. Cesium-131 2000.0
27. Cesium-134 7.0
28. Cesium-136 50.0
29. Cesium-137 10.0
30. Chromium-51 3000.0
31. Cobalt-57 40.0
32. Cobalt-58 20.0
33. Cobalt-60 2.0
34. Gallium-67 500.0
35. Gold-198 90.0
36. Indium-111 400.0
37. Iodine-125 10.0
38. Iodine-129 1.0
39. Iodine-131 6.0
40. Iron-55 300.0
41. Iron-59 40.0
42. Manganese-54 200.0
43. Mercury-197 400.0
44. Mercury-203 80.0
45. Molybdenum-99 70.0
46. Neptunium-239 100.0
47. Niobium-95 200.0
48. Phosphorus-32 50.0
49. Plutonium-238 0.3
50. Plutonium-239 0.2
51. Plutonium-240 0.2
52. Plutonium-241 10.0
53. Rhodium-105 300.0
54. Rubidium-81 3000.0
55. Rubidium-86 50.0
56. Ruthenium-103 100.0
57. Ruthenium-106 10.0
58. Selenium-75 70.0
59. Silver-108m 70.0
60. Silver-110m 50.0
61. Silver-111 70.0
62. Sodium-22 50.0
63. Strontium-85 300.0
64. Strontium-89 40.0
65. Strontium-90 5.0
66. Sulphur-35 500.0
67. Technetium-99 200.0
68. Technetium-99m 7000.0
69. Tellurium-129m 40.0
70. Tellurium-131m 40.0
71. Tellurium-132 40.0
72. Thallium-201 2000.0
73. Tritium 7000.0
74. Ytterbium-169 100.0
75. Yttrium-90 30.0
76. Yttrium-91 30.0
77. Zinc-65 40.0
78. Zirconium-95 100.0
Hmm I had state water check of my well.. they reported e-coli and sent info on how to bleach well.. now I am wondering.. you say E-coli is not detectable.?? confused.. they check the lake water for it.. rivers.. and close beached for high ecoli.. explain why you say not detectable
Not detectable is not to say they cannot ever find ecoli. It means that when a test comes back with zero ecoli they say the ecoli was Not Detectable. Not detectable leaves the possibility of ecoli being present even though a test came back clean. Does that help clarify?