The water test strip begins reacting. — photo by Diego Cupolo
My tap water has never been pristine, but lately it’s been making my morning showers smell like a public swimming pool in the summertime. It doesn’t end in the tub, my kitchen sink also reeks like a rainbow of contaminants when I wash the dishes.
After mulling over the possible health effects of my tainted tap water I made a trip to The Home Depot on DeKalb and Nostrand to pick up a water testing kit. For only $10, I bought a Pro-Lab Water Quality kit that analyzed pH levels, alkalinity, chlorine, total hardness, iron, copper, nitrates and nitrites — but not lead, which is a separate test that involves sending a water sample to a lab and dishing out $30 for the results.
The kit came with two tests so I decided to compare the water from my kitchen sink to the water in my Brita pitcher — which also came from the kitchen sink, but was passed through a carbon filter. The test was simple: I dipped four pieces of paper into the water and waited for them change color.
Overall, the results proved using the Brita filter is a good idea. My tap water scored a 4 out of 10 in total chlorine content, which is safe according to Pro-Lab pamphlet, but the water in the Brita pitcher recorded a 0.2 out of 10 total chlorine content – a significant improvement. Also, the Brita filter eliminated small traces of iron found in the tap water.
Unfortunately, not all the results were positive. Turns out I have acidic or “soft” water and this can indicate the presence of heavy metals and/or lead. The tap water test recorded a pH of 5, the level of acidity in coffee, and I was surprised to find my Brita pitcher only increased the acidity in the water, pushing it down to a 3, the level of orange juice and vinegar.
“Dangerous” water. — photo by Diego Cupolo
The ideal pH level in a public water system lies between 6.5 and 8.5 [pdf]. Acidic water can speed up corrosion in metal pipes and, as a result, carry larger amounts of copper and lead particles. The easiest way to see if you have a metal leaching problem is by stains on your household fixtures. Iron and copper corrosion will be indicated with a red or blue-green stain, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Luckily, the test did not find traces of copper in my tap water, but I’m going to get a lead test in the near future to ease my nerves.
Think you might have the same problem? The best way to protect yourself from lead poisoning is to run the tap water for a minute before using it to flush out anything that was sitting in the pipes and make sure to use cold water for cooking and drinking because heat speeds up lead corrosion.
Interestingly, it turns out the very same water that has me worrying about drinking heavy metals played major role in attracting beer brewers to Bushwick. It seems low pH levels are good for making beer and the local water system has always been on the soft side. The German immigrants that dominated Bushwick in the mid-1800s got filthy rich off the water acidity — guess it’s not all that bad. Zum Wohl!
Caaah November 17th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
So…we should make more beer and drink less water? hehe. Sounds good to me!
An Educated Consumer November 17th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Looks like Brita’s PR department has planted this propaganda into our neighborhood blog – be weary of Diego Cupolo’s corporate paymasters!
chillinoncentral November 17th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Way to go, Diego! Once again, you’ve ventured into an intriguing subject of significance to an entire community and summarized your findings in a most worthwhile article… and, your addendum on local breweries is especially impressive. Personally, as a fellow Brita loyalist, I appreciate your findings.
Diego November 17th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Damn, my cover’s been blown and the educated consumer wins again! Good thing you’re only a fraction of the population and I can keep repeating my propaganda until people accept it as fact.
Jokes aside – I forgot to mention that there is conflicting research on whether or not Brita filters reduce lead content in tap water – funny how the most important questions are left unanswered when profitability is at stake …
Jimmy Legs November 17th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
how can the water in one part of town be that varied from another’s? don’t we all get water from the reservoirs upstate? maybe all of bushwick’s piping systems were put in by the same company?
alicia November 17th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
This is really odd because I live in Bushwick also (I shop at the same Home Depot), but I have hard water. I found out because I use a special cat litter that turns red if your cat’s ph gets too high, which is an indicator of sickness. So far so good on the cat turning it red, but when I put it in the toilet to flush it away it turns bright red (the danger color). I called my vet just to make sure it wasn’t some bizarre delayed reaction, and he said plenty of people in Brooklyn have the problem because the water is so hard. Some fine print on the bag confirmed this.
chillinoncentral November 17th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Good question, Jimmy.. I believe that there are about 20 reservoirs of lakes and streams in upstate NY that supply NYC water, but from there, the water travels to thousands of NYC water mains through tunnels underground that were built many years ago… and the flowing water can be affected by landfills, leakages and other causes of contaminants that result in differences in the water in different areas of the city.
ricmac01 November 17th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Lead in drinking water is caused by corrosion in water distribution systems and, more commonly, an individual’s household plumbing, including lead-based solder that was used (years ago) to join copper pipes. Most drinking water filtration systems generally concern themselves with things we can see/smell/taste and therefore provide no assurance that our water is lead-free.
I believe NYC still provides free lead testing of your household water by request- dial 311. Especially important for families with small children (or those planning to have kids).
Halden November 18th, 2008 at 9:01 am
Brooklyn changed its water supply when it became part of NYC (in 1898). In the 1800s, Brooklyn got its water from wells and ponds out on Long Island. After consolidation, Brooklyn joined the Croton system, which, as chillin’ says, is fed by lakes and reservoirs in upstate NY. So unless you go to LI, you can’t make beer like they used to.
As far as I know, the level of chlorine and the like is controlled much further upstream, so if Bushwick water is over chlorinated, all NYC should be (and they do vary the levels depending on levels of contaminants at the source (as ricmac says). Local conditions (pipes in the street but mainly pipes in your building) are the source for many metal contaminants (lead, copper, iron).
(The right of ways that carried Brooklyn’s water from Long Island and Queens became the basis for the Island’s parkway system – the Northern State, Southern State and Sunrise Highway (and I think the LIE) all run in part on former right of ways.)
matt November 18th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
No wonder the water is so acidic, people are flushing their f*in cat litter down the toilet!
Brita is a joke, invest in a real filter. Water is life. To put it in more tangible terms for the audience…Brita is to water filters what Folger’s is to coffee.
Mjay December 2nd, 2008 at 12:47 am
So Matt, what kind of filter would you recommend?
Michael December 3rd, 2008 at 6:01 pm
One test with one set of cheap test strips isn’t all that damning. I’d get the water professionally retested before I started worrying about it.