See for Yourself! What’s in Your Water? Session 2: Testing to See What’s in Your Water

What are the 3 Water System components? Pipes People

What do you see in the 3D model? Water source Water treatment plant Water mains, water main breaks Drains & sewers Fire hydrants Service lines (public and private components) Curb stop Plumbing and fixtures in homes, businesses, schools Water pressure, Residence time of water in system Point of Use (POU) filters Let’s look at some terms. The water source is the lake, river, or groundwater that we draw raw water from. We treat it at a water treatment plant to prepare it for drinking. Water mains are large distribution pipes, typically under roadways. If there is a leak in these pipes, it’s called a water main break. [We have a lot of these, as does Detroit. You may have heard on the news that they were cancelling school in Detroit last week due to water main breaks.] Service lines are the smaller pipes that branch off from the water main pipes to individual houses or businesses. Inside the home, you have plumbing (pipes leading from where the service line connects to a meter and into the house. Water heater and faucets are also part of the plumbing fixtures. When you turn on the tap, water comes out right away because the water is under pressure. Another factor that relates to water quality is the residence time. Residence time is how long it takes the water to get from the treatment plant to your tap. This can vary by where you are in the city, for example. Residence time is something that the water managers worry about because of the possibility of biologic agents and in cities like ours the contact between the water and the lead pipes. Point of use filters are filters on your sink faucet. Another important safety feature are fire hydrants – that gives the fire department a source of water for emergencies. And of course, because it’s a closed loop system, we have drains that lead to sewers and the waste water treatment plant and back to our rivers and lakes.

Let’s Look at the Water System Model!

Review with 3D Water System Model: What do you remember? Water treatment plant Water mains, water main breaks Drains & sewers Fire hydrants Service lines Curb stop Plumbing and fixtures in homes, businesses, schools Water pressure Residence time of water in system Water source Watershed Point of Use (POU) filters Raw water Refined water pH Dissolve Drinking water delivery system Let’s look at some terms. The water source is the lake, river, or groundwater that we draw raw water from. We treat it at a water treatment plant to prepare it for drinking. Water mains are large distribution pipes, typically under roadways. If there is a leak in these pipes, it’s called a water main break. [We have a lot of these, as does Detroit. You may have heard on the news that they were cancelling school in Detroit last week due to water main breaks.] Service lines are the smaller pipes that branch off from the water main pipes to individual houses or businesses. Inside the home, you have plumbing (pipes leading from where the service line connects to a meter and into the house. Water heater and faucets are also part of the plumbing fixtures. When you turn on the tap, water comes out right away because the water is under pressure. Another factor that relates to water quality is the residence time. Residence time is how long it takes the water to get from the treatment plant to your tap. This can vary by where you are in the city, for example. Residence time is something that the water managers worry about because of the possibility of biologic agents and in cities like ours the contact between the water and the lead pipes. Point of use filters are filters on your sink faucet. Another important safety feature are fire hydrants – that gives the fire department a source of water for emergencies. And of course, because it’s a closed loop system, we have drains that lead to sewers and the waste water treatment plant and back to our rivers and lakes.

There are a several ways that lead can enter drinking water There are a several ways that lead can enter drinking water. Older homes are more likely to have lead pipes or lead solder that joins pipes together. If water is acidic or corrosive, lead comes out of pipes into the water (called leaching). This is why water systems treat water with corrosion control chemicals that coat the pipes and prevent leaching. Unlike other contaminants, lead is generally coming from within the drinking water delivery system from the pipes, solder, and plumbing fixtures.

Flint Cares Website www.FlintCares.com

Water Testing – What’s Your Question? It’s important to understand what you want to test for before taking a water sample so that you use the correct method. For example, how you take a water sample may differ based on whether you want to know: How much lead is present in the water from pipes in a building (“premise pipes”) How much lead is present in the water city- wide (i.e. flush first, take samples from water mains across the city) Are contaminants other than lead present – like other metals or bacteria. If you want to know how much lead is present in water from pipes in your home or school, you collect water that comes out of the faucet immediately after you turn it on. If you want to know how much lead is present in your service line, you flush the water then take a water sample. If you want to know how much lead is in water city-wide, you’ll take samples from across the city and run the water until you are drawing samples of water from water mains. If you want to test for contaminants other than lead, such as legionella bacteria or a different metal, you may have to collect water differently or send it to a different lab.

Why Sample Your Water? Taking a water sample (i.e. a small portion of water) is the first step in testing water. The water sample will be analyzed in a lab to quantify the amount of lead and help you answer the research question that you are asking. A water sample will give you a snapshot in time. Sampling multiple times allows you to track changes in the water over time. If your home lead level is higher than the federal “action level” of 15 parts per billion, your household becomes eligible for free services to help lower the lead level (e.g. service line replacement, new kitchen & bathroom faucets).

2-Bottle Water Testing Instructions Obtain a test kit and review the directions Use the faucet within 24 hours before, but not in the 6 hours right before, you take the water sample Watch the training video (next slide) Fill the small bottle first, then immediately fill the large bottle without turning off the faucet Complete the paperwork Return the water sample Receive the test results from MDEQ by mail Use the results to take action

Step-by-Step Video About Water Sampling https://flintcares.com/lead-testing/

Holmes’ Water Test Results - Cafeteria Kitchen

Holmes’ Water Test Results – Boys’ Bathroom

Homework: Plan Ahead for Your Home Water Test Kit On Monday, you will take home two water test kits. You will use one test kit to take a bathroom water sample and the other kit to take a kitchen water sample. Be sure to: Plan ahead by choosing a time to take the water sample when the faucet has not been used for 6 hours. Make sure this works for your whole family and that they know your plan. Use the water collection procedure that we learned today. Fill out the orange paper form that comes in the test kit. Keep your bathroom and kitchen water samples separate. Put the filled water bottles and completed form with the same tracking number into the same Ziploc bag. Bring the completed test kits back to Mr. Strommer’s classroom as soon as possible so that we can send them to the lab to be processed.