Tested My Water For Bacteria

[mads]

Hi,

I thought other people might be interested in my result.

This is the result from a water bacteria test I bought on Ebay. I know this is not a 100% accurate test but it will give you an idea of how

clean or not clean the water is.

I live around Ramintra and our water did smell funny and had a yellowish look to it, while the flood was going on. We no longer are flooded around here

and the water looks normal.

Maybe someone with more knowledge in this area can take a look and tell me if I should be worried from the result.

I have uploaded the manual to the test as well for anyone interested. It says in the manual that you should not be able

to count more than five colonies. I count more than that and our water stinks of chlorine.

Attached are three scans from the manual and one macro shot of the petri dish. The shot of the petri dish is taken 72 hours after the water was added.

[dominique355]

Could you identify the bacteria? Some could be dangerous, but most are not and our stomach can easily deal with it.

Anyway, drinking water is not the same as sterile water for medical use. As a matter of fact, pure water (pure H2O) is not even healthy, because it could de-mineralize you.

[Sheryl]

The information you show does not contain enough information for me to determine what the media was/what types of bacteria could grow on it.

What you show does not look heavily infected but iobviously does have small amounts of one or more types of bacteria growing.

It is a little odd that this would be so if the water is so heavily chlorinated that it has a pronounced chlorine odor, which raises the question of possible contamination wither of the media plates prior to testing ior during the testing process.

In short I can't tell you anything based on this. Water that has enough chlorine in it to have an obvious taste and smell is usually safe in terms of pathogens (although it could still have chemical contamination).

If in doubt, best bet is to filter or boil before drinking...unless there is a chance of chemical pollutants in he water in which case best not to drink it at all ir else filter with reverse osmosis.

[Soutpeel]

Anyway, drinking water is not the same as sterile water for medical use. As a matter of fact, pure water (pure H2O) is not even healthy, because it could de-mineralize you.

....please provide a reputable scientific link to support this claim

[Naam]

Anyway, drinking water is not the same as sterile water for medical use. As a matter of fact, pure water (pure H2O) is not even healthy, because it could de-mineralize you.

....please provide a reputable scientific link to support this claim

"pure" (distilled) H2O is indeed not fit for consumption and can in the long run demineralise the body. because it does not contain any impurities it has the tendency to absorb minerals as well as a bunch of other media. that's why it is also called "hungry" water and considered corrosive.

up to a certain extent these negative attributes apply to reverse osmosis water too which is not treated by adding minerals after RO filtering.

[Tywais]

....please provide a reputable scientific link to support this claim

Will the World Health Organization do?

In the late 1970’s, the

WHO also commissioned a study to provide background information for issuing

guidelines for desalinated water. That study was conducted by a team of

researchers of the A.N. Sysin Institute of General and Public Hygiene and

USSR Academy of Medical Sciences under the direction of Professor Sidorenko

and Dr. Rakhmanin. The final report, published as an internal working

document (WHO 1980), concluded that “not only does completely

demineralised water (distillate) have unsatisfactory organoleptic properities, but

it also has a definite adverse influence on the animal and human organism.”

After evaluating the available health, organoleptic, and other information, the

team recommended that demineralised water contain 1.) a minimum level for

dissolved salts (100 mg/l), bicarbonate ion (30 mg/l), and calcium (30 mg/l),;

2.) an optimum level for total dissolved salts (250-500 mg/l for chloride-sulfate

water and 250-500 mg/l for bicarbonate water); 3.) a maximum level for

alkalinity (6.5 meq/l), sodium (200 mg/l), boron (0.5 mg/l), and bromine (0.01

mg/l). These recommendations are discussed in greater detail in this chapter.

Health risks for drinking demineralized water - .pdf

[tutsiwarrior]

yeah...I work in the power industry where large amounts of demineralized water are generated for industrial use and it is not potable...a potability arrangement has to be inserted for local consumption which involves re-mineralising with carbon and other processes...

and it is hugely corrosive...just try using unprotected carbon steel for de-mineralised water service and you'll see what I mean...de-min water is required for utility boilers and steam turbines where mineral deposits on material surfaces at high temps and pressures can cause catastrophic failure...

ain't that right, Dr Naam and Prof.Tywais?

and Gen Jack Ripper in Dr Strangelove said that he only drank un-adulterated, distilled water to preserve his bodily fluids...

[Sheryl]

It should be noted that the referenced WHO article is a draft for internal discussion only . Official WHO Guidelines are much more nuanced i.e.:

"The meeting concluded that only a few minerals in natural waters had sufficient

concentrations and distribution to expect that their consumption in drinking water might

sometimes be a significant supplement to dietary intake in some populations."

p.ii

"Demineralised water that has not been remineralized, or low-mineral content water – in the

light of the absence or substantial lack of essential minerals in it – is not considered ideal drinking

water, and therefore, its regular consumption may not be providing adequate levels of some

beneficial nutrients." p.158

(italics and bold are mine)

Nutrients in Drinking Water

WHO 2005

http://www.who.int/w...trientsindw.pdf

Should also be noted that the risks/possible risks of water lacking in minerals pertain to long-term use, not occasional or short term consumption. Distilled or otherwise demineralized water e.g. water from RoPo) is definitely potable, i.e. safe to drink in the immediate term. Over the long run if this is the only water consumed, the lack of minerals may, in some people, have a negative effect.

Some household reverse osmosis filtration systems contain a remineralization feature, but I do not know if these are available in LOS.

Otherwise, if using reverse osmosis filtration at home without any type of remineralization, yes, your water will have less of certain minerals than is ideal (calcium and magnesium being the most important); whether or not this has an impact on your health will depend on how much of these minerals you take in from other sources.

Commercial bottled waters prepared with reverse osmosis usually have been remineralized to some extent already as it improves taste and hence marketability. with what/how much, will vary.