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Browsing by Author "Whitmore, S. A."

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    Evaluation of household water quality in Bath and Highland Counties, Virginia
    Ross, Burton Blake; Leech, Rodney; Campbell, C. L.; Whitmore, S. A.; Parrott, Kathleen R.; Bourne, Amanda C. (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2001-04)
    During Fall 2000 in Bath and Highland Counties, Virginia, programs of household water quality education, which included water sampling, testing, and diagnosis, were conducted. Participation in the water quality programs was made available to any resident of these two counties who utilized a private, individual water supply. During the course of the projects, 60 households submitted water samples which were analyzed for iron, manganese, hardness, sulfate, chloride, fluoride, total dissolved solids, pH, saturation index, copper, sodium, nitrate, and total coliform and E.coli bacteria. These analyses identified the major household water quality problems in these two counties as iron/manganese, hardness, and bacteria. Following completion of the programs, a survey was mailed to the 60 participants. Thirty-one participants returned survey forms on which they identified their reason(s) for participating in such a program; the primary reason was concern about safety of their water supply. Returned survey forms also provided insight into measures participants had already taken, or planned to take, to improve the quality of their water supply. Nearly three-fourths of the households who reported having at least one water quality of their water supply. Twenty percent or more of all participants had taken, or planned to take, one or more of the following actions: shock chlorinate the water system, improve the physical condition of the water source, and contact a state agency for further assistance.
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    Evaluation of household water quality in Rockingham County, Virginia
    Ross, Burton Blake; Bendfeldt, Eric S.; Dransfield, M. G.; Whitmore, S. A.; Parrott, Kathleen R.; Bourne, Amanda C. (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2000-08)
    During Summer 1999, a program of household water quality education, which included water sampling, testing, and diagnosis, was conducted in Rockingham County, Virginia. Participation in the water quality program was made available to any Rockingham County resident who utilized a private, individual water supply. During the course of the project, 300 households submitted water samples which were analyzed for iron, manganese, hardness, sulfate, chloride, fluoride, total dissolved solids, pH, saturation index, copper, sodium, nitrate, and total coliform and E. coli bacteria. These analyses identified the major household water quality problems in Rockingham County as iron/manganese, hardness, total disolved solids, and bacteria. Additionally, a number of samples were determined to have concentrations of sodium and nitrate high enough to possibly lead to health complications for at-risk segments of the population. After the completion of the general water testing program, water supplies from 16 households were resampled for the testing of 23 pesticides and other chemical compounds. None of the samples had a concentration of any of these contaminants exceeding EPA Health Advisory or Maximum Contaminant Levels. A total of eleven detections were observed in seven separate samples. Following completion of the program, a survey was mailed to the 300 participants. One hundred and thirty-eight participants returned survey forms on which they identified their reason(s) for participating in such a program; the primary reason being concern about safety of their water supply. Returned survey forms also provided insight into measures participants had already taken, or planned to take, to improve the quality of their water supply. More than one-half of the households who reported having at least one water quality problem had taken, or planned to take, at least one measure to improve the quality of their water supply. Fifteen percent or more of all participants had taken, or planned to take, one or both of the following actions: purchase or rent water treatment equipment and shock chlorinate the water system.