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Water Quality Interpretation Tool

Welcome to the Northern Plains and Mountains water quality interpretation tool. This tool has been created specifically to help you evaluate your drinking water quality. To use the tool, simply enter the values that have been provided to you by a certified laboratory in the spaces below. If you do not have a value for a particular parameter, leave the space blank. Then click the submit button to obtain a table with an interpretation of the quality of your water. If you need to start over, or wish to enter data for a new water sample, click the reset form button to clear the information you have entered.

Routine Water Analysis
Alkalinity as CaCO3
Ammonium (NH4)
Bicarbonate
Boron (B)
Calcium (Ca)
Carbonate (CO3)
Chloride (Cl)
Electrical Conductivity (EC)
Hardness
Magnesium (Mg)
Nitrate as Nitrogen (NO3-N)
Nitrate (NO3)
Nitrite as Nitrogen (NO2-N)
Nitrite (NO2)
Nitrate + Nitrite (Total)
pH
Potassium (K)
SAR
Sodium (Na)
Sulfate (SO4)
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)

Bacterium
Total Coliforms
Fecal Coliforms
E. Coli bacteria

Individual Metals Analysis
Aluminum (Al)
Barium (Ba)
Cadmium (Cd)
Chromium (Cr)
Copper (Cu)
Iron (Fe)
Manganese (Mn)
Molybdenum (Mo)
Nickel (Ni)
Phosphorus (P)
Zinc (Zn)
Trace Elements Analysis
Antimony (Sb)
Arsenic (As)
Beryllium (Be)
Cobalt (Co)
Cyanide (CN) (free)
Fluoride (F)
Lead (Pb)
Lithium (Li)
Mercury (Hg)
Radon (Rn)
Selenium (Se)
Silver (Ag)
Thallium (Tl)
Vanadium (V)

Other Parameters
Asbestos
Chlorophenol
Foaming Agents
Phenol

Organic Contaminants
2,4 D
2,4,5 TP
alachlor
aldicarb
atrazine
carbofuran
chlordane
methoxychlor

Volatile Contaminants
benzene
o-dichlorobenzene
p-dichlorobenzene
ethylbenzene
monochlorobenzene
styrene
toluene
trichloroethane
xylenes (total)
Please select the type of water application you would like to evaluate.
Drinking Water Livestock Water

 

For questions/comments about this site, please contact your state water coordinator:

Troy Bauder Colorado Water Quality Coordinator Colorado State University (970) 491-4923 Troy.bauder@colostate.edu Dr. James Bauder Montana Water Quality Coordinator Montana State University (406) 994-5685 jbauder@montana.edu
Dr. Tom Scherer North Dakota Water Quality Coordinator North Dakota State University (701) 231-7239 tscherer@ndsuext.nodak.edu Dr. David Clay South Dakota Water Quality Coordinator South Dakota State University (605) 688-5081 David_Clay@sdstate.edu
Nancy Mesner Utah Water Quality Coordinator Utah State University (435) 797-2465 nancy.mesner@usu.edu Dr. Ginger Paige Wyoming Water Quality Coordinator University of Wyoming (307) 766-2200 gpaige@uwyo.edu
 
Resources:
 
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), Water Quality Control Division's Primary Drinking Water Regulations.
 
Environmental Protection Agency, Ground Water and Drinking Water; List of Drinking Water Contaminants and MCLs. August, 2003.
 
Colorado State University Extension. Fact sheets: 4.908, 0.506, 0.517, 9.307, 0.513, 0.520 Selecting an Analytical Laboratory.
 
Montana State University, Dept. of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences; Water Quality and Irrigation Management Interactive Drinking Water Analysis. September 2003.
 
Montana State University, Household water use: http://waterquality.montana.edu/docs/homeowners.shtml
USU Water Quality Interpretation Tool: http://extension.usu.edu/waterquality/htm/wqtool

A cooperative program consisting of the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service
and
t
he Land Grant Colleges and Universities.

- a Regionally-Based National Network -

page last modified January 9, 2008
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This material is based upon work supported by the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under Agreement No.

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.