Every day, the Butler County Conservation District office received phone calls about testing drinking water. If you obtain your water from your own well or spring, you're responsible for ensuring its quality.

Unlike public water supplies, government agencies are not required to monitor private water systems for contamination. The springs along the county roadways are not tested. You'd be drinking that water at your own risk.

Periodic water testing is important for providing a supply that's safe and appealing to use. There are many places to take your water for testing. Local water testing labs are listed in the telephone book's Yellow Pages under Water Analysis.

Also, the Butler County Conservation District sells water testing kits for $11.50. However, these kits only test for bacteria.

Although many substances can degrade drinking water quality, testing for the presence of every possible contaminant would be very expensive. It is best to run tests that are broad in scope for those contaminants that are likely to be present.

Testing for the five water items listed below can give you a good indication of your drinking water quality.

Total coliform bacteria - Although most coliform bacteria don't cause illness, they're easy to test for and may be used to indicate the possibility of pathogenic or disease causing microorganisms in the water supply. If coliform bacteria are in your water, then other bacteria and viruses that can make you sick - like salmonella and hepatitis - may also be present.

Nitrates - Excessive levels of nitrates in drinking water may cause a potentially fatal disease called methemoglobinemia - otherwise known as blue-baby syndrome - in infants less than 6 months old.

Pesticides - A pesticide scan will tell you if any of a number of pesticides are in your water. Birth defects, an increased risk of cancer, and damage to internal organs are possible chronic health effects associated with exposure to pesticides above recommended levels.

pH - A pH test measures how acidic or basic water is. The scale for pH ranges from 0 to 14 with anything less than 7 being acidic and anything greater than 7 being basic. Water that is too acidic or too basic can corrode household plumbing. In addition, metals, such as copper, lead and cadmium, can dissolve from plumbing and contaminate your water. That could pose additional health problems.

TDS - TDS, or Total Dissolved Solids, tells you the concentration of dissolved materials in your water. Water with TDS concentration above the recommended limit may have an objectionable taste and deposit scale in pipes. People unaccustomed to water with a high TDS concentration may suffer gastrointestinal upsets when they drink the water. Also, if total dissolved solids are at high levels, it would be wise to have further tests to determine specific contaminants.

Ron Fodor is manager of the Butler County Conservation District.