Brian Oram, a professional geologist and soil scientist and founder of B.F. Environmental Consultants, announced Monday the firm is making available “The Pennsylvania Guide for Groundwater for Private Well Owners: What Do the Numbers Mean?” through the Water Research Center Portal.

“The goal of this booklet is to help educate and inform citizens on issues related to water conservation, ensuring that private water supply systems produce safe drinking water for your family, protecting the long-term quality of our streams and drinking water sources, and helping you to understand the potential sources of pollution to our water resources,” Oram said.

The booklet provides general information explaining certified water testing, chain-of-custody, and drinking water regulations and standards. It provides information related to the health (primary standards) or aesthetic (secondary standards) concerns for each parameter and provides information on water quality parameters that do not specifically have a drinking water limit.

“This reference is a guide to understanding water quality that works by providing guidance on selecting water quality testing parameters for baseline testing from a citizen's perspective and by serving as a tool to help interpret water quality data,” Oram added.

In some cases, the document provides guidance on what actions a homeowner may want to consider in light of test results.

The booklet is part of the effort to support the Citizens Groundwater and Surface water Database, a grassroots effort to track change in groundwater quality in Pennsylvania.

A copy of the booklet is available online.

To learn more, visit the Citizen Groundwater/ Surfacewater Database.

10/8/2012