There’s a section of the EPA’s website that’s dedicated to private wells and includes information on what to test for and where to have testing done.

How about the shower and faucet filters linked to in the article? They’re small, can easily be packed in a suitcase, and you should be able to install them quickly on a hotel shower or faucet. If you’d rather buy just one filter, you can buy the shower filter and use the shower to get your drinking water. The Klean Kanteen canisters are great for travel as well. They’re durable, and you can fill them with filtered water in your hotel room.

According to the EPA’s website, the Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG) is “the level of a contaminant in drinking water below which there is no known or expected risk to health. MCLGs allow for a margin of safety and are non-enforceable public health goals.” The Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) is “the highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water. MCLs are set as close to MCLGs as feasible using the best available treatment technology and taking cost into consideration. MCLs are enforceable standards.” In short, the MCLG is ideal and the MCL is what’s enforceable based on technical and monetary considerations.

Here’s another page on the EPA’s website that discusses MCL and MCLG in a bit more detail.

Most of the basic filters you’d buy at a place like Home Depot or WalMart are based mostly or completely on activated carbon. While activated carbon is an excellent filtration media and is effective for smaller contaminants such as disinfection byproducts, it’s not good for other contaminants like arsenic and fluoride. A reverse osmosis unit usually includes an activated carbon component along with the RO membrane which makes it very effective at eliminating a wide variety of contaminants.

Some of the less expensive filtration units that don’t include reverse osmosis membranes use other types of media along with the activated carbon, but their effectiveness is dependent on the quality of the media. A unit like this is certainly better than nothing, but in my opinion, a reverse osmosis unit is a much better choice. If you shop around, you should be able to find a number of them that are less expensive, but the quality might not be good. You can visit the Water Quality Association or NSF International to find manufacturers that cell certified filters.

Although it doesn’t have any information for my water supplier, it seems like a useful site. Thanks for sharing it!