I live in Chiajna, one of the communes in the suburban area of Bucharest. As such, I enjoy all the ‘advantages’ of country life – including the lack of running water. I have a well dug 45 meters deep, with a submersible pump, a big expansion tank, filtration, and water softening. Everything is apparently going well. I made a habit of testing the water in the well at least once a year, because changes in water quality occur.
I haven’t done it in a while, and in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, I don’t want to expose myself unnecessarily going shopping for bottled water.
I chose Almaro Med, with whom I have worked in the past, to perform the analysis. They are a bit more expensive compared to Apa Nova, but they have the benefit that water samples are taken from the beneficiary (at least in Bucharest and Ilfov). Apart from email conversations, I only had contact with the person who came to take the water samples.
Cost: we paid 495 RON for an analysis measuring 24 physico-chemical indicators and six microbiological indicators. The full list of parameters analyzed can be found here.
The results came back in about a week, it takes a bit of time for microbiological cultures.
Fortunately the microbiology came out fine, I have no unwanted “guests” in the water.
I have a high water hardness (this is a common problem in Ilfov) and exceeded manganese limits (about three times the maximum allowed limit).
This manganese is nasty stuff; in excess, it’s not good for your health at all. For children, excess manganese leads to all sorts of neurological problems.
The only possible solution is to install a reverse osmosis station for drinking water. More money spent, more fun…
Cover photo by Amritanshu Sikdar on Unsplash
