Talk is cheap. We bought a Safe Home ULTIMATE drinking water test kit, collected samples from our kitchen tap in Sicklerville, NJ, and sent a second set to a state-certified lab for metals and VOC analysis. Here are our actual results.
Why We Tested
We were drinking the municipal water from the Gloucester County water system for years, assuming the annual CCR meant everything was fine. After reading Filter The Gov’s various guides on what’s really in tap water, we decided to test for ourselves.
The result changed everything.
What We Tested For
The home kit tested 200+ parameters including bacteria, lead, pesticides, chlorine, pH, hardness, and VOCs. The lab panel checked for heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, mercury, chromium) and 53 VOCs via EPA Method 524.2.
The Results
Home kit findings:
- Total chlorine: 2.1 mg/L (within EPA limits but higher than comfortable — we can taste it)
- pH: 7.8 (slightly alkaline, fine)
- Hardness: 120 mg/L (moderately hard — scale buildup on fixtures)
- Nitrates: 2.3 mg/L (within limits but we have young children — the margin matters)
- Lead: 3.2 ppb (below EPA action level of 15 ppb, but above the AAP recommendation of 1 ppb for children)
- Bacteria: No coliform detected
- TDS: 210 mg/L
Lab results (VOCs and metals):
- Chloroform: 18.4 ppb (THM — chlorination byproduct, EPA MCL is 80 ppb so “compliant”)
- Bromodichloromethane: 6.2 ppb (THM — combined with chloroform exceeds health thresholds per multiple studies)
- Arsenic: Non-detect (good)
- Chromium-6: 0.08 ppb (below California’s 0.02 ppb goal? No — but below EPA’s 100 ppb MCL)
The Gap Between “Legal” and “Safe”
Our water is “compliant” by every EPA metric. No violations. Passed every test. But:
- Our lead at 3.2 ppb is 3x the AAP’s recommendation for children
- Our combined THMs at 24.6 ppb are below EPA limits but studies show bladder cancer risk increases above 20 ppb for long-term exposure
- Our chromium-6 at 0.08 ppb is legal but California’s public health goal is 0.02 ppb
What We Did About It
We installed a whole-house carbon filter for chlorine and THM reduction at the main line, plus a reverse osmosis system at the kitchen sink for drinking water. The RO system removes lead, chromium-6, THMs, and nitrates to near-zero.
For backup, we keep a Berkey Royal gravity filter in the garage with spare elements — if municipal water ever fails, we can filter from our neighbor’s pond 100 yards away.
Test Yours
Don’t take our word for it. Test your own water. A home test kit costs $30-50. Lab testing runs $100-300. Compare your results to the EPA MCL — then compare them to the California public health goals. The gap will tell you everything.