Sunshine & Cooloola Water Analysis
Proudly a local Laboratory supporting the Sunshine Coast community, with experienced, professional,
affordable and timely water laboratory analysis, from Maroochydore, Tanawha to Nambour, Melany,
North to Yandina, Peregian Beach to Noosa, Doonan, Tinbeerwah, Cooroy, Pomona, Imbil to Federal and Gympie. Water analysis, including microbiology results in 24 hours, emailed in PDF and we're open 6 days/week, and free sampling or pickup in most cases. Refer to Services & Pricing.
With 20+ years experience working in local council laboratories to the changing landscape of local government mergers and finally Unitywater, I personally witnessed a need for a more efficient, local water testing service on the Sunshine Coast, especially for those customers on tank and/or bore water. I've put together a list of testing suites most suitable for rainwater tanks and bore/ground waters and compare with the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG). Refer to the QLD Health Fact Sheets for more info on Guidance on use of Rainwater tanks, and Safe water on rural properties. If you would like to know the water quality of your own supply then I can help identify any potential water quality issues so you can make a more informed decision as part of your risk management for drinking, domestic or irrigation use.
Sampling & Analytical Services
Most of our lab water quality testing is for domestic, irrigation, drinking water quality testing on Tank and Bore/Ground water. Sampling is conducted to meet the requirements of AS ISO/IEC 17025 - 2018: General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories'. Analytical Services' page has a list of analysis testing suites most suitable for rainwater tanks and bore. Quality Control (QC) checks and analytical methods follow ISO/IEC17025 and good laboratory practices and procedures. All reports are compared with the current ADWG, Health and Aesthetic guidelines. Our point of difference is an interpretation of results, rather than the popular reporting of numbers with little or no comparison with any guidelines and/or real world applications. Moreover, selection criteria of 'what to test for' varies and includes, in the case of ground water; Coliform bacteria, Iron and Manganese, Total Dissolved Solids, pH, Total Hardness, Alkalinity, Calcium Hardness, Magnesium, LSI index, Aluminium. Tank water (rainwater from the roof) is less involved, in that Iron and Manganese is omitted, and Copper is a added due to household plumbing, if the sample is taken from the kitchen tap, where we typically drink our Tank water from.
Infections and Parasites (Microbiology)
Why do municipal drinking water suppliers enumerate E. coli?
Microbial quality of drinking water is commonly measured by testing for Escherichia coli (E. coli), as indicators of faecal contamination and the possible presence of enteric pathogens and other disease causing micro-organisms, including but not limited to; Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shigella, Vibrio and Yersinia. The ADWG states that 'E. Coli should not be detected in a 100 mL sample of drinking water, and if detected, immediate action should be taken to identify potential sources of faecal contamination'. It is impossible to test for every type of potential disease causing organism in a water sample. Instead, drinking water suppliers test for an indicator organism, such as E. coli, to check for possible contamination. We perform microbial analysis for detecting and enumerating E. coli in tank and bore water complying with the latest Australian Standard (AS 4276.5:2019 ). You have the results towards the end of the next day.
Chemistry
There are many water testing parameters we can analyse here, but analysing for every mineral/element may be cost prohibitive. Therefore the only practical way we can test for water quality is to target an informed selection of the most problematic, including potentially harmful heavy metals if consumed, however selection depends on the intended use. In addition to the above mentioned microbial indicator E. Coli, physical chemistry; pH, conductivity - Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) should be included as a 1st phase testing in either your Tank or Bore water quality risk management. Tank (rain water collected from a roof) is typically less problematic compared to bore/ground water, refer to our Tank Water suite. Bore water has a more comprehensive analysis suite due to the fact that ground water is exposed to soil minerals, and obviously there are different soil types and aquifers. Iron (Fe) and Manganese (Mn) levels are the typical target elements for bore water quality, together with Calcium (Ca) hardness and Magnesium (Mg), Total Hardness and phys/chem parameters which all interact in equilibrium. Those parameters should be a preferred 1st phase analysis, refer to our Bore Water Testing Suite.
As previously mentioned, we will compare the analytical results with the ADWG for the chosen tested elements. Analysing for every heavy metal may be cost prohibitive, nevertheless we can certainly organise a more targeted heavy metal scan, evolved from the current knowledge base, and includes Arsenic, Cadmium, Chromium, Lead, Nickel, Mercury, Zinc, all can be a leaching contaminant from industrial and agricultural activity most applicable to bore/ground water. Tank (rain water from the roof) are limited to less potential heavy metal contamination. The heavy metals suite can be your 2nd phase testing, or simply added with the 1st. The Bore Water Quality suite will give you a 1st phase starting guide for your risk management, especially if you only intend to irrigate or use for domestic. For example, pH strongly influences dissolved minerals in solution, corrosion of plumbing, and taste. Simply raising the pH and oxidising (agent and/or atmosphere) your bore water will precipitate most Iron (Fe) and some Manganese (Mn), however Mn is typically a problem and therefore most difficult to remove. Mn deposits black residual staining and reacts strongly with chlorine causing increased staining, as would be the case if topping up a pool. This is why Mn is closely monitored by municipal drinking water suppliers (been there done that!) aiming for <0.01 mg/L. Pumping Bore water high in Fe and Mn and sulphides to a holding tank is advisable and allows at least aeration (atmospheric reaction) to precipitate some Fe, little Mn. Moreover, any pH correction, with perhaps 'Calcite', soda ash or other suitable treatment, can be done most efficiently prior to use. Alternatively, a very efficient suitable filter is required for direct plumbing, straight out of the ground. Knowing the concentrations of at least Fe and Mn included in the 1st phase Bore water testing will help in your choice of filtration.
