Holy Crap! Don't Drink The Water In Las Vegas!

[LVgeogeek]

DMark, This what the Mr. had to say about your water situation:

*Are you using a DPD style chlorine kit (presence of chlorine turns a shade of red) or are you using the kind of kit that turns yellow? I am asking because if you use pH solution in a DPD chlorine test, a high pH (as would be expected in both a pool and the tap water) would appear to be really high chlorine.

If you are testing correctly, and get a high chlorine read (greater than 1.0 ppm), you should probably contact your water provider, LVVWD or City of Henderson (I can’t remember if you have a Henderson or Las Vegas address).

The municipal water should not be reaching the customer with a chlorine read above 1.0 ppm. It’s possible that there is some part of the distribution system that is out of calibration. They might have a chlorine injector at a reservoir cranked up really high. Sometimes in a system as large as the one being operated in Las Vegas, the first indication of a problem is from customer complaint.

If you would like I can test your water with one of the DPD colorimeters from work. *

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@Cowgirl Jules

Check with the water agency, and get a copy of their latest Consumer Confidence Report, which they’re required to put out. That will tell you what actual health-hazard contaminants are in the water.

I’m guessing though, that the chlorine is high because they draw from Lake Meade, and that lake level is down way low so their water quality is affected.

The tap water provided to the Las Vegas valley exceeds the EPA Safe Drinking Water standards and the annual water quality report is available online from the water district as well as mailed out to all customers.

The level of Lake Mead doesn’t affect the safety of the water, but it can affect the aesthetic of the water (taste, color etc).

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Just as a personal note, I have always thought that the water in the hotels on The Strip tastes everything from weird to straight up nasty. The water (straight off the tap) at home definitely tastes better to me than at the hotels. I think they use water softeners or deliberately make the water taste weird to make people drink the $4 a bottle water in the rooms.

Also, bottled water isn’t necessarily safer than tap water, bottle water manufacturers aren’t required to meet Safe Drinking Water standards. If you have an issue with a chlorine taste/smell issue you have with your tap water, use a carbon based filter like Brita or Pur.

[DMark]

@LVgeogeek

Are you using a DPD style chlorine kit (presence of chlorine turns a shade of red) or are you using the kind of kit that turns yellow?

We are using the kit that turns the chlorine yellow…and trust me when I say the tap water has turned a shade of yellow that matches the Las Vegas sun in July.

[hekk]

@Hampshire

Yeah, I used to be fine drinking from Milwaukee’s water supply until me and 403,000 of my closest friends got hit with this back in 93’.

We should start a survivors group…

[Heffalump_and_Roo]

@Cisco

A ~$50 filter will last you at least a year. Cleaner and cheaper than bottled. Granted, not as cool, which is why so many people won’t get one.

Where can I get one of those? My Pur faucet filter requires a new replacement for $13 a month in addition to the original filter that cost about $40 (?).

Why is everyone so surprised about the amount of chlorine in the water? I can smell the chlorine when the tap runs. It seems to me that must be a pretty high level.