Your first step is to get your water tested.

You can either take a sample of Water Treatment Chemicals your tap water with you to the store or download a free testing kit from one of the home test sites and mail it in. The results can tell you what's in your water and how to treat it.

If you have a well, your best bet is to have it tested by a professional, who can also tell you if there are any harmful bacteria present. If that's not an option, you can order well water tests online or pick up a home kit at the hardware store.

The EPA recommends using a test kit that measures total dissolved solids (TDS), which includes minerals like calcium and magnesium. This number tells you how much "stuff" is in your water. The higher the TDS level, the more minerals there are in your water — including lead, arsenic and uranium.

A lower number is better for drinking because it means less minerals and metals are leaching into your glass of H20 every time you turn on the tap or fill up your kettle for tea time.

What are the contaminants in your water?

If you want to know what's in your water, there are two main ways to find out. The first is to test it yourself. You can buy a home testing kit at most hardware stores for less than $30. The second way is for your local water utility to test it for you. To find out how, contact your local health department or county government office and ask for help.

Here's what to expect from a home test:

Chlorine Test - This test measures the amount of chlorine in the water. Chlorine is used to kill bacteria and other microorganisms that may be present in the water supply. Most municipal water systems add chlorine at the treatment plant before sending it into homes and businesses.

pH Test - This test measures the acidity or alkalinity of the water sample. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14 (acidic) with 7 being neutral; lower numbers indicate acidity while higher numbers indicate alkalinity (or basicity). A pH reading greater than 7 indicates acidic conditions and a reading below 7 means alkaline conditions exist in the sample tested.

Municipal Water Treatment

Water treatment is a process of making water safe for human consumption. Water treatment may also be used to remove impurities, such as hardness and natural or artificial mineral content brought about by the presence of soil through erosion in the water source.

Municipal water treatment plants provide drinking water to a community, often using groundwater sources or surface water sources. Public water systems are operated by government agencies or private companies in all developed countries, as well as many developing countries. Private sector participation in the sector has increased markedly over the last two decades, with several large international private utilities being privatized following financial crises.

Water systems can be categorized into three broad groups: public, private and household. Public systems supply drinking water to consumers using either groundwaters or surface waters; these include utilities that distribute drinking water to households and businesses (commercial) and municipal authorities that deliver drinking water to residential areas (residential). Households collect their own supply of drinking water from rainwater harvesting or other sources such as spring water or boreholes/wells.