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In 1990, the last time the decennial census included a question on domestic drinking water source, it was estimated that private domestic water wells (PDWs) supplied household water to about 15.1 million housing units (15% of the population) in the United States (U.S.). PDWs are not regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act, and with few exceptions, are not subject to the water quality testing required of public water suppliers. We expanded two methods in estimating housing units reliant on PDWs from an Oklahoma pilot study (Weaver et al. 2017), nationally. Both use 1990 census data on drinking water sources as a baseline. The first method uses housing unit change and private well drilling logs for 20 states. This allows for the rate of well use to change between 1990 and 2010 in these states. The second, based solely on housing unit change, assumes a constant rate of well use. Ordinary least squares regression demonstrated (R² = 0.78) that the methods yield similar estimates for nationwide well use. Using the housing unit change method, it is estimated that in 2010, 23 million housing units were reliant on PDWs (17% of the population). We provide these estimates at the census block group and census block resolution. This dataset will assist in a better understanding of the reliance on PDWs in the U.S., and position local, tribal, state, and national groups to better protect this water resource from contaminant sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spectrophotometers are commonly used to measure the concentrations of a wide variety of analytes in drinking water and other matrixes; however, many laboratories with limited resources cannot afford to buy these very useful instruments. To meet this need, an accurate, precise, and affordable light emitting diode (LED) spectrophotometer was designed and built using best engineering practices and modern circuit design. The cost and performance of this LED spectrophotometer was compared against 4 common commercial spectrophotometers. More specifically, the performance of these spectrophotometers was evaluated from the upper limits of linear range, upper limits of operational range, calibration sensitivities, R2 values, precisions of standards, estimated limits of detection, and percent calibration check standard recoveries for the determinations of iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), and fluoride (F−) in drinking water. This evaluation was done in the United States (U.S.) and India. Our LED spectrophotometer costs $63 United States Dollars (USD) for parts. The 4 commercial spectrophotometers ranged in cost from $2,424 to $7,644 USD. There are no practical differences in the upper limits of linear range, upper limits of operational range, R2 values, precisions of standards, and estimated limits of detection for our LED spectrophotometer and the 4 commercial spectrophotometers. For 2 of the 3 analytes, there is a practical difference in the calibration sensitivities our LED spectrophotometer and the 4 commercial spectrophotometers. More specifically, the calibration sensitivities for Mn and F− using our LED spectrophotometer were 65.2% and 67.0% of those using the 4 commercial spectrophotometers, respectively. In conclusion, this paper describes the design, use, and performance of an accurate, precise, and extremely affordable LED spectrophotometer for drinking water and other testing with limited resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents an innovative approach to developing interlanguage pragmatics (ILP) by training students to engage in online participatory cultures and analyzing their participation through the lens of communities of practice. Participants were university-level English language learners studying in the United States who were trained on the basic layout and practices of a social news and discussion site (Reddit), then assigned weekly postings within forums based on their individual interests. Social media engagement metrics (upvotes and responses) were used to measure and observe the quantity and quality of online interaction, and post-task questionnaires and follow-up interviews investigated learner perceptions about the language and cyberpragmatics in the online communities they encountered. Quantitative results show that participants struggled to achieve high levels of interaction with other users, but qualitative results indicate a wide range of potential benefits for ILP exploration and development. The findings and implications of this study contribute towards best practices in developing strategies for ILP in online spaces and cyberpragmatic awareness among language learners, enabling them to reach higher levels of participation in online communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Abstract Exposure to inorganic arsenic in drinking water has known cancer and non-cancer health effects. However, no prior studies have addressed response to well water testing for arsenic during pregnancy, a time of known heightened risk perception. Using a US pregnancy cohort, we assessed the impact of receiving well water arsenic test results on subsequent use of arsenic-contaminated tap water. Study participants were 24–28 weeks' gestation at study entry and reported living in a residence served by a private, unregulated well. Upon enrollment participants provided a tap water sample which was tested for arsenic using ICP-MS. During pregnancy and every four months after, participants were asked their extent of tap water use for drinking, cooking and mixing infant formula. Logistic regression was used to estimate the odds of tap water use at one year post-partum in relation to baseline tap water use and arsenic concentration. Compared to those who used tap water <50% of the time, mothers who reported using tap water for drinking and cooking >50% of time in their prenatal questionnaire had 8.54 times the odds of using their tap water at 1-year postpartum (95% CI: 5.37, 13.60). After adjusting for frequency of prenatal tap water use, mothers were less likely to use tap water for drinking and cooking (OR = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.19, 0.60) and for mixing formula (OR = 0.45, 95% CI: 0.24, 0.86) if the high arsenic concentration (>10 μg/L) was known to them. Our findings suggest that providing well water test results during pregnancy may reduce subsequent maternal use of iAs contaminated tap water for drinking, cooking, and mixing infant formula. Public health implications are discussed. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • Receipt of well water iAs >10 μg/L reduced maternal water use. • Receipt of well water iAs between 5 and 10 μg/L did not reduce water use. • Private well testing during pregnancy should be prioritized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores how fifth-grade students in the U.S. act as stewards of the environment and learn valuable skills. It mentions about collection of data by testing the water quality in pond and surveying the level of goose droppings. It also mentions about the LaMotte water quality test kits for testing water quality and kits provide easy-to-use equipment and procedures to test for multiple water quality indicators like nitrogen, phosphorus, dissolved oxygen, temperatures, and turbidity.