How often do you test tap water for total/fecal coliform?
Every week we test tap water for presence/absence of coliforms. We also collect at least 120 samples each month at the representative sites throughout the City’s distribution system. The City has its own water quality lab certified through the State Water Resources Control Board, which performs bacteriological analysis of coliform, implementing EPA-approved methods in-house. The absence of total coliforms in the distribution system minimizes the likelihood that fecal pathogens are present. The total coliforms are used as indicators to determine the vulnerability of a system to fecal contamination.

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1. Is our drinking water safe?
2. How will I know if my water is contaminated?
3. What is being done to protect the water supply impacts from the fire?
4. Is the water from my well safe to drink?
5. Where does tap water come from?
6. Why is the drinking water stored in large tanks on hillsides?
7. What is the best choice of drinking water: bottled or tap water?
8. My tap water sometimes has an odd taste and odor. Why?
9. What can I do to avoid taste and odor in my tap water?
10. Is my tap water safe to drink?
11. Does Santa Rosa fluoridate its drinking water?
12. Is fluoride in my drinking water safe?
13. What is water hardness?
14. What are the health effects associated with hard water?
15. What is the conversion factor for mg/L of hardness to grains per gallon of hardness?
16. How do I set my water softener correctly?
17. What is the white residue on pots and pans after I boil water?
18. If I am on a salt-restricted diet, will the sodium in drinking water hurt me?
19. What are total coliform bacteria?
20. What is E. coli? Where does it come from? How can water be treated to protect against E. coli?
21. How often do you test tap water for total/fecal coliform?
22. Why is water tested for total/fecal coliform only?
23. What can cause the tap water to be cloudy or milky?
24. What can cause tap water to smell like bleach?
25. Sometimes water coming out of my tap is brown or has sediments in it. Why?
26. What should I do if I turned on a faucet, and the water coming out is discolored?
27. What is wrong if I smell a rotten egg odor when I run water in the house?