In Northern New Mexico, the unregulated
contaminants are as follows:
- Chloride – taste
- Copper – blue-green staining
- Fluoride – tooth discoloration
- Iron – red staining
- Manganese – often occurring with iron; black staining
- pH – troublesome if well below neutral 7.0 pH units (acidic) or if well above 7.0 (alkaline)
- Sulfate – may be a host for bacteria under certain conditions; “rotten” egg odor
- Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) – indicator of the overall water quality and includes minerals, salts, metals, cations (positively-charged ions) an anions (negatively-charged ions) dissolved in the water.
- Turbidity – clarity of water
This list encompasses contaminants for which
consumers spend great amounts of money.
Although these contaminants are not known to have adverse health effects, this list encompasses contaminants for which residential consumers spend great amounts of money.