How to test tap water?

I live in an apartment in DE. Recently our tap water has bee brownish in color and smelling faintly of sewage. Who would I contact about this other than the leasing office? I'm just getting 'brushed off' when I contact them.

Is there a cheap at home test I can do to see what's wrong? Is there anywhere I can report the apartment building to?

We use a brita filter for our drinking water, but that's not taking the icky color, smell, and taste out of the water.

There have been no hard rains that should have stirred up sediment in the water. My parents have well water, so I'm used to that. But what I have now is city water, completely different I think...

We've been living here for 5 years, the pipes haven't been dormant. I ran the water for 30 minutes today trying to get rid of it.

The toilet water is discolored, kitchen sink water is discolored, but the bathroom sink water is not.

I'm thinking it's the pipes in the building instead of the water. It's a very OLD building. I need to have some proof of water quality so I can go to the leasing office.

Start with writing a letter (signed and dated) to your landlord to establish a legal paper trail of the issue. I would ask them to test your water and take care of this issue ASAP. If not, depending on the laws in your state, you may be able to either withhold rent or place in escrow until your water issue is resolved. It is your landlord's responsibility to provide the basic need of having clean water.

If things aren't moving fast enough, you can contact your water provider yourself and ask them to resolve. Keep everything carefully documented.

If you ever get to a point where you don't trust your water supply and want to know the specific compounds it contains, you can turn to professionals: http://www.caslab.com/Drinking-Water-Tes...

You should not have brown sediment in your water. I would start by calling your city water provider. They have the capability of telling you if they have performed maintenance in your area lately and/or if it is something on the property you are living. Dont drink the water or bathe in it for that matter. If your apartment was uninhabited for a while stagnant water may have been sitting in the system and may just need to be run for a while until it flushes out. I would turn on every faucet in your place until they run clean if possible should not take more than 10 minutes. Hope this helps and be safe

You can get camping key to filter your water before you put it thru the Brita. As for testing Swmming Pool water test kits are just the job. But report it to the Water company too and the Local government department/

First, I wouldn't call the rental office or the City. Either or both of these entities could have a dog in this fight, I.E. a self interest. Either of them could be at fault.

I would check either the Internet or your local phone book. Look for a County or State agency. First I would check or a "Dept. of Water" or something similar. Failing that, check for a "Dept. of Health" or something similar.

We (in my community) have County Supervisors that might be able to direct you. You would also have representation in the State House where Legislation is drafted for State level issues. If you don't have any luck there, contact your U.S. Representative or U.S. Senator.

Good luck, I hope you get some help. The problem sounds nasty.

BTW, we had a similar problem 25 or so years ago. It turned out to be a drought situation where the city water supply was so low that some of the color and odors could not be removed with standard filtration and purification processes. We ended up drilling into a deeper aquifer.