Greater Ouachita Water says they’ve found high levels of acid in their water

The company says the water on the North Monroe Water System tested high for haloacetic acids.
The state requires the company to send out notices when they’re in violation of chemical limits.
Jeff McNew, from Greater Ouachita Water, says the high levels come from their testing in August at the Parrot’s Beak test site.
He says when water is hotter, it speeds up chemical reactions and can result in more haloacetic acid.
He says they test four sites on the North Monroe Water System in February, May, August, and November.
That affects people like those living in Sterlington, who say they’re always having issues with the water.
“Since we’ve lived here it has, not to the point where we’re like ‘Oh My Gosh’ we’re going to move and not touch our water, but we always have something going on with it,” says Meredith Kolb McNew says the four water tests they take throughout the year are averaged, and if the average is over the limit of 60 parts per million (ppm), the state requires the company to notify people by mail or by the newspaper.
The state does not require the company to notify residents if the results of one test during the year have high contaminant levels.
Jeff McNew says the company is only required by the state to notify when the average of the four tests is too high.
After August, crews test again in November, “we took samples again in the fourth quarter, and the levels were already back to normal,” says McNew.

Dubai responds to accusations of acidic bottled water

Dubai: How safe is bottled water in Dubai?
Authorities took to social media to assure residents that all bottled water is completely safe, after a flurry of rumours questioned the safety of mineral water.
On its official Instagram account, Dubai Municipality acknowledge that a number of articles and photos were published on social networking sites, claiming that some brands of bottled water were harmful to residents and contained a high level of acidity.
An investigation was immediately carried out by the Food Safety Management Department at the municipality, who said, “these rumours are not based on scientific facts, studies or accredited sources.” Dubai Municipality further clarified that residents should not believe such rumours, as “any scientific statement must be issued by specialists of the same field, and must be supported by scientific evidence or based on scientific references that are accredited and known.” According to the UAE and Gulf Standards No.
UAE.S GSO 1025: 2014 for bottled water, the pH level of bottled water should be between 6.5 and 8.5.
The Dubai Central Laboratory carried out tests for the products under question, and confirmed that the pH levels were within the acceptable percentage.
The municipality pointed out that, “the pH level in drinking water is a quality characteristic and has no health effect.
Mineral water doesn’t specify the natural pH because natural water has its own acidity, according to its origin.” All products in Dubai’s markets are deemed as safe, confirmed an official at the department of food safety, and re subjected to rigid tests either during the manufacturing process or when they are imported and circulated.

VERIFY: Does Bottled Water pH Matter?

There have been many different versions but they all show the same thing – a water bottle pH test.
The idea is simple, take the water bottles most commonly seen every day and use a pH test to see if they are acidic or alkaline (basic).
Above that is alkaline and below that is acidic.
Are water bottles mostly acidic or alkaline?
KVUE’s Jason Puckett did his own independent test and was able to verify that five different water bottles did have acidic pH, one had an alkaline pH and two others were almost neutral.
In many of the online videos, the creators would claim the test shows that some bottles of water are better than others or even potentially safer than others.
The FDA approves every bottle so they’re perfectly fine to drink."
Dr. Biberdorf said she’d seen these videos often and while she likes the idea of folks exploring scientific topics at home, she said the research behind these videos is lacking.
"It’s just personal preference," she said while pointing out that she actually preferred the taste of slightly acidic water and her husband preferred slightly alkaline water.
With Dr. Biberdorf’s expert opinion, we can verify that the claims that certain pH balances in approved water bottles are beneficial, is False.

Verify: Does the pH of your bottled water matter?

Verify: Does the pH of your bottled water matter?.
There have been many different versions but they all show the same thing – a water bottle pH test.
The idea is simple, take the water bottles most commonly seen every day and use a pH test to see if they are acidic or alkaline (basic).
Are water bottles mostly acidic or alkaline?
KVUE’s Jason Puckett did his own independent test and was able to verify that five different water bottles did have acidic pH, one had an alkaline pH and two others were almost neutral.
In many of the online videos, the creators would claim the test shows that some bottles of water are better than others or even potentially safer than others.
Dr. Biberdorf said she’d seen these videos often and while she likes the idea of folks exploring scientific topics at home, she said the research behind these videos is lacking.
"It’s just personal preference," she said while pointing out that she actually preferred the taste of slightly acidic water and her husband preferred slightly alkaline water.
With Dr. Biberdorf’s expert opinion, we can verify that the claims that certain pH balances in approved water bottles are beneficial, is False.
Is there another story you’d like us to VERIFY?

Chinese anger over ‘acid pollution’ images

Chinese anger over ‘acid pollution’ images.
The images, taken by a drone, show a cluster of dark red and rust-coloured pits occupying a big patch of land in a village called Nanzhaofu in Hebei province.
Volunteers told Chinese media that similar polluted land could be found in other provinces.
‘I thought it was coincidence’ After the images were published on the NGO’s social media accounts last week there was an outburst of public anger.
"My aunt is from that county in Hebei, she died from cancer two years ago.
In Hebei, authorities blamed local people for the contamination, saying they had been illegally dumping acid waste for years.
But on social media, people are asking why, if the suspect has been arrested, nothing had changed and the land is still contaminated.
In its annual report this week, the environment ministry said water standards in some areas of northern China had declined since 2015.
Environment Minister Chen Jining said water samples found 36.3% of heavy polluting industries’ land and the surrounding soil did not meet government standards, according to a report by South China Morning Post.
Many have been asking whether it’s right for China to begin developing a new area if it can’t keep the existing one clean, and whether the necessary environmental protections really will be put in place.

Ministry asks for quick action to mitigate effects

Ministry asks for quick action to mitigate effects.
China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) on Wednesday confirmed there are two large pits of sewage in North China, urging the local government to conduct examination of underground water and ease the impact on the neighborhood.
Xiang Chun, head of the NGO, told the Global Times that the two pits in Dacheng county are located in suburban areas, while the one in Jinghai district in Tianjin, which covers an area of 150,000 square meters, is in the middle of farmland.
According to the MEP, Dacheng government said that the two pits were caused by digging years ago and was polluted in 2013 by illegal pouring of sulfuric acid.
The government has been dealing with the polluted pits all the time, but the pollution control work hasn’t been done yet.
These pits have been there for almost six years, but they did not cause us any inconvenience because they are nowhere near residential areas, a villager surnamed Chen from Zhaofu township told the Global Times on Wednesday.
Water in these pits is rust-colored and in some areas, the water’s pH level has already reached 1, said Xiang.
The pH scale measures the acidity or alkalinity of a liquid, and ranges from 0 to 14, with 7 being neutral and anything below 7 acidic.
In 2014, an industry owner surnamed Li in East China’s Anhui Province was sentenced to six months in prison and fined 10,000 yuan for using sewage pit to discharge pollutants, because his behavior severely damaged the environment, the China Environment News reported in 2015.
Groundwater pollution is more serious in North China than other parts of the country because the ground water level in this area is relatively low, which makes it easier for the pollutants to reach groundwater, Ma said.

Bottled water: The importance of pH

What is pH level?
Can water alone do it?
By staying hydrated and drinking a lot of water, the kidneys are able to excrete the acids better.
They will indirectly affect the buffering mechanisms of the body, and therefore also affect the body’s pH.
Once alkaline water enters your stomach, your body simply pours in greater amounts of acid to neutralize it, they say.
It is important to establish the difference between the acidity or alkalinity (pH level) of one’s body, meaning the pH of one’s blood, and the acidity of one’s stomach.
The human body’s acidity level (the acidity of the blood) is not, in any way, affected by the pH level of the stomach or the pH of what is eaten or drunk.
The following is how each buffering system gets rid of the excessive acid in a nutshell: • The lungs get rid of the acids by converting acid into Carbon Dioxide, which we simply breathe out • The kidneys combine the acids with Bicarbonate and excrete the excessive acids through the urine • The blood, which has high a concentration of proteins, combines them with the acids, and this keeps the pH in the normal range Is the human stomach in mainly an acidic environment as the gastric juices are acidic?
Hence, sparkling waters are mildly acidic (pH level is between 6-7).
Some bottled water brands in UAE and their pH and sodium levels