Homeowners concerned about the quality of their drinking water should look first to the community’s annual consumer confidence report (CCR) for basic information on the local water supply, according to the Water Quality Association (WQA).

“We want consumers to know what information is already available to them to check the quality of their drinking water,” said Pauli Undesser, WQA Executive Director. “Homeowners need good data in deciding whether additional water treatment options should be considered.”

Public treatment plants are required to provide residents they serve with a copy of their CCR by July 1 of each year. The report provides information about what contaminants, if any, are present in the water supply and what impact they may have on residents’ health.

Water has to travel through miles of pipes and pumps to get from the municipal treatment center to a customer, so WQA recommends that homeowners have their water tested at its “point of use” – such as a kitchen faucet — by a water treatment professional or certified lab. Water treatment professionals can be found using WQA’s Find Water Treatment Providers tool.

WQA recommends treatment products that have been certified. Consumers can visit WQA’s product certification listings to search WQA’s database of certified products and professionals.

Consumers who don’t pay their own water bills because they rent a house or live in an apartment won’t receive the CCR in the mail and might need to contact the building manager or the utility company for a copy. The reports also are available online. People who get their water from a private well are not covered under the EPA regulation that requires the annual report.