Drinking Water/Potable Water

Eurofins is the largest and most preferred full service water quality testing laboratory in the United States. We maintain a proud and successful history providing the water and beverage industry with high-quality testing, data management and other customer-focused services.

Eurofins supports school monitoring programs for lead and local, city and municipal drinking water suppliers with a full suite of drinking water methods that meet the requirements for regulated compounds under the Safe Drinking Water Act. 

Providing routine drinking water analyses for commercial entities, government agencies and utility providers is one of Eurofins’ core service offerings. Utilizing EPA and Standard Methods approved for drinking water samples, our trained analysts produce quality data that adheres to the strict state and federal regulatory guidelines. Eurofins is your source for a broad range of consistently high-quality drinking water tests analyzing for disinfection byproducts, microbiology, PFAS, organics, inorganics and radioactivity as well as routine drinking water analyses include volatiles, semivolatiles, metals and various wet chemistry parameters such as turbidity, fluoride, chloride and total organic carbon.

Bioassay Monitoring for CECs

In 2010, CA State Water Board convened a Science Advisory Panel (SAP) to provide recommendations for monitoring constituents of emerging concern (CECs) in recycled water. The panel recommended the use of bioanalytical screening tools to more comprehensively evaluate a wider range of CECs. The Recycled Water Policy that officially became effective as of April 2019 requires bioassay testing for recycled water projects. The measurement of quantitative biological activity allows for a sensitive prediction of constituents that would trigger further screening using analytical chemistry to identify known and unknown CECs in recycled water at concentrations that may pose a risk to human health or the environment.

• The two bioassays required in the regulation are: the estrogen receptor alpha (ER-α) and aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)
• For those that have to comply with the requirements of the Recycled Water Policy:
  • There is a one-year grace period to implement the Bioanalytical Monitoring. In April 2020, the Initial Monitoring Phase kicks off and it has a duration of 3 years. In this phase, response actions are not required (although the recycled water producer may choose to adopt them). After this phase come a Baseline Monitoring Phase and a Standard Operation Monitoring Phase, both of which are tied to response actions.

Bioassay Testing at Trussell Technologies

Trussell Technologies has implemented ER-a and AhR assays at their Pasadena California laboratory.

• The typical bioassay test involves the following steps:
  • Sample preparation: solid phase extraction to concentrate the sample.
  • Bioassay testing on water extract: This is a two-day process. Depending on the assay, the response is measured as fluorescence, luminesce or absorbance in a plate reader with the appropriate filters.
  • Data analysis: calibration standards and QA/QC samples are analyzed to determine if they are within the acceptance criteria. The results for the water extracts are expressed as a bioanalytical equivalent concentration (BEQ), that is, as a concentration of reference compound (typically ng/L). For samples that are subject to regulatory compliance, the BEQ is the metric that will determine the response actions.

Collaboration with Eurofins

Eurofins is able to support water systems that are subject to the Recycling Water Policy with an extensive list of chemical analysis of CECs.  Working with Trussell Technologies allows our clients to request analytical services that include bioassay analysis and have all testing reported on one report. 

For further information visit the California Waterboards website.