Have you recently received a report about your local drinking water quality (a Consumer Confidence Report), but don't know what it means? We did, just last week - these reports are issued nationwide around the beginning of July - and I threw it away. It was kind of liberating, actually, because each previous year I have made a habit of poring over these reports knowing that I couldn't understand them. One problem is that a lot of scary sounding chemicals are listed in the report but there are certain very low levels that are considered "OK" to have in your water. Whether these levels are set at truly safe levels, I don't know; but I do know that just seeing a substance on that list, and some measurement greater than 0, is not necessarily cause for alarm.

But this year will mark another first for me: I'll be calling up our water supplier to ask if they can send me another copy of that report. Thanks to NSF International, we now have a resource that can help us interpret our water quality report.

For example, I now know what all those pesky abbreviations that go along with the numbers mean. Key ones include (my summaries, based on NSF's info):

• AL: Action Level. The concentration of lead or copper in water that triggers treatment requirements for a water provider. Requires no public notifications.


• MCL: Maximum Contaminant Level. The maximum level of a contaminant allowable in public drinking water. When exceeded, consumers must be notified by the water supplier.


• MCLG: Maximum Contaminant Level Goal. The level of a contaminant in drinking water believed to be safe.


• NA: Not Analyzed. Water has either been deemed "non-vulnerable" to a contaminant or is not required to be tested for the contaminant.


• ND: Not Detected. Water analysis equipment has detection limits; this means that within those limits, no contaminant was found.

The site's guide to drinking water reports also provides an overview of what's in CRR reports, a discussion of units of measurement and what they mean and, most invaluably, how to interpret your water quality report's data.

NSF International is a non-profit public health and safety organization that is active in writing standards for food, water, and consumer goods both in the U.S. and worldwide. They also test drinking water treatment products including pitchers, tap filters, and home water treatment systems and certify those that meet their standards.