Is that water drinkable? Fast test may hold the answer

Enlarge / Because not all water can come from the Britta or fridge filter, after all. (credit: Wodicka/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

Detecting the agents of disease is often really hard. Imagine that you live in a village in a developing country. You may not have electricity, and your water comes via a well of unknown quality. Is the lining in that well sufficient to keep shallow, polluted groundwater from seeping in?

No matter how good your well-building skills are, you still need to regularly test drinking water to ensure that it is safe. A new development in detecting bacterial nasties has scientists saying there's a solution, one that looks like high-tech litmus paper. But I'm not so sure it's all it's cracked up to be.

Testing your water

I have a brother who runs a non-governmental organization devoted to water safety and sanitation. On his last visit, he entertained my kids by testing the water from the local canal. Essentially, you put a sample of water in a test tube and put another on a plate with some bacteria food. The plate and test tube are left in a nice warm place for 24 hours. In the absence of electricity, this involves taping the samples in your armpit.

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