I would like to know who I should contact to have my apartment's water tested.

Nine months ago my wife and I moved into an apartment in Nashville,
TN. Since then, we have both been diagnosed with some rather bizarre
medical conditions which neither one of us have any history of. We're
both 24 and have had no previous major medical problems until
recently. Is it possible that our water could be contaminated?

What I would like to know is:
* Which local government office or private company do I need to
contact to conduct proper testing?
* What would be the approximate cost (if any) to have the testing done?
* What are the major, possible water contaminants I should be aware of?

tyler...

In theory, the testing shouldn't cost you anything...

Metro Water Services (MWS) is responsible for treating the
water in Nashville, as noted on this EPA page. The EPA oversees
water quality services and determines what is tested for, which
should include any contaminant you should worry about:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/ogwdw/ccr.nsf/Tennessee?OpenView

A PDF version of MWS Water Quality Table Report for 2006 lists
a number of the contaminants which are tested for, and states:

"MWS tests for 105 contaminants that may be present in drinking
 water. The tables below show those contaminants that were
 detected January 1 through December 31, 2005, all of which
 were at safe levels. If you would like a complete list of all
 substances for which we test, please call (615) 862-4494 to
 request a Water Quality Letter, or visit our Web site at
 www.nashville.gov/Water."
ftp://ftp.nashville.gov/web/ws/water_quality_table_08_2006.pdf

This is last year's Consumer Confidence Report [interesting 
name] online, which lists only certain contaminants:
http://www.nashville.gov/water/confidence2005.htm


This page from the EPA lists the office in Nashville which
oversees drinking water:

Division of Water Supply
Dept. of Environment & Conservation
401 Church Street
L & C Tower, 6th Floor
Nashville, TN 37243-1549
615-532-0191
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo/tn.htm#offices

The same address and organization is listed as a state
certified independent laboratory for drinking water
quality assessment on this page of the EPA site, though
the phone number is slightly different. The page notes:

"If you want to have additional tests on your water,
 EPA recommends that you use a laboratory certified by
 the state."

(615) 532-0183
Department of Environmental Conservation
6th Floor, L&C Tower
401 Church Street
Nashville, TN 37243-1549
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/labs/index.html#t

Yet another address given for obtaining a complete report
of EPA compliance is given in this PDF document for all
the states, which lists the above address and the following
one for Tennessee:

Nashville EAC
Division of Water Supply
711 R. S. Gass Blvd.
Nashville, TN 37216
(888) 891-8332

Do a search for Tennessee and notice that there were
multiple violations reported for this report's period,
which was 2003:
http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/reports/accomplishments/sdwa/sdwacom2003.pdf

That PDF report is made available from this EPA page:
http://cfpub.epa.gov/compliance/resources/reports/accomplishment/sdwa/


Here's a complete Water Quality Data Report from 2002, with
Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCL) allowed, and detected levels:
http://www.nashville.gov/water/comtam2002.htm

Presumably, requesting a Water Quality Letter, as suggested
in the first PDF file above, will allow you to receive an
updated report with a similar level of detail with regard to
all 105 contaminants for which the water is tested.


Here is Nashville's main government water service page, which
tells you how to become involved in the quality process:

"Metro Water Services is a department of the Metropolitan
 Government of Nashville and Davidson County. The public
 may participate in decisions concerning water quality by
 attending the Metropolitan Council meetings, which take
 place on the first and third Tuesdays of each month in
 the Council Chambers on the second floor of the
 Metropolitan Courthouse."
http://www.nashville.gov/water/qualityrpt.htm


Here is Metro Water Services office address:

Metro Water Services
1600 2nd. Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37208
http://www.nashville.gov/water/index.htm


Finally, you can call the EPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline,
at 1-800-426-4791:
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/hotline/index.html

And you can view the EPA's latest reports on this page:
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/hotline/reports.html


A complete discussion of both regulated and unregulated
contaminants can be found on this EPA page:
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/mcl.html

Another page which helps identify contaminants based on the
telltale characteristics of the water, and provides numerous
useful links is found on CyberNook.com:
http://www.cyber-nook.com/water/contam.html


If you don't already have the Adobe Reader for viewing PDF files,
you can download it on the following page for free:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html


That should get you where you need to go.

sublime1-ga


Additional information may be found from further exploration
of the links provided above, as well as those resulting from
the Google searches outlined below.

Searches done, via Google:

"drinking water" safety report Nashville
://www.google.com/search?q=%22drinking+water%22+safety+report+Nashville

"drinking water" dangerous contaminants
://www.google.com/search?q=%22drinking+water%22+dangerous+contaminants

It may be something other than the water...

Have you had your place checked for mold?

There can be a number of culprits that may be responsible for your and
your wife's sudden health problems.

Contact you local Health Department and ask for a full testing of your home.

Steph53

You might have changed your eating, medication and drinking habits
when you moved, so review what might have changed.
Eating fresh (or frozen) fruits and vegetables and whole grains will
strengthen your imune system. If you can afford organic, this may also
help. Try to avoid processed foods including Health food store type
medecations. A few of them cause health problems for some or even most
people.   Neil