The Florida Gateway College water program had an inquiry from a public works director of a small community about copper in drinking water. A customer at a convenience store had seen blue-green stains on plumbing fixtures around the soda dispensing equipment. Both the customer and the public works director were concerned.We explained that these stains do usually indicate the presence of copper in the water. Some factors that can increase copper levels in drinking water are the water’s acidity, soft water, high chlorine residuals, long detention times in pipes and elevated water temperature.EPA standardsThe Safe Drinking Water Act requires the
