• No Matter What Water Samples You're Testing, IDEXX Makes It Easier to Prepare for Summer
• Why We Want Your Opinion!
• IDEXX Employees Spend Personal Growth Leave in Africa
• Listening to Our Customers

No Matter What Water Samples You're Testing, IDEXX Makes It Easier to Prepare for Summer

It's not too early to begin thinking about the increased volume of testing that comes with warmer weather. Whether it's a pool, spa, the ocean, or a lake, people spend more time in and around the water in summer than at any other time of year. For that reason, it's important that those bodies of water are safe to swim in and to drink.

IDEXX's line of microbiology products can streamline your laboratory and allow you to run more samples through the laboratory while keeping hands-on time and costs to a minimum. IDEXX products offer an easy and cost-effective way to implement the recommendations of various rules pertaining to water use. A number of ways in which IDEXX microbiology tests have been approved and recommended are as follows:

1. The U.S. EPA states that E. coli and enterococci are the best indicators of fecal contamination in ambient waters like recreational water and source water. The Ambient Water Rule approves the use of IDEXX Colilert*, Colilert*-18 and Enterolert* reagents in combination with Quanti-Tray* and Quanti-Tray*/2000 for the detection of E. coli and enterococci in ambient waters.
2. The Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, 21st Edition, states that Colilert, Colilert-18, Colisure, Enterolert, Quanti-Tray, Quanti-Tray 2000, and the SimPlate* heterotrophic plate count test are all recommended methods for testing drinking water and source water.¹
3. Since its first U.S. EPA approval in 1989, Colilert has provided an easy, rapid, accurate and cost-effective method for testing drinking water for coliforms and E. coli. It is a well-known and widely used test.

With various approvals, IDEXX reagents eliminate the need for laboratories to have multiple methods and media for individual microbiological tests. This simplifies laboratory work flow, regulatory compliance and training, saving laboratories time and money. So take advantage of IDEXX's complete product line to solve your microbiological testing needs this summer.

For more information regarding open beaches, visit the U.S. EPA's Beacon Web site at: http://iaspub.epa.gov/waters10/beacon_national_page.main

Every now and again, you open your mailbox to find a survey from IDEXX. Why do we send these out so often, you ask? Not because the boss made us do it, but because we want your opinions.

Your opinions matter to us for many good reasons. First, the survey tells us how we are doing and how we can improve as a water microbiology testing provider; second, it gives us an idea of the reasons why certain tests are important to you; third, it provides information about what will benefit you in the short- and long-term future of water microbiology.

For this year's survey, we received thousands of responses—more than in years past—and we want to thank each of you for taking the time to fill it out. Once we receive comprehensive results from the surveys, we will be happy to share them with you.

Congratulations to the following winners of the Visa* gift card giveaway:

1. Brian Edge of Wilton Water District in Wilton, Connecticut, USA
2. Mary Price of Belmont Water Plant in Belmont, North Carolina, USA
3. Chris Wallace of Lexington Water System in Lexington, Tennessee, USA
4. Christy Bennett of Swire Coca-Cola in West Valley City, Utah, USA

What would you do if your company gave you four weeks of paid leave as a benefit for 10 years of service? Would you go on vacation or would you spend it providing volunteer work to a country in need, while at the same time working with your company? Well, that's exactly what Carol Davies and Dale Miller of the North Grafton, Massachusetts, IDEXX facility did. They decided to spend their four weeks in Africa showing locals how to test their water before drinking it, using the IDEXX Colilert* test.

With the generous donations of hundreds of Colilert test tubes from IDEXX and supplies from Dr. Robert Metcalf, the duo assembled 25 portable microbiology laboratory kits and headed to Edgerton University in Njoro, Kenya. There, they taught multiple water microbiology workshops to more than 90 eager students, faculty members, and curious university administrators, showing them how to easily test the drinking water using their own body heat as an incubator. In addition, they taught the students how to pasteurize the contaminated water with simple solar cookers. The donated portable microbiology laboratory kits can now be taken to remote villages so students can test and treat vital water sources to help improve the quality of life in Kenya.

Dale and Carol also spent 11 days volunteering with Earthwatch, gathering information about wild elephants. This information was then forwarded to the Kenyan Wildlife Service to aid in better management and protection of the elephants in the Tsavo Wildlife Parks.

Although Dale and Carol spent the majority of their trip in selfless volunteer acts, they assure us that they also had time to enjoy a wild African safari. Thank you to Carol and Dale for their hard work and education.

H₂O News

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*Visa is a registered trademark of Visa, Inc. Colilert, Enterolert, Quanti-Tray, and SimPlate are trademarks or registered trademarks of IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and.or other countries.