Water Safety Testing

HARC operates a water testing laboratory at Kunia, Oahu that analyses agriculture irrigation and produce washing water for total coliform bacteria and E. coli bacteria. The test system meets FDA standards and is currently funded by a Hawaii Farm Bureau grant covering all costs to farmers for sample testing.  Water samples must be collected by trained samplers that are available on all islands. Results will be completed in 24 hours after receipt of the sample and bacterial counts are provided to the farmers but not made public.  The Food Safety Modernization Act regulations will go into effect as soon as 2022 and will require farms to have E. coli counts below 126 cfu per 100 ml water.  Knowing in advance whether your water meets the FDA standards will allow any contamination sources to be identified and corrected.  

For further inquiries, please contact:
Dr. Susan Schenck
Kunia Experiment Station
Phone: (808) 621-1386
Email: [email protected]