If you don't live near Lake Michigan, please don't be fooled into thinking you have avoided this water-contamination concern, as scientists have discovered that all of the Great Lakes have become a toxic link in the world's food chain for bioconcentrating contaminants.

You've probably seen a great deal on my Web site about the importance of drinking pure water and avoiding tap water at all costs due to such "goodies" as chlorine, aluminum and fluoride.

With all of these dangerous contaminants swimming around in your water, you should make it a point to ensure the safety of your tap water supply. This is an understatement if you, your children or even your pets ever drink from the tap water supply, but it's also definitely the case if you cook with, clean dishes with or bathe in your tap water.

Thus, the first step -- for those whose water is provided by a municipal source -- is to have your water tested on your own. Meanwhile, for that approximate 15 percent of U.S. households that obtain their water from a well, ensuring your water is safe through reliable testing should be absolutely mandatory.

Testing for tap water contaminants is one of the most crucial health steps you could take now -- but knowing how and where to find a truly reliable source for that is not always easy. Therefore, I decided it was important for my team and I to do our due diligence on this issue and provide you with a solution you can trust -- and afford.

AquaMD, as the water testing division of the American Water Council, is considered one of the nation's "Premier Testing Laboratories" (laboratory certification # PH-0465). They are an Environmental Protection Agency registered lab, certified by the EPA's NELAC/NELAP standards. (NELAC and NELAP are acronyms for the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference (NELAC), which manages the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (NELAP). NELAP is an EPA program and is the only attempt at a standardized and ubiquitous national testing certification policy.)

Of course, though AquaMD is considered a top-notch water-testing agency, I decided it was important to do our own independent research just to make sure I was providing you with the most reliable service. In short, we provided the same tap waters pulled at the same time for a variety of different tests at AquaMD and another agency that is also credentialed as a premier testing laboratory, and they showed like results across the board.

For those with municipal tap water supplies, I highly encourage you to consider the FULL AquaMD test package, which includes testing for VOCs (48 harmful contaminants) and MTBE. If that package is not possible, the BASIC package is still a very smart move, as it tests for the most common contaminants including harmful bacteria.

A separate package has been designed for those with well water supplies, catering to the most common and dangerous contaminants for that source. If you have well water and live in or near a region with heavy agricultural activity, you should also consider adding the test for pesticides & herbicides to your package (AquaMD enables you to add additional tests to your package or customize your testing package entirely).

If you are unable to test your water at this time, I encourage you to take the free water evaluation at AquaMD (refer to step #1 for web address). AquaMD has compiled data on municipal water supplier's reported results and this is a good place to get at least a general idea of your water quality.

For the "Mercola Recommended Water Tests," the customized water test options, and the free municipal water evaluation, follow these steps:

1. Go to http://www.aquamd.com/mercola/labtests.cfm
2. Read the simple 4-step procedure and then choose one of the three options at the bottom of the page
3. If you'd prefer to order your water tests by phone versus online, call 1-866-278-2634, and please tell them that Dr. Mercola sent you
4. If you order today, AquaMD will have your water test results within 10 business days. AquaMD can also guide you to an appropriate solution should your tests show one is required.

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