A colloidal silver solution was prepared according to procedures recommended for ceramic pot filter production. The solution was then characterized for particle size distribution, trace contaminants, and zeta potential. Silver nanoparticles were adsorbed onto a silica substrate and assessed with a quartz crystal microbalance. Preliminary experiments showed adsorbed silver releasing from an unmodified quartz sensor (gold electrode surface) into flowing 10% (v/v) influent solution of tryptic soy broth at approximately 50 times the rate of release of adsorbed silver caused by flowing Millipore ultrapure water alone. Experiments were conducted to determine the effects of water quality, including pH, turbidity, ionic strength, and natural organic matter, on the release of silver nanoparticles from the silica substrate. The most significant release was caused by waters containing sodium hypochlorite, suggesting that cleaning of silver-containing ceramic filters should be performed with caution.