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Clear Thinking on Drinking Water
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Last year the Associated Press revealed that tap water in 24 large U.S. metropolitan areas contained detectable levels of pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, mood stabilizers, and hormones. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates water systems that serve at least 15 households or 25 people. These systems supply most Americans, and private well serve the rest. The agency sets acceptable levels for dozens of substances, including chemicals, microorganisms, minerals, and metals. States can establish their own standards as well.
The EPA requires water suppliers to send customers annual reports on the quality of the local supply and levels of various contaminants.
These Consumer Confidence Reports, or CCRs, are available through the EPA website (epa.gov/safewater). The site also provides information on how to read and understand the reports, as does the website of the Campaign for Safe and Affordable Drinking Water, an advocacy group (safe-drinking-water.org).
In general, it is important to check for contaminants that exceed the maximum contaminant level, or MCL, the highest level of a substance permitted in drinking water. But is this information reliable? EPA oversight has been shown to be less than dependable. A 2003 study of the water systems of 19 U.S. cities discusses the ramifications of lax regulation, weak standards for contaminants, and aging equipment posed threats to public health. The EPA itself has acknowledged that in 2001, a quarter of residential water-supply systems did not conduct all the required testing and reporting.
What are the options available to those of us who do not have reliable information about our public drinking water supply? A water filter can be a barrier between you and the tap.
A properly installed home filter can be a good compromise between costly, environmentally unfriendly bottled water and questionable public water supplies. Home filters can be effective against microorganisms, including salmonella, cryptosporidium, and giardia, as well as heavy metals, pesticides, sediment, chlorine, and other substances that pose health risks or make water taste bad. They also remove lead and other elements that water may pick up from the pipes inside a home.
When out and about carry your home filtered water in reusabel containers made form ploy-carbonate plastic which no longer contain the chemical called bisphenol-A (BPA) or use a stainless steel bottle.
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