Tap Water in Urban Areas is it Safe

If you were asked to name countries reputed to have water that is tainted or which contains contaminants one of the last countries that may come to mind would be the United States of America. Recent reports on television news as well as newspapers, periodicals, the information has also been reported by scientific and trade publications, and both medical journals and trade publications, as well as environmental and resource management groups have said that the water in cities and towns all across America is contaminated and that it may not be safe to drink.

Shouldn't the water from our taps be safe?

Certainly when you encourage your children to drink more water you tell them to do it because water is good for them. Of course when they come in from playing outside with their friends you would like them to be able to just go in the kitchen, draw a glass of water from the tap, and just drink it right? You hope that you would be able to do this here in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Those who have become aware of the problems with our tap water, take whatever countermeasures that they can afford and which they believe makes their water safer for their family to drink.

The straight skinny on what is in our tap water

According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG) drinking water quality analysis of 20 million state water records. Since they began testing in 2004, water utilities have found 315 pollutants in American tap water ¹

The contaminants found in tap water around the country include but are not limited to:

Industrial waste

jet fuel

prescription medications

bacteria

germs

chlorine (introduced to the water for cleaning purposes.)

industrial and organic solvents

industrial and organic pesticides and herbicides

heavy metals

by products of petroleum production

A complete list of the contaminants and their possible effects can be found on the Environmental Protection Agency website at http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/index.cfm

EWG tested 250,000 different water samples from different cities around the U.S. Between 2004 and 2009, and what they found was pretty shocking. They found a total of 315 chemical contaminants in the water of 45 of the 50 states and they estimate that 256 million people were exposed to this water Of those 256 million people 252 million people were exposed to contaminants that were above the health based guidelines. They also found 97 Agricultural contaminants over 46 states exposing 215,664,000 people 127,498,258 of whom were exposed to these contaminants at a time that they were above the health based guidelines. Industrial pollutants number 204 different contaminants over 46 states. Contaminants from urban sprawl numbered 86 over 46 states, contamination from water treatment, storage, and distribution numbered 42, and naturally occurring contaminants, they found 48 over 46 states. ² 2009 National Drinking Water Database, Polution Sources:Drinking water pollution has many sources

The EWG analysis and test data led them to conclusions on who had the better water quality and what cities municipal water systems are found sorely lacking.

The cities with the best water quality ratings from EWG are:

1 Arlington, Texas (Arlington Water Utilities)

2 Providence, Rhode Island (Providence Water)

3 Fort Worth, Texas (Fort Worth Water Department)

4 Charleston, South Carolina (Charleston Water System)

5 Boston, Mass (Authority)

6 Honolulu, HI (Honolulu/Windward/PearlHarbor)

7 Austin, TX (Austin Water Utility)

8 Fairfax County, Virginia

9 St. Louis, Missouri (City of Minneapolis Water Department)

The ten on the bottom of the top 100 list are

100 Jacksonville, Florida (JEA)

99 San Diego, California (San Diego Water Department)

98 North Las Vegas, Nevada (City of North Las Vegas Utilities Department)

97 Omaha, Nebraska (Metropolitan Utilities District)

96 Houston, Texas (City of Houston Public Works)

95 Reno, Nevada (Truckee Meadows Water Authority)

94 Riverside County, CA (Eastern Municipal Water District)

93 Las Vegas, Nevada (Las Vegas Valley Water District)

92 Riverside, California (City of Riverside Public Works)

91 Pensacola, Florida (Emerald Coast Water Utility)

Individual Solutions to water safety

Some people use water filtration pitchers which do filter some of the toxic contaminants from our tap water, but even the best water filtration pitcher available only filters out 14 contaminants commonly found in water. Counter top or faucet mounted filtration systems filter out more impurities than do water filter pitchers but still do not get even close to all of them. Under the sink water filtration units filter the largest number of gallons and remove the largest number of contaminants that are to be found in public drinking water.

The most expensive water filtration solution is a home water filtration system. These types of systems take up a lot of room and the cost is preemptive for many households. A good home water filtration system can cost from $1200

Many people have turned to using bottled water rather than drinking water from their taps. They may be surprised to discover that the contaminants in our tap water can be absorbed into our bodies in the shower so you don't just have to drink the tap water to be exposed to the contaminants in it. There are filtration systems that one can use to filter water contaminants at it's point of entry into your home but they are expensive, they are also not a practical or viable option for people who live in apartments or condominium homes. Such water filtration systems are also expensive, which puts them out of the reach of affordability to a large segment of the population. It takes everything that some of us have to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table for our families. Isn't it the responsibility of the agencies that supposedly clean our water to ensure its safety and to remove the pollutants?

Who is responsible for filtration and distribution of our water?

All of the various water companies throughout America are all federally subsidized government agencies. Since we pay for the water that they pipe into our homes that water is a product which is sold to us. Do these government agencies not have a responsibility to the communities that they serve to ensure that the water that they sell to us is safe to consume?

As it is today

As it is today our water quality in one of the biggest and most powerful countries in the world is unhealthful. Without access to the filtration or bottled alternatives the United States of America could be considered a third world country under that criteria. There are many households in America who do not have the funds or to filter the water that they use in their home. Water goes into so many things, food preparation, personal hygiene, both bathing and oral hygiene. Water is the medium for concentrated fruit juices, baby formula, and it makes up over 70% of the fluids, serums, and all of the various liquids contained within the human body. Consuming water is unavoidable, it is also an unavoidable fact that doing so is not safe.

If you search the internet for the term tap water you will get all kinds of results reporting the quality of the water specifically and general. You will also get a lot of results for water filters and water filter comparison. Since our water quality is what it is and that doesn't seem like it is going to change any time soon the solutions that you can employ to ensure the health and welfare of your family in terms of water purity include:

Water purification systems

Granulated, Activated Carbon Water Filters

Carbon Block, Activated Carbon Water Filters

Ceramic Carbon Water Filters

Reverse Osmosis Water Filters

Combination Systems

Alkaline Water Machines

In home water filtration

Bottled Water

Water filtration pitchers

faucet-mounted water filters

counter-top water filters

under-sink water filters

whole home water filtration systems

water filtration shower heads

All of the various methods of rendering tap water safe have their associated costs and associated benefits both actual and perceived. What price would you put on having the peace of mind of knowing that your family can pour a clean glass of water from your tap and drink it without you having to worry about what is in it? Regardless of who dropped the ball and allowed contaminated and unsafe water to be piped into your home, the fact remains that the water that comes into your home from the municipal water company is unsafe. With that information, it would be wise to take whatever measures you can and which you deem appropriate to safeguard your family against the health risks associated with drinking contaminated tap water. If you want to consume more water because it is good for you and you want your family to consume more water, you should first ensure that it is as safe as possible to do so.

12009 December, Over 300 Pollutants in U.S. Tap Water, Environmental Working Group, National Drinking Water Database Website, retrieved from http://www.ewg.org/tap-water/home

22009 December National Drinking Water Database, Polution Sources:Drinking water pollution has many sources, EWG.org website, retrieved from http://www.ewg.org/tap-water/sourcesofwaterpollution