HOW SAFE IS YOUR WATER?
City water is chlorinated to disinfect the water. But chlorine combines with organic matter to create disinfection byproducts (DPB’s). The EPA regulates the 11 most common DPB’s. Nine of the 11 cause cancer in laboratory animals. “This is an absolutely clear-cut case of humans being exposed to chemicals that are known to be toxic in high doses,” says David Savitz of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. “We all drink this water.”
Some cities use chloramine to disinfect the water, that is a essentially a combination of chlorine and ammonia.
Many cities add fluoride in the form of sodium fluoride, fluorosilicic acid, or sodium fluorosilicate. Some studies show it helps prevent tooth decay. Other studies expose a link to neurological disorders and brain damage. It began in 1962 when some people decided that municipal water should contain .7 to 1.2 mg/L of a fluoride compound in the drinking water. In 2011 the level was lowered to .7 mg/L. Currently, some people think the level in drinking water should not exceed .5 mg/L We all get fluoride to some degree, in soda pop, processed foods, toothpaste, etc. And the amount we intake is therefore determined by how much we eat and drink. The organic form of fluoride, fluorine, is found in foods such as oatmeal, grapes, dried fruit, beans, walnuts, spinach, tomatoes, orange juice, et al. You can google it and decide for yourself if you want the fluoride compounds removed from your drinking water.
Even if the city did provide you with pure water, the water would pick up impurities from the distribution piping in the ground. For example, some of those pipes are very old, and have cracks in them, and are buried in close proximity to sewage pipes. “We estimate that 19.5 million illnesses occur each year in the United States that are caused by microorganisms in drinking water,” according to University of Arizona microbiologist Kelly Reynolds.
A very small portion of the water the city treats is used for drinking water. But this is the most important because it is what goes in you. You always want to be sure you are drinking the best quality water. Many people who want to drink high quality water choose to install a “point of use” system with a faucet at the kitchen sink to provide purified, or high quality drinking water for cooking, drinking, making juice, coffee, tea, ice cubes, etc. Pets and plants love clean, purified water.
The Water Cycle
We all remember the water cycle from school. It’s important to remember the water cycle when thinking about the quality of your water. It is the largest water purification system known.
Where does my water come from?
That is not the case today. Water picks up a little of whatever it comes in contact with. Because humans dump toxic waste, sewage, chemicals, plastics, garbage, pharmaceuticals, and over 10,000 different substances, onto the ground and into the land and water, water has ample opportunity to pick up impurities and contaminants.
