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If you’re wondering how to reduce drinking water contamination, you’re not alone. Most people cringe at the thought of all of the contaminants that manage to make their way into drinking water. Unfortunately, toxins have become so much a part of our drinking water systems that it could be decades before we get them straightened out. And this is only if our lawmakers stand up and take notice, fighting for real change. Essentially, we need changes that not only prevent contaminants from making their way into our water, but also affect what we recognize as a toxin. There are far too many dangerous substances that are allowed in drinking water simply because we don’t have regulations for them. Likewise, we need better treatment facilities. Too many of them are hopelessly outdated.
As it stands now, there are tens of thousands of toxic substance that contaminate our drinking water. They range from herbicides and pesticides–many that aren’t fit to touch your skin let alone make their way into your body–to over-the-counter and prescription drugs, arsenic, and radon. Each time you take a sip of unfiltered tap water, you may be adding to your risk of developing cancer or coming down with some other type of illness. Matters are even worse for more vulnerable populations like infants, young children, and senior citizens. Their bodies are often far less capable of dealing with such toxic substances.
You can help to reduce drinking water contamination in a couple of ways. You can vote for lawmakers who have a commitment to healthier water and let those in office know how important you believe this issue is. You can also take care with how you dispose of things to avoid being part of the problem. This means you should learn how to dispose of medicines and chemicals properly, so they have little-to-no chance of making their way into our water system.
At home, it’s fairly easy to reduce water contamination in your tap water. You can install a carbon-based drinking water filter and ensure that you and your family are safe while you wait for lawmakers to do a better job of protecting our water. A high-quality water filter can remove bacteria, viruses, parasites, pharmaceuticals, arsenic, lead, chlorine, and a range of other hazardous substances.
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Using tap water to mix baby formula may expose your baby to unnecessary health risks. The risk depends on what’s in your water, but most people have tap water that is far less than healthy for adults. Babies are more vulnerable, with immature immune systems. This may make it harder for them to fight off some disease-causing pathogens that may be found in unfiltered water. Additionally, other substances commonly found in water from the tap, like lead, could have lasting effects on an infant.
Many parents are well aware of the potential dangers of using tap water to mix with baby formula. They worry that microorganisms may be left in their tap water, even after its normal processing and treatments have been performed. Boiling can prove helpful and does destroy a wide range of disease-causers. However, it leaves other things behind that may be just as dangerous for an infant.
Lead is one of the things left behind after boiling. It doesn’t matter how clean your municipal water is reputed to be. If there’s lead in the pipes, it can contaminate your water without you knowing it. Your water can taste great and appear crystal clear yet still have unhealthy levels of lead in it. What does this mean for your baby? Well, lead can cause not only physical development problems but also those related to mental development. And while you may be able to handle minimal lead exposure with no obvious effects, a much smaller level of exposure may irreversibly affect your baby.
Fluoride is another concern for those who use tap water to mix with baby formula. If you live in an area in which fluoride is added by your municipality, your baby may end up getting too much fluoride on a daily basis. This may lead to a condition called fluorosis, which is marked by staining and discoloration of the teeth. In fact, it can affect both your infant’s baby teeth and his permanent teeth. There’s even some discussion of fluoride’s possible link to cancer.
If you want to be sure the water you use to prepare your baby’s formula is safe, it’s best to filter your tap water before you use it. This gets rid of bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens as well as lead, fluoride, chlorine, and a range of other substances you can’t touch with boiling alone. A quality water filter will even get rid of pharmaceuticals that make their way into your municipal system.
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If you’re wondering how can we make water safe for drinking, you’re not alone. This is a dilemma for many people who worry that the water they need to survive may, at the very least, cause them to become ill from time to time, and at the very worst, subtract years from their lives. The fact is that drinking water standards are lagging far behind research that shows us exactly what is wrong with the water we get from our taps. Some people turn to bottled water, but that is often just gloried tap water, and sometimes it can be even less healthy than the water you get at home.
The answer for those who want to make water safe for drinking probably lies in more research and stricter regulation. As things stand now, there are many substances that are allowed in water at levels that no one can be sure are safe for consumption. For example, many of our country’s municipal water systems deliver cancer-causing chemicals and pharmaceuticals right to residential taps, claiming that the levels of these substances are safe for consumption. Others may skate on the borderline of providing safe water. Even worse there are hundreds, maybe even thousands, of chemical substances that make it into our water without any regulation. Since there are no standards for them so far, no one is seeing to their removal.
As consumers, we may have to take matters into our own hands. While we can all raise our voices for cleaner drinking water, there are ways we can effect change now. We can make water safe for drinking in our own homes while we wait for legislation to protect us. How? Well, some people may turn to boiling the water that comes from their taps. Unfortunately, this is only reliable for some pathogens. You can boil it all you want, and still have unsafe drinking water in your cup. Other people may seek out chemicals to destroy infection-causing agents that may make it past municipal disinfection. This isn’t the answer either, as it only ads one more chemical to those that already come from your tap.
A better option, if you want to make water safe for drinking, is buying a high-quality water filter. These filters are capable of getting rid of the chemicals that cause cancer, irritate the skin, and worsen health problems, as well as the pathogens that cause illness, including gastrointestinal conditions. But be careful when making your choice. Many lower-quality water filters only filter some of the major pathogens and leave a bunch of other undesirable substances. Opt for a high-quality sub-micron carbon-based filter system instead.
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Many people wonder whether tap water is cleaner than the bottled water sold in stores. This is a very good question but a hard one to answer. This is because bottled water can come from different sources and may be subject to different standards based on how it is labeled and where it is sold. Generally speaking, however, a good deal of bottled water is simply tap water in disguise. Additionally, bottled water that doesn’t come from the tap may have pathogens in it that are normally regulated in tap water. Here are some things to consider when comparing tap water to bottled water:
Many bottled water companies simply bottle municipal water. This can come as a shock to consumers who believe bottled water is somehow cleaner than the water they get from their tap. Some companies appear to deliberately mislead consumers into believing they are getting superior water from their bottles. Others, however, may simply fail to actively work to publicize where their water comes from. Unfortunately, most consumers don’t notice and end up paying for something they could get just by turning on their own taps.
Is Tap Water Cleaner Than Bottled Water Sold at Stores–the Law and Drinking Water
Consider the law when you contemplate the safety of tap water versus bottled water. Tap water is heavily regulated and tested for a wide variety of pathogens. Before it reaches your tap, it is usually filtered and subjected to disinfecting processes. For example, tap water is tested for such things as giardia and cryptosporidium, both of which are capable of producing gastrointestinal illness. The same isn’t necessarily true of bottled water. A certain amount of fecal coliform bacteria may be allowed in bottled water. In fact, a bottled water manufacturer may escape federal regulation by simply shipping its water across state lines. This fact makes many people far less comfortable picking up a bottle as opposed to turning on the tap.
Cancer is another issue people may consider when determining whether tap water is cleaner than bottled water sold at stores. Essentially, tap water is supposed to be tested for cancer-causing agents. Without question, regulations regarding carcinogens in tap water have room for improvement, but matters may be even worse for bottled water. Bottled water may escape much of the testing and regulation you can expect with tap water, and the phthalates that leach into water from plastic bottles may only heighten cancer risk.
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