Impurities in Tap Water

The local tap water usually meets federally mandated guidelines for drinking water and it’s certainly less expensive than bottled water. However, it has many impurities in it. It has chemicals – like chlorine – added to it. And many people don’t enjoy the way it tastes.

Tap water is obviously a very important service provided to the community. It’s used to help fight fires, wash clothes, flush toilets, water lawns and take showers. The problem is that every single gallon of tap water must meet minimum standards. The local authorities don’t know whether you’re going to drink a particular gallon or flush it down the toilet. So every gallons need to meet the minimum standards. Did you know that we drink less than ½ of one percent of all the tap water produced?

However, there are problems with tap water – like the chlorine smell, taste and aftertaste. Chlorine is not particularly good for your body – it has been linked to a variety of cancers – but it does kill the microorganisms that can make you violently ill. There’s also the lead issue. There isn’t lead in the water at the treatment plant – it’s in the pipes bringing the water to some of our homes. This is a very big problem especially in older homes.

Then there is the issue of pharmaceuticals / drugs in tap water:

From WebMD,

“the drugs get into the drinking water supply through several routes: some people flush unneeded medication down toilets; other medicine gets into the water supply after people take medication, absorb some, and pass the rest out in urine or feces. Some pharmaceuticals remain even after wastewater treatments and cleansing by water treatment plants, the investigation showed. Although levels are low — reportedly measured in parts per billion or trillion — and utility companies contend the water is safe, experts from private organizations and the government say they can’t say for sure whether the levels of drugs in drinking water are low enough to discount harmful health effects.”

Is this a new phenomenon, the finding of pharmaceuticals in public water supplies?

No. Low levels of pharmaceuticals in the water supply have been a concern for a decade or longer, says Sarah Janssen, MD, PHD, MPH, a science fellow at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental action group.

“Ever since the late 1990s, the science community has recognized that pharmaceuticals, especially oral contraceptives, are found in sewage water and are potentially contaminating drinking water,” Janssen tells WebMD.

As many people have already heard, The Associated Press (AP) just reported that it conducted an extensive 5-month investigation into the possible existence of various pharmaceutical drugs in the nation’s water supply. The study indicated that both tap water systems (where trace pharmaceutical compounds were found in 24 of 28 major water systems tested) and many of the nation’s watersheds (where 28 of 35 tested watersheds were found to contain some of these compounds) were contaminated.

According to the AP, “In the United States, the problem isn’t confined to surface waters. Pharmaceuticals also permeate aquifers deep underground, source of 40 percent of the nation’s water supply. Federal scientists who drew water in 24 states from aquifers near contaminant sources such as landfills and animal feed lots found minuscule levels of hormones, antibiotics and other drugs”.

So while it may be true that you can save money by using tap vs. bottled water. But when 70% of your body is comprised of water and clean water is vital to your quality of life – then drinking pure water is extremely important! Choose The Water Depot for fresh, pure, and great tasting bottled water!