Sunday, December 13, 2009

Is Your Tap Water Safe?

Have you ever wondered where your drinking water comes from? A river, creek, or mountain snow run off?

We live in an era where all we have to do is turn the tap on and magically the water appears. No longer do we depend on walking down to the river or lowering a container down the well and carry buckets back to our home. Yes, we are very fortunate. I believe there are still many people in the world in which this is a daily chore that is required for survival.

In a special report recently released by the environmental working group, a multi year review of the nations water companies and the pollutants discovered in them has been released. You can read the
full report here.

Below, is the opening two paragraphs from the email notice that I received:

"Since 2004, testing by water utilities has found 316 pollutants in the tap water that Americans drink, according to drinking water analysis of almost 20 million records obtained from state water officials...

More than half of the chemicals detected are not subjected to health or safety regulations and can legally be present in any amount. The federal government does have health guidelines for others, but 49 of these contaminants have been found in one place or another at levels above those guidelines, polluting the tap water for 53.6 million Americans. The government has not set a single new drinking water standard since 2001." EWG.org

So what's the good news? When the Environmental Protection Agency sets mandatory water quality standards, the tests show that local water suppliers meet them 92% of the time. The bad news? The standards need to be much tougher to protect children and pregnant women, and the EPA hasn't set a single new drinking water standard in 9 years.

To find out what's in your tap water click here.
(On the right hand side of the page there is a gadget to either enter your zip code or water company)

To find out what water filter is right for you and your home click here.

To review a guide for safer drinking water click here.

An additional water filter resource is wellnessfilter.com

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