Drinking Water Safety - Why Should I Worry?

Why do we need to think about the water that enters our home? What can it do to our health that we need to be worried about? What can I do to protect my health and the health of my family? These are important questions and the answers to these questions are not simple.

The list of contaminants that may exist in drinking water is a long one. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), regulates 90 different contaminants. There is a further list of contaminants that are being considered for regulation. Regulation by the FDA requires that the water leaving water treatment facilities contain no more than a certain level of contamination. Regular testing is done to ensure that the regulations are met, but when regulations are not met, water is still being pumped into your home while the problem is being fixed.

Private well water is completely unregulated and unless the well owner has the water tested, contamination may exist without any realization until it’s too late and someone has become ill.

Microorganisms infecting our water supply can make us ill – most commonly gastrointestinal ailments in health people – to death for those with other illnesses or a compromised immune system or advanced age.

Of the organic and inorganic contaminants, one very serious contaminant is lead. Lead poses a very serious treat to human health, particularly to children – from their time in the womb until adulthood. Lead builds up in the human body and can be passed from a pregnant woman to her unborn child causing both mental and physical developmental problems. Lead can also be passed to the child during breast feeding. Even the FDA, with its water safety regulations, warns of the dangers of lead in water.

Water leaving a water treatment facility may be within safe levels of lead contamination, but as it passes through pipes throughout the city and into the home, some of which may still be made of lead or contain lead solder, it can pick up lead contamination.

These are good reasons why you need to be concerned about the impact your drinking water can have on your health. How you protect your family depends on your level of concern and your budget. Products are available on the market that filter all the water coming into the home (a whole home system) right down to the point of use (kitchen faucet water filter) and many options in between. In addition to the point of filtration, there are also choices to be made regarding the type of filtration. The most common types of water filtration are carbon filters and reverse osmosis filters.

Information is available at Home Water Filtration Systems that will more fully explain the differences between methods of filtration and discusses the uses for various products for use in the home.