There is a lot of talk these days about the amount of dangerous chemicals found in tap water that has been ‘treated’ by city water authorities, and how filtered tap water at home is also not always safe. .
Well, I would say two things about the chemicals found in tap water.
First, millions of us are drinking water contaminated with chemicals, and it doesn’t matter if we live in large metropolitan areas or in small rural communities.
The fact is that in a recent study of tap water in 62 large urban centers, 24 of them were contaminated with pharmaceuticals. Prescription drugs to stop seizures and stabilize mood, antibiotics and sex hormones, and many similar drugs are regularly found in the drinking water of more than 40 million Americans.
Then there are the chemicals of industry and science, such as chlorine, bromine, commercial strength disinfectants, benzene, industrial solvents, pesticides and herbicides that cause cancer, perchlorate that damages the thyroid and distorts physical development, and many others. THERE ARE chemicals found in tap water.
What’s worse is that city water authorities often fail to test for the presence of chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Although drugs have been found in the watersheds that supply Oklahoma City and Santa Clara, for example, water officials in those two cities do not test for them. This shocking lack of concern is found in many other water treatment offices across the country.
New York is particularly worrying. The state health department and the USGS have found that the water in New York’s catchments has minimal concentrations of heart medications, infection fighters, estrogen, anticonvulsants, a mood stabilizer, and a tranquilizer, but water authorities insist that they meet federal standards and that their water is safe. It is almost as if the chemicals found in tap water did not sound the alarm for these officials.
Well, how many prescription drugs do you need in your drinking water to make it unsafe? In a lab, you can expose male fish to estrogen compounds in parts per trillion and turn them into females. Frankenstein’s same experiments interfere with the circulatory system, eyes, and bladders of these fish. Even small traces of chemicals found in tap water are dangerous.
How is it possible for drugs and chemicals to pass through the city’s treatment systems?
Well, it’s partly because they often use equipment that only blocks contaminants with a molecular size larger than water. Since chemicals can be smaller in molecular size, they pass directly through city filters. It’s also in part because officials can get away with it because federal safety levels are so lax, as New York’s water treatment authorities will tell you.
The second thing I’d like to point out is that filtered tap water can remove chemicals found in tap water, but not all tap water filters do this.
Here’s the simple truth about what makes a good home water filter good: You need a system, a set of filters.
What you don’t need is the expensive and wasteful home version of reverse osmosis equipment so popular in big city water treatment plants. They don’t work there and they won’t work in your home. In addition, these osmosis systems remove the natural and healthy trace minerals found in water that are so essential to your health. Don’t waste your money on reverse osmosis.
Instead, you simply need a relatively inexpensive set of hard-working filters. One that uses granulated activated carbon for its filter, one that has a resin and multimedia block, and one that stops submicron particles. It may also include an ion exchange to remove lead if it is a problem in your community plumbing and to balance the minerals in your water supply. But even with all of these things in place, you’re seeing a modest cost of less than a couple hundred dollars.
And for that, you have peace of mind, in a city where chemicals are found in tap water.
Now that you know this, I recommend that you get down to business and find an affordable and effective tap water filter system. Search the Internet for a reliable manufacturer. (And you can start looking at my own website, which has a lot of helpful information on chemicals found in tap water.) By doing this, try to bypass the retailers and save money by going straight to the people who make good water filters.