How Tap & Drinking Water Become Contaminated
— Brian Cohen, Environmental Working Group
Your drinking water either comes from groundwater, wells, or gets treated at municipal water facilities. Toxic chemicals, such as lead, arsenic, PFAS, radiation, and more, seep into these water supplies and end up in your drinking water.
According to an article (paywall) in National Geographic Magazine:
“Roughly a quarter of Americans drink from water systems that violate the Safe Drinking Water Act. Violations range from failing to properly test water to allowing dangerous levels of lead or arsenic and occur everywhere: in rural communities and big cities, in red states and blue ones…the reality is we can no longer assume our water is safe to drink.”
These violations included failure to treat the water to get rid of pathogens (think viruses and bacteria) and excessive levels of contaminants like arsenic.
This means your family is at high risk of:
- Problematic brain development
- Learning disabilities
- Major organ damage (include kidneys and reproductive organs)
- Cancer
Take a look at this chart below, which lists the various contaminants found in the US drinking water supply and how many Americans are exposed to them each year:
“We have 100-plus-year-old galvanized lead pipes in many of our cities. We have treatment plants that use World War I era treatment technology,” says Erik Olson, director of the National Resource Defense Council’s Health Program.
The American Society of Civil Engineers even issued a report card giving USA water infrastructure a "D".
A few years ago, we learned that thousands of children in the city of Flint, Michigan, had been exposed to dangerous levels of lead in their drinking water due to poor monitoring and enforcement of safe water standards.
In the aftermath of Flint, The Guardian discovered that 33 cities in 17 states had cheated on water tests to mask potential lead contamination!
And in case you didn’t know, about 90% of the US population is exposed to chlorine because it's used to kill bacteria in your water supply.
But despite being touted as a water-safety “hero”, studies and research have found that people who drink chlorinated water have a 44% higher risk of dying from cancer!
How pollution gets in your drinking water
Your drinking water doesn't just get contaminated from old and poorly maintained water systems; it also picks up the pollution that's all around us.
This includes:
- Human waste
- Dumpsites
- Agriculture with pesticides
- Fertilizers and animal waste
- Industrial operations that create hydrocarbons, toxic chemicals, Radiation
-
Acid rain
-
Vehicle pollution
This pollution gets picked up by water during the “Hydrological Cycle”, which is the process of water constantly circulating from the earth to the atmosphere and back again, and ends up in your drinking water supplies.
Sources of some water pollutants and movement of pollutants into different water reservoirs of the water cycle. Source: U.S. Geological Survey
If you want to learn about the risks posed by your local water systems, visit the EPA’s water website.
If you drink bottled or some filtered water, you might think “this doesn’t apply to me.” But you and your family may be at HIGH RISK!
What’s even more disturbing is that bottled water isn’t as safe as you think it is.
Some studies show that about 25% of all bottled water is just filled with tap water.
And even worse, a report commissioned by Switzerland-based World Wildlife Fund International concluded that "bottled water may be no safer or healthier than tap water while selling for up to 1,000 times the price.”
The reason is an absence of standards regulating bottled water. The report continues: "In fact, there are more standards regulating tap water in Europe and the United States than those applied to the bottled water industry.”
During a 2009 hearing on bottled water, Michigan Representative Bart Stupak said:
“Over the past several years, however, bottled water has been recalled due to contamination by arsenic, bromate, cleaning compounds, mold, and bacteria. In April, a dozen students at a California junior high school reportedly were sickened after drinking bottled water from a vending machine. Consumers may not realize, but many of the regulations that apply to municipalities responsible for tap water do not apply to companies that produce bottled water.”
And how about water from mainstream filtered brands?
Sure, water filters you find at the store may improve the taste of water while reducing the presence of some chemicals, such as lead. But they still leave your family exposed to many harmful contaminants.
You see, there are several zones of water contamination that you and your family are exposed to:
When your children drink low quality water, it not only affects their mental development but also leaves them with weakened immune systems.
We know this must be frustrating, because as a parent, you just want safe and clean drinking water to keep your children hydrated and healthy.
After all, quality water is a BASIC HUMAN RIGHT!
So how can you protect your children from all these dangerous & harmful contaminants?
Water Pitch products (Powered by Seychelle Water Filtration) are designed to strike out contaminants in drinking water which pose the most adverse threats to our health. We urge you to place your trust in advance premium water filters that are manufactured in ISO 14000 certified facilities and have been routinely tested to meet the highest quality standards within the industry. Water Pitch carries unique advance products water filters designed to answer various drinking water needs. We have filters that produce alkaline water naturally without excreting the natural occurring minerals, extreme; filters that reduce radiological contamination; we carry products designed for kids and water filtration designed to use during boil water advisories and with well water. Please take time to visit our unique line of advanced water filtration products.
Must See Video
Please click on the links below for more info on water contamination.
*EWG - PFAS Problem: https://youtu.be/R_D0tbKQGis/
Flint Michigan still without clean water: https://youtu.be/9iCdkjW4YQ8
Status of PFAS in drinking water USA: https://youtu.be/sdkd8ZRd_eM
Chromium 6 in water: https://youtu.be/CYAyiFVrgQc