If the posts that Ellen and I wrote earlier this week about the International Berkeley Water Competition got you thinking about the quality and taste of your own local water, then our friends over at Green Daily have a whole bunch of stuff for you to read. They have put together a feature that tries to answer the question, "What's in our water?" They explore what's safe, what's not and what you can do about. If these are questions that have been plaguing you, head over and give their piece a scan. I'm certain that you'll find it enlightening.
Cheese Course: Brebis Pardou
A transcendent summer tomato salad
Sliced bread turns 80 today
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-29-2008 @ 6:43PM
dan said...
I am a chemist in the water treatment industry. I took your suggestion and scanned a couple of portions of the link you provided. Here are the words I use to describe most of what I read... inflammatory, inaccurate, stats without a baseline, fear-mongering, etc. Hey, if you want to live your live in fear that is fine, but the US and almost other so called 1st world countries have the safest, cleanest, and most drinkable water compared to other places. Much of that is due to proper municipal pretreatment and disinfection with chlorine and other oxidants. Treatment that has prevented so many common illness like dysentery, cholera, etc. The bottom line is that the water out of your own faucet is safer than almost any other source of water--including bottled.
What do I tell people who are concerned? Buy a carbon block filter for your drinking water, coffee, tea, ice, etc. This filter should have have an NSF certification printed on the box, along with PERCENTAGES OF WHAT IT REMOVES. That list of percentages is tested and registered with the NSF (National Sanitation Foundation). That organization assures that manufacturers claims are valid and materials of construction meet certain and stringent food grade requirements. If you are worried about metals or other inorganics, put a reverse osmosis unit in front of (or behind) the carbon filter.
I really hate it when non-scientifically trained persons try to present science without all the facts.
Reply
2-29-2008 @ 7:05PM
dan said...
Oh, one other little bit of information you might be interested in... the Safe Drinking Water Act, originally passed by the US Congress in 1974, and amended in 1986 and 1996, requires that all municipally treated water systems provide an annual report of provided drinking water quality, statistics (including averages, standard deviation, and highs of various monitored parameters). So if you live in a place where you are provided water from a municipality, you should receive this annual report. If you don't, take a look on for it online, they are usually published. This report would go a long way to helping you understand what is in your water, and why it is there.
Reply
2-29-2008 @ 7:09PM
dan said...
Oh, one other little bit of information you might be interested in... the Safe Drinking Water Act, originally passed by the US Congress in 1974, and amended in 1986 and 1996, requires that all municipally treated water systems provide an annual report of provided drinking water quality, statistics (including averages, standard deviation,
and highs of various monitored parameters), and why certain things may be present or not present. So if you live in a place where you are provided water from a municipality, you should receive this annual eport. If you don't, take a look on for it online, they are usually published under a city + "water quality report". This report would go a long way
to helping you understand what is in your water, and why it is there. If you are on a well, you should be paying for an independent analysis every couple of years, including arsenic, nitrates, and micro-organisms.
Reply