Reports of contaminated drinking water are popping up across the country at an alarming rate, and they are all essentially saying the same thing: Water sources that were promised to be safe are actually tainted with all kinds of contaminants that range from industrial chemicals to heavy metals. To make matters worse, many communities have never disclosed existential problems that stem from loopholes in how water is tested for purity, and this has led to misleading results. Consequently, it may be time to start thinking about filtering or purifying water from our taps instead of just using these methods in a survival situation.
Flint is Just One Case
Remember when the water crisis in Flint, Michigan got national attention because it took so long to resolve? Well, hundreds of other communities are facing similar problems that have managed to remain under the radar, and this is placing millions of people at risk. For example, some communities don’t report water quality problems until the following billing cycle when they include notices in water bills. This means that customers could have been exposed to all kinds of contaminants for days, if not weeks, before they were alerted to problems.
Another example of existential threats is related to pipes that distribute water to customers. Chicago residents recently learned that they may have been exposed to high lead levels in their municipal water supplies for decades. This is because pipes that deliver water from the mains to lines in homes and buildings were not required to be changed once regulations took effect. Consequently, while water quality may meet standards at treatment plants, this isn’t necessarily the case by the time it reaches faucets.
Testing Failures
Municipal water providers are only required to test for certain chemicals or heavy metals, and while results may align with regulatory standards, they don’t paint a true picture of what the water contains. There are literally thousands of harmful chemicals and compounds that find their way into water sources that go by undetected. Consequently, there’s a good chance that we’re drinking a cocktail of toxins, and regulators are not in a position to tell us what they are or what their effects may be on our bodies.
Only you can decide whether or not your municipal water source is safe, and this may require some persistent-investigating along the way. However, it may just make more sense to err on the side of caution and treat water before drinking now. Look at it this way: We all understand the importance of having access to safe water during a crisis, and most of us go to great lengths to make sure those bases are covered. However, we can be exposing ourselves to the same contaminants now.
