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I live in the city, isn't my water already purified?
No, the city generally corrects for a few major problems inherent in the water source, depending on where you live. In most cases the city adjusts the water to a less corrosive PH; removes substances such as Iron, Manganese, and Sulfur of which will stain fixtures and impart a foul taste and/or smell; softens the water but does not produce soft water, (soft water is less than 1 gpg or 17 ppm, cities generally get water just below 10 gpg or 170 ppm); and sanitize the water through a combination of methods to include the addtion of chlorine. It is important to note that only a small portion of the water transported from the city to your home and surrounding business is used as drinking water. It would be impracticle and far to expensive to produce drinking quality water at the city level. In additon, regardless of how clean the city may get the water... it still needs to be transported miles across city piping!
I've heard that reverse osmosis and distillation remove valuble minerals, is this true?
It is true that these processes remove minerals, both good and bad. For instance, lead is very toxic to the human body and so is arsenic; both of which are minerals. The fact of the matter is, the removal of these minerals results in the removal of other minerals. Besides, there are a number of trace mineral products on the market that can be added to your water after the purification process. This is an easy practice and only requires the addition of a few drops to a couple glasses per day.
On another note, it has been stated that drinking such mineral free water would not be "natural"; and I would completely disagree. As water goes through the hydrologic cycle (evaporation - condensation - precipitation), which by the way is what distillation was modeled after, it becomes virtually free of dissolved solids such as minerals. As water moves through the layers of earth it dissolves small portions of what it passes over. Therefore one would have to say that collecting water off of a leaf would be an unnatural process and that the water is going to leach the minerals out of your body. Anyways, aren't we forgetting one main variable... food!
Is bottled water a good source of quality water?
While much bottled water is of good quality, there are little or no regulations or means of ensuring bottled water quality... it is a self-policed industry for the most part. In contrast, the home water treatment industry is very heavily regulated. Manufacturers must do extensive testing and reporting to prove their products effectiveness at providing quality water. Manufacturers are required to supply "Performance Data Sheets" demonstrating the products ability to remove certain contaminants; bottled water companies are not required to demonstrate their waters quality.
Let's say for a moment that the bottle water companies are producing high quality water; of which I believe many of them are; they are still bottleing it in plastic. Water leaches a very problematic compounds known as phthalates from plastics. These compounds are very stong estrogen mimmickers and are linked to cancers and disorders of the reproductive system.
Is Chlorine harmful?
Chlorine was first added to a community water system in 1908 in Chicago and was instrumental in eliminating many types of water-borne disease such as Cholera and Typhoid fever. Prior to chlorination, many major cities had death tolls of 1 in 1000 people from Typhoid alone. Chlorine has been used to disinfect municipal water for over 80 years and has had some positive effects on public health. In the 1970's it was discovered that chlorine, when added to water, forms Trihalomethanes (chlorinated by-products) by combining with certain naturally occurring organic matter such as vegetation and algae. In 1992 the American Journal of Public Health published a report that showed a 15% to 35% increase in certain types of cancer for people who consume chlorinated water. This report also stated that much of these effects were due to showering in chlorinated water. The National Cancer Institute estimates cancer risks for people who consume chlorinated water to be up to 93% higher than for people who do not. The effects of drinking chlorinated water have been debated for decades. However, most experts now agree that there are some significant risks related to consuming chlorine and chlorinated by-products in drinking water.
Why do some areas test negative for chlorine?
Virtually all city water systems contain some level of chlorine. The level will vary based on outdoor temperature, the season, distance from water utility and current usage. While chlorine may sometimes be undetectable on a certain day with a standard OTO test kit, that level can change dramatically day to day. Also some cities use ammonia at certain times as a disinfectant in order to reduce chlorination by products. Without chlorine the dangers of water borne disease would be too significant. An undetectable chlorine level, on a certain day, does not eliminate the need for an effective home filtration system.
What do you do if you have water contaminated by radioactive matter?
Answer: Move! Radioactive water is not very common in this country and is a more serious problem than should be dealt with by a home water filtration system. Many people confuse the contaminant "Radon" with radioactivity when in fact they are quite different. Radon is produced from decaying Uranium ore and can be effectively removed by carbon filtration.
What are VOCs?
Volatile Organic Chemicals are synthetic compounds that turn into vapor at relatively low temperatures. VOCs typically vaporize at a much lower temperature than water. Most synthetic chemicals found in water, such as pesticides and herbicides, are VOCs.
What is the best container for storing filtered water?
Glass is always best, next would be stainless steel, and if need be look for hard plasitics made from polypropylene (#5 PP), high-density polypropylene (#2 HDPE), and low-density polypropylene (#4 LDPE).
How do you know if there are contaminants in your water?
Answer: All public water systems contain some level of one or more unhealthful chemicals. Regulations only require periodic testing of about 90 chemicals. There are now more than 75,000 chemicals used in our society with over 1000 new ones being developed each year. Contaminant levels fluctuate throughout the year making it impossible to know the actual level of contamination in a central water system. So far over 2100 toxic chemicals have been detected in America's water systems.
If my municipal water company's Annual Water Quality Report shows that it meets all EPA guidelines, does that mean its safe?
On October 1st 1999 a new federal law went into effect that requires water utilities to send each customer a detailed report showing what is in their water, appropriately called "The Right To Know Amendment." The most important thing to remember is that no matter how insistent these reports are that "contaminants in your water do not necessarily pose a health risk", any level of contamination in our drinking water does in fact represent a danger to our health. Of the over 75,000 toxic chemicals used in our society, the EPA has only set standards (MCLs) for about 90, and those 90 Maximum Contaminant Levels are not necessarily set on "health effects." The EPA considers limited health studies based on consumption of one certain chemical by a 175 lb. adult when setting these standards. No consideration is given to the effects on small children or the combined effects of two or more contaminants, which some studies show are magnified by as much as 1000 times. Water utilities are only required to test for the 90 contaminants that the EPA has set standards for.
Nobody knows how many toxic chemicals may actually be in tap water. According to the Ralph Nader Research Group, after reviewing thousands of pages of EPA documents acquired through the Freedom of Information Act, more than 2100 toxic chemicals have already been detected in U.S. water supplies. Virtually all public water systems have some level of contamination. The water utilities are usually quick to point out that the chemicals found in their water are "below EPA's Maximum Levels", and in most cases they are. The fact is that even the smallest trace of a toxic chemical causes damage and science is just now starting to realize to what extent. In a recent report from the National Cancer Institute to the Surgeon General it was stated that "No level of exposure to a chemical carcinogen should be considered toxicologically insignificant to humans," and we are learning the hard way the truth of this statement.
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