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MICHELLE M. IN MONTANA ASKS: How can I tell if tap water is safe to drink?
MOM DETECTIVE ANSWERS:
This is such a good question, Michelle. While the CDC says the United States has one of the safest and most reliable drinking water systems in the world, questionable water safety is frequently in the news—from the prolonged public health crisis with the drinking water in Flint, Michigan, to chemical contamination following the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. It makes us all wonder about what flows from our own taps.
Before we get started, the following answer is only about tap water, not well water. If you have a well, a great resource is the Environmental Protection Agency’s private drinking water well safety site.
Get to Know Your Water
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to tap water safety. It depends on where you live and what kind of building you live in. Municipal water is technically tested and regulated. Anyone can ask their water utility company for a copy of their annual report. Even if the water is proclaimed “good,” you’ll also want to determine the quality of what flows out of your specific tap(s), especially if you live in an older building or house. Even fabulous municipal water can get contaminated by what’s in your pipes. Plumbing installed before 1930 tends to contain lead pipes. Old pipes don’t automatically mean contaminated water as years of mineral deposits from water can coat the walls of old pipes, creating a barrier of sorts.
Get Tested
At-the-tap testing can provide a clearer picture of the safety of your drinking water. Some cities, including New York, offer free testing—but usually only for a few contaminants, like lead. You can check with your hometown about free testing or look into more extensive, private testing. This can be expensive but may be worth it if you know there have been contamination concerns near your municipal water source. Local health departments as well as EPA are useful resources for water safety, including testing. If your water contains contaminants, you can also ask the testing agency for specific advice on ameliorating it.
Filtering Tap Water
After testing, most tap water only needs an activated carbon filter. Various filters reduce substances like chlorine, lead, copper, benzene, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, and parasites, plus lesser issues like odor and bad flavor. Make sure to choose a filter that adheres to specific standards set by the National Sanitation Foundation and American National Standards Institute; they cover drinking water treatment units.
Even with strict standards, there remain bogus filters on the market that don’t do what they claim to do. Watchdog groups have even sued water filter companies for false advertising and misleading consumers about the effectiveness of filters. Testing institutes like Consumer Reports publish comparisons of water filters that may be useful. The Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization, also maintains a helpful water filter guide.
Just Say No to Bottled Water
Oddly, drinking water is regulated by two different government agencies: bottled water is under the FDA’s jurisdiction while tap water has to adhere to EPA standards. A while back—in 2009—the Government Accountability Office released a report saying EPA’s standards are higher and more enforceable than the FDA’s standards for bottled water. Some say the FDA standards are a little better on lead, but overall bottled water isn’t the answer to tap water safety. Somehow, people assume bottled is “better,” but studies have shown bottled water can contain everything tap water contains, including fertilizer and pain medication residue.
Also it’s a total rip-off. One study concluded bottled water costs 1,900 times more money than tap. Why pay for what’s free and just as, if not more, pure? Plus, there are serious environmental costs to shipping and transporting all those bottles. While some water bottles are glass, most of them are plastic. This is questionable for human health. A recent study found about 240,000 particles in the average liter of bottled water, much more than previously considered possible. Most of the particles were nanoplastics. Also, a majority of plastic bottles get thrown in the trash, not recycled, and wind up in our waterways. When we eat the fish that eat the plastic, we are also eating plastic. A PET bottle in a landfill will take more than 1,000 years to break down. The Container Recycling Institute says 60 million plastic water bottles are tossed in landfills daily.
What to Drink
After you’ve checked out the water quality near you, then tested and filtered your own tap water, the best way to drink it is in a glass (not plastic!) at home or a non-plastic reusable water bottle on the go. Enjoy!