The Truth About the Water You Drink
Why do people drink so much bottled water these days? Well, we were told that it is cleaner than drinking tap water. Americans drink so much, 38 billion water bottles a year are pitched into landfills -- in excess of $1 billion worth of plastic. What the companies don’t tell you is that 24% of the bottled water we buy is actually regular tap water from a municipal facility, repackaged by Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. Last year, Americans spent more on Poland Spring, Fiji Water, Evian, Aquafina and Dasani water than they spent on iPods or movie tickets -- $15 billion. It's expected to be $16 billion this year.
American generations raised on tap water and water fountains now go through a billion bottles of water a week. Its packaging and transport depend entirely on cheap fossil fuel. If the water we use at home cost what even cheap bottled water costs, our monthly water bills would run $9,000.
So, let’s get to the truth. What is really in the tap water and is it safe to drink? Well, the 35-year-old U.S. federal law regulating tap water is so out of date that the water Americans drink can pose what scientists say are serious health risks, even if it meets all legal standards. Only 91 contaminants are regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act, yet more than 60,000 chemicals are used within the United States. Dr. Aaron Margolin, of the University of New Hampshire, found no difference between New York City tap water and bottled water with testing.
Not only are we dealing with 60,000 chemicals, but it has also been discovered that we actually have a medicine chest in our tap water. Traces of prescription drugs have been found in the drinking water that over 41 million Americans depend on. Drugs such as antibiotics, blood pressure drugs, cholesterol drugs, estrogen, seizure and anti-anxiety drugs. In Philadelphia there were over 56 different drugs in the sample, 16 in NYC and 13 in New Jersey. If there are that many drugs in the water then how many other countless chemicals find their way into our drinking and bathing water.
Chlorine, chloramines, and chlorine dioxide are the most common disinfection techniques used at water treatment facilities. But then there is another category of chemicals created called disinfection byproducts, such as trihalomethanes, haloacetic acids, bromates and chlorides. These are are extremely difficult to remove from the water supply and are know to be very carcinogenic. The effects of these will only manifest itself as cancer in a percentage of the population.
There are three ways the body is exposed to and accumulates chemicals into the bloodstream; drinking or eating, through the skin with bathing, or by inhaling. The simple water filters are not designed to remove the drugs or the disinfection byproducts which are a minimum of a 1000 times more toxic than chlorine. The trihalomethanes can also damage your liver, kidney and nervous system.
Bottled water is not safe for regular consumption due to the dangerous chemicals and the fact that plastic can leach another set of hazardous chemicals. The government regulated tap water is equally as unsafe due to out-dated water safety regulations. The safest way to consume one of the primary and basic necessities of life, water, is from a high-quality water filter, distiller, or reverse osmosis system. From there it is best to carry it around in glass or a stainless steel container. Not only are you doing your body good from drinking from a high quality filter you are taking positive action for the environment by not contributing to the plastic industries mountain of garbage in the Pacific Ocean called the Pacific Gyre. This is where all of the plastic goes and pollutes when in gets carried away in our oceans and water systems. Not all of the bottles go to the landfill. So, do yourself a favor, do the planet a favor, and drink filtered water. Refill to reduce the pollution.
Cynthia Om