Despite the fact that the public water supply is heavily regulated by the EPA (see our article covering the Safe Water Drinking Ac there), there are still various risks in ingesting tap water.
Impurities can be present in your water from the materials the pipes are made from (lead, PVC, BPA).Additionally, the methods used to eliminate contaminants from public water supply are fallible, as are the standards themselves. We each must decide for ourselves how comfortable we are with their measures.
Disinfecting involves the addition of chemicals like chlorine, rather than the removal of impurities through filtration. When serving hundreds of thousands of people, for water that is used for more than just drinking, they can’t really be expected to run it all through a carbon filter. With the low price the consumer pays for tap water, we have to expect cheaper methods of treatment to be used. This often means less appealing methods.
There’s more than chlorine, too. The debate is unsettled about whether fluoride is harmful when ingested, but its been added to the water supply for years for its alleged impact on dental health.
These are units you install in your water supply line(s). Some of them are designed so you can install them yourself in a few minutes, while some may require the assistance of a plumber.
Capacity is limited with filtration components: some filters will slow down the flow of water, and all filters will need to replaced periodically. Consider this when choosing where to install an inline filter--- you’ll have to replace it more often if you want to filter water to all faucets and fixtures.
Here is a review of ten state of the art inline filters.
You can buy pitchers and dispensers with a pour through filter. These take a bit of time for the water to pass through, and require the extra step of filling the container. Like inline filters, the capacity has a limit and the filters must be periodically replaced.
Filters made by companies like Berkey treat for 200+ contaminants(compared to the ~90contaminants the EPA regulates in tap water). The Berkey is a large cylinder that takes up quite a bit of counter space. For a similar but smaller device you can put in your fridge, try Brita or similar brands.
Bottled water is a regulated not by the EPA, but by the FDA. The FDA has supposedly loosely adopted the EPA’s list of contaminants and their maximum contamination level, but this only means that bottled water is not necessarily any safer than tap water. While you don’t have to worry about contamination from supply pipes, there is risk of contamination from the bottle itself.
Some brands may have more stringent standards than tap water, though --- as a consumer product, quality is, to some degree, their prerogative. They can afford more stringent purification, after all, with the overhead the consumer pays for bottled water. As you’ve surely noticed, some brands definitely taste better others and better than tap water.
Of course, being more expensive or better tasting does not make them safer, necessarily. We advise doing the research on one brand you like, and then deciding if you trust what they’re saying about their product. Your brand should have some sort of description of their purification process on their web site or on a phone number listed on the bottle. If they can’t even provide that, are they worth trusting at all?
When considering bottled water, don’t overlook the refill stations that can be found at some grocery stores. The taste of these is usually good (at least, in our experience) and the price is usually reasonable. You’ll be re-using containers, so you can get some that you feel are safe (IE free of BPA)and get your water from one trusted source whenever you get groceries.
You can find spring water locally, as well. We’d say drink at your own risk...but that applies to pretty much all water. The difference here is that this is untreated ground water. But who knows, maybe that makes it safer. There are two locations around we know of:
164th in Lynnwood This is described as an artesian water well that draws from an underground aquifer. Alderwood Water and Wastewater has provided the well as a courtesy, and its water is untreated. Click here for the info page.
Bollenbough Rd This one is east of Monroe. The location is listed by findaspring.com, which you can navigate to by clicking here.
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