Last year, (writing in 2007), the United States population consumed more than eight billion gallons of bottled Drinking Water. Eight billion gallons! Eight billion US gallons = 30 283 294.4 m3. Many additional gallons poured forth from household Drinking Water systems.

Household Drinking Water systems are available in a variety of styles and sizes, filtering or purifying water in small or large quantities.

Choosing a Household Drinking Water System

Several systems are regularly advertised on television. Before you rush out and purchase one, though, you should investigate the possibilities. Consider your Drinking Water demands. How large should a Drinking Water system be to meet those demands? If you are a single person living alone, you will probably not want to invest in a whole-house system. If you have a large family, or run a “Bed and Breakfast”, a whole-house system may be the best choice.

Decide what quality you want from your Drinking Water system. Filters vary, and even the best can remove only a certain percentage of contaminants and bacteria. Purifiers are required to move much greater percentages. Some Drinking Water systems “charge” the water. Some make the water more alkaline, supposing the body will experience greater health.

Considering these three categories:

1. Introductory Drinking Water Systems: Many people begin with a small, introductory type of Drinking Water system. This category includes pitcher and faucet-mounted Drinking Water systems. They will normally filter out 3 to 9 of the most common 11 pollutants left behind by municipal systems. They are priced competitively, the initial Drinking Water system itself costing between $25 and $50. Replacement filters, at $8 to $20 apiece, are normally replaced after every 30 to 100 gallons, depending on the Drinking Water system chosen. Due to the ongoing replacement costs, these introductory Drinking Water systems may end up costing you more in the long run than a larger system. They will deliver better tasting water than you had, though, and it will be cleaner.

2. Intermediate Drinking Water Systems: If you want assurance that your water not only tastes better, but is more pure, you may want to invest in an intermediate level Drinking Water system. These Drinking Water systems remove a greater variety of toxins - some remove all of the 11 most common contaminants and bacteria. Intermediate systems have a larger initial cost. Depending on the manufacturer, you can expect to pay between $120 and $420 (2007 prices). Budget $45 to $110 each for replacement filters, but realize that these will filter as much as 5 times the amount of filters in the introductory systems. You can have an intermediate Drinking Water system installed under the kitchen sink, or on the counter. You may want a second one in another part of the house, such as a family room.

3. “Extreme” Drinking Water Systems: Those who want to be sure their Drinking Water system provides clean water from every faucet will choose the whole-house Drinking Water system. These systems can be expensive, and installation will require a licensed plumber, but they purify great quantities of water - much more than the other Drinking Water systems. The initial cost, including installation can be expected to cost approximately $1500. Filters are replaced in these systems on an average of every 3 years. The filters, with maintenance fees, average $500. In other words, filters for whole-house Drinking Water systems average about $20 per month. Most of these Drinking Water systems come with a lifetime guarantee.

Which system is right for you? Investigate and compare.

Drinking Water purification can mean a number of things. Technically, there are standards set for Drinking Water purification. For many people, however, the standard is simply water that is pure enough to drink without adversely affecting health.

Drinking Water Purification is increasingly important in our world. The steady rise in population and industrialism result in once unknown levels of water contamination. Less than 100 years ago, many people could safely draw water from deep wells and drink freely. But those days are vanishing. In some areas, they have vanished. Drinking Water Purification has become essential.

Tips

These tips regarding Drinking Water purification may help you decide what level of purity you want, and how you can get it.

* Iodine tablets provide simple drinking Water Purification. These are simple to use, cost effective, and convenient. They are a good choice for camping, travel, hiking, and short-term emergency situations. Follow instructions.

* Chlorine tablets are another cheap, easy to use method of Drinking Water purification. You can purify gallons of strained water during a natural disaster with a few tablets. Be sure you follow instructions.

* Chlorine bleach is another form of chlorine that can be used for drinking Water Purification. A few drops in a gallon of strained water will kill dangerous microorganisms. Be sure you learn how much to use and how long to let it settle before drinking the water.

* Simple Water Filters, portable or faucet-mounted are not capable of true Drinking Water purification, but they will remove most of the contaminants and microorganisms in the water.

* Drinking Water Purification systems that remove almost 100% of all contaminants and bacteria can be installed in a kitchen or entire home. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established guidelines and limits for such Drinking Water purification systems.

Drinking Water Purification is perhaps most efficient and cost-effective when done with the relatively new solar Drinking Water purification system developed by an Australian. This solar drinking Water Purification system is easy to install outdoors, works in remote areas, and delivers very pure water. More information on this subject is found in other articles on this website.

Safe Drinking Water in U.S. schools is guaranteed. Right? After all, the government had great technology at its disposal. These are government schools. The government frequently talks of the importance of guarding the health of school children. Recently, soda dispensers have been removed from many schools. Dispensers of other junk food have been removed. The health of the nation’s students has repeatedly been ranked as a high priority.

Safe Drinking Water should bubble out of every school fountain. Clean Drinking Water should flow from every faucet. It might contain chlorine or fluoride, but it should be clean Drinking Water. Parents expect it. Students expect it. Teachers expect it.

Safe Drinking Water in schools should be a given. But it is not.

Drinking Water Experiment

A recent news report (June 2007) told of a middle school student’s Drinking Water experiment. I won’t give all of the detail, but here is the summary.

Students at a certain school in Oregon had been taking bottled water to class. Some were sneaking in alcohol, though, as bottled water, so the school banned all bottled water.

Soon after the ban, this student, age 13, decided to fulfill an assignment by testing the school Drinking Water supply. He had a feeling that there was good reason for them to carry bottled water rather than rely on the water fountain.

The student swabbed the spigots of 4 school Drinking Water fountains with cotton swabs. He put the results in Petri dishes. Next, he dipped one cotton swab in a school toilet. He dragged the swab around the rim of the toilet, just to be fair. He put those results in a 5th Petri dish. Then he took the Petri dishes to the school lab. There, he put them under a light to speed up bacterial growth.

The result? The Petri dishes with Drinking Water samples swarmed with bacteria. The Petri dish with the toilet sample was clean!

The Oregon school had to admit that safe Drinking Water was not to be had in their school. Changes were ordered, and teachers began providing clean Drinking Water in classrooms. Bottled water was still banned.

Drinking Water Bacteria

Drinking Water bacteria are never totally eradicated, but there should be higher standards. Girls and boys in public schools should have safe Drinking Water.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that it is reasonable to expect that our Drinking Water, including bottled water, will contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. Then the EPA sets standards for about 90 contaminants in Drinking Water. That is, it allows certain amounts of 90 different contaminants to remain in Drinking Water.

Safe Drinking Water for schools? In many cases, it is not. The wise parent will want to get information on how clean Drinking Water fountains and other dispensers are in the local school.