Drinking Water Served with Contaminants

You may like your Drinking Water served with a twist of lemon or a few ice cubes, but what about Drinking Water contaminants? Do you want Drinking Water served with contaminants?

Most of us assume that, at least to a great degree, our public supply has no Drinking Water contaminants. More of us believe bottled water is free of Drinking Water contaminants. But is this true?

A Dash of This

Some contaminants may be harmless, but many are not. Some Drinking Water contaminants are, by category:

* Microbes - microorganisms, germs
* Radionuclides - radioactive nuclides
* Inorganics - things composed of something other than plant or animal
* Disinfectants - chemicals to destroy bacteria
* Disinfectant by-products - harmful products resulting from the use of the chemicals

Each of these categories has a large number of individual Drinking Water contaminants, making it vital that Drinking Water be tested regularly.

A Dash of That

Many of us never heard of E. coli until an unusual outbreak in Africa left thousands dead. However, this is just one of the microbial Drinking Water contaminants found in our water. Filters must be used to remove this and other microbial Drinking Water contaminants such as these, to name a few:

* Fecal coliform
* Salmonella
* Streptococcus
* Cryptosporidium
* Giardia

Homes using well water are not free of Drinking Water contaminants either. Most well-constructed wells seem safe, but measures may still have to be taken to remove Drinking Water contaminants such as:

* Nitrate
* Tannin
* Arsenic
* Lead
* Radon

Public water systems are tested frequently, and we are often assured of their safety, but Drinking Water contaminants are often present when it reaches faucets in our homes. Disinfectants that are added to kills germs often lead to other problems. Fluoride, automatically added for the past few decades, is now thought to be harmful in Drinking Water.

Make Mine Bottled Water

While we like to think that bottlers would allow no Drinking Water contaminants, this is far from the truth. As many as 40 out of every 100 water bottlers use the water that flows from municipal taps in their manufacturing plants. The same Drinking Water contaminants that are in your tap water are then in your bottled water.

Absolutely pure water is impossible, but filters and purifiers can go a long way to remove Drinking Water contaminants and let you serve yours without germs and chemicals.