A Deep Dive Into Tap Water Quality

This article is somewhat of a part two of our previous post 7 Ways to Ensure Your Tap Water is Clean. Make sure to check it out! In this article I’d like to dive into the water system provided to Americans. We’ll discuss possible contaminants, different methods of collecting water, testing methods and ways to filter water effectively.

U.S Water Systems

The U.S has some of the safest drinking water in the world widely thanks to the efforts made to clarify and filter our water. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a big role in regulating our public communal tap water supply. Amongst the different water supply systems are the:

community water system which provides water year round to the same communities. They serve atleast 25 people at their primary residences or serve atleast 15 primary residences. (example: cities, mobile home park, subdivisions)
non community water system includes transient and non-transient NCWS.
- Transient non-community water system provides water for atleast 60 days in a year to 25 people or more. This occurs transiently, so it’s not the same people and not on a regular basis. (example: campground, gas station)
- Non-transient community water system supplies water at least 6 months out of the year to the same 25 or more people but not year round. (example: school, office buildings, factories, and hospitals which have their own water system)

There’s about 155,693 public water systems in the U.S. 35% are community and 66.5% are considered non community. 8% of the community water system provides water to 82% of U.S population through the municipal water system.

Where Does Our Drinking Water Come From?

Most U.S tap water comes from either the surface (ex: lake, reservoir, river) or ground (aquifer, a deep underground water source). There’s also recycled, or reused, water. These systems are governed by federal, state and local authorities to ensure water provided to people are safe to drink. As the tap water may come from millions of miles away and cities/towns tend to receive water from surface water sources, the water must be treated to ensure cleanliness. Because surface water is more exposed to the elements, bacteria and toxins may be more likely to be in a surface water source as opposed to a ground water source, therefore some ground water sources don’t even have to be treated (ground water sources can be provided to those in small, rural communities).

Some communities (about 13 million American households) get their water from private wells which is considered a ground water source. Those with private wells should test their water annually for germs and chemicals to ensure the drinking water is safe.

Rainwater collection is also an alternative water source. Though contaminants can still find their way into rainwater collection through air pollutants and roof contaminants.

Water Contaminants

Although the EPA is constantly regulating drinking quality in public water systems, unsafe levels of contaminants may still be found in your water source. Because of the water sources themselves and the pipes that lead to the tap, there are several possible ways of introducing contaminants into your household. Some ways to introduce these contaminants are:

fertilizer or pesticides sprayed on land seeping into water sources.
sewage over flow
storm water washing waste into water source
wildlife contaminating water source
rocks and soil that naturally contain chemicals like arsenic, radon and uranium contaminating water source.
Cracks or disruption in distribution system (pipes) allowing contaminants to come through or build up of contaminants in pipes.

Water purveyors are required to test for unsafe levels of certain germs and chemicals in the water source and are required to disclose findings in annual Consumer Confidence Report (CCR). They must also notify customers if unsafe levels are found through notices of violation. You can receive this report from your personal water purveyor or request from your landlord.

Germs and chemicals known to be contaminants in water include:

Cryptosporidium	Source: Caught through contamination of feces from infected animals/humans. Sewage contamination to water. Symptom: diarrhea Treating water: boil water for 1 min, filter water with filter certified to remove crypto or treat using reverse osmosis, UV light or ozone.
Legionella	Source: This bacteria is found naturally in fresh water sources like lakes and streams and becomes a problem when this bacteria grows and spreads in building water systems. Tends to affect devices that create small droplets of water like hot tubs, faucets, hot water heaters, etc. Symptom: cough, shortness of breath, fever, muscle aches, headaches Treating water: to prevent becoming infected flush faucets and showerheads, for 2 minutes, first turning on cold and then hot. Clean and maintain all devices using water. Building owners must have maintenance in place for the water system and a legionella measure in place.
E. Coli O 157	Source: From cattle farms, the bacteria lives in cattle’s intestines, can contaminate water source Symptom: severe cramps, often bloody diarrhea, and vomiting Treating water: Boil water for 1 min, disinfect with treatment chemicals, use specially designed filters.
Campylobacter	Source: Caught through contamination of feces from infected animals/humans. Sewage contamination to water. Symptom: diarrhea, fever, stomach cramps Treating water: Boil water for 1 min, disinfect with treatment chemicals, use specially designed filters.
Norovirus	Source: Feces from infected people that gets in sewage and contaminates water source through sewage overflow, storm water run off etc. Symptom: vomiting, nausea, stomach pain Treating water: Boil water for 1 min, norovirus is moderately resistant to chlorination and is too small to be filtered using home/camping filtering devices. Check CDC recommendations for disinfection methods.
Rotavirus	Source: Feces from infected people that gets in sewage and contaminates water source through sewage overflow, storm water run off etc. Symptom: diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain, fever Treating water: Boil water for 1 min, disinfect with treatment chemicals. Rotavirus is too small to be filtered using home/camping filtering devices
Enterovirus	Source: Feces from infected people that gets in sewage and contaminates water source through sewage overflow, storm water run off etc. Symptom: fever, runny nose, sneezing, mouth blisters, skin rash, muscle aches Treating water: Boil water for 1 min, disinfect with treatment chemicals, use specially designed filters.
Salmonella	Source: Feces from infected people or animals that gets in sewage and contaminates water source through sewage overflow, storm water run off etc. Symptom: diarrhea (sometimes bloody), fever, stomach cramps Treating water: Boil water for 1 min, disinfect with treatment chemicals, use specially designed filters.
Giardia	Source: Feces from infected people that gets in sewage and contaminates water source through sewage overflow, storm water run off etc. Symptom: gas, greasy stools, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea Treating water: boil water for 1 min, filter water with filter certified to remove giardia/cryptospordium cysts or treat using reverse osmosis, UV light or ozone.
Shigella	Source: Feces from infected people that gets in sewage and contaminates water source through sewage overflow, storm water run off etc. Symptom: diarrhea (can be bloody), feeling the need to poop even when there’s nothing left, abdominal pain Treating water: Boil water for 1 min, disinfect with treatment chemicals, use specially designed filters.
Hepatitis A virus	Source: Feces from infected people that gets in sewage and contaminates water source through sewage overflow, storm water run off etc. Symptom: yellow skin or eyes, dark urine or light colored stool, lethargy, vomiting Treating water: Boil water for 1 min, disinfect with treatment chemicals. Hep A is too small to be filtered using home/camping filtering devices
Arsenic	Source: they can be seen as natural deposits of the earth but can also be from industrial or agricultural pollution Symptom: nausea/vomiting, decreased red and white blood cells, abnormal heart rhythm, pins and needles feeling in hands and feet, damage to blood vessels Treating water: use reverse osmosis, ultra filtration, distillation or ion exchange
Nitrate	Source: fertilizers, animal feedlots, industrial waste, food processing, septic systems Symptom: increased nitrate/nitrite levels may decrease ability for the blood to be carried to tissues. Infants are at high risk. Some symptoms include increased heart rate, lowered blood pressure, headaches, stomach cramps and vomiting Treating water: ion exchange, distillation or reverse osmosis
Copper	Source: copper pipes, mining, farming or industrial farming Symptom: nausea, vomiting or diarrhea Treating water: reverse osmosis, ion exchange, distillation and ultra filtration. If you have copper pipes try flushing water when turning on for atleast 15 seconds especially if you haven’t used water faucet in 6 or more hours. Also, hot water melts copper more easily than cold water and can increase copper levels so avoid cooking or drinking from hot water taps.
Radon	Source: When uranium, radium and thorium break down radon forms naturally in ground water. Radon gas can be released into the air you breathe when doing things like showering, washing dishes or doing laundry. Symptom: second leading cause of lung cancer outside of smoking Treating water: Must use aeration or GAC treatment where the water enters the home (point of entry) so that the whole water will be treated. Aeration treatment includes spraying water or mixing it in the air and then venting the air from the water before using.
Lead	Source: Lead pipes are the most common cause of contamination. Leaded brass parts in older submersible pumps used in wells. Symptom: lead poisoning symptoms are headaches, stomach cramps, kidney and reproductive issues, irritability, loss of sex drive, etc. Treating water: It’s best to remove lead source if possible. Use a filter certified to reduce lead. Flush water before use.

Be Your Own Advocate

Regardless of what governing bodies say about the safety of your water, if something feels “off” or you want to feel more in charge of what you ingest, I highly suggest testing your own water. No crisis has made being an advocate for yourself more crucial than the Flint, Michigan water crisis. In 2014, as a cost-saving method, the city decided to switch their water source from Detroit’s system to the Flint River (known for high levels of pollution). A combination of inadequate testing, treatment and then overtreatment lead to increased blood levels of lead found in children, a breakout of legionnaires disease, rashes etc. Even amongst the cries and complaints of discolored, foul-smelling water many of these complaints were dismissed and the people were continuously told the water was clean. After a year of protests, water samples were taken from 252 homes and results revealed that about 17% of water samples had lead levels higher than the federal “action level” *(above 15 parts per billion) which indicates action is required. More than 40% measured over 5ppb which researchers considered very serious. However, there is no safe limit of lead as no lead is necessary to the human anatomy and can be very toxic to the human neurology. It wasn’t until Flint residents went to court and fought for their right to clean water that changes began to be made. Hence, being your own advocate despite what officials are telling you is imperative to owning your health.

How Can I Test and Treat My Water

There are several ways to test and treat your own tap water:

Send water to accredited laboratory by the Environmental Lab Accreditation Program
Self test will tell you if contaminants are present in water sample but won’t tell you values, or how much of the contaminant is in the sample

Filtering

Mechanical filtering filters particles based on size, particles (chemicals/germs) very small will still get through.
Absorption filtering catches water borne constituents as the water moves through it. Example: Carbon filtering.
Ion Exchange used to soften hard water by exchanging the minerals making water hard (Magnesium and calcium) for softer minerals like sodium and hydrogen
Reverse Osmosis is similar to a super efficient filter. It pushes water through a special membrane which only lets water pass through and removes dissolved inorganic solids like sodium.

In conclusion, there are many instances in history where our governing bodies don’t have our best interest at heart, instead, money tends to trump morals. That’s why in every portion of our lives, from the food we eat, the water we drink to our health, we must educate ourselves and truly be our own advocates. Hoping that other people are looking out for you and your family the way you would yourself can be very detrimental. This article is a push to be aware of even the small things we do everyday like brushing our teeth and pouring a glass of water.

Look up your CCR to find out how clean your water is!

Also Read: 7 Ways To Ensure Your Tap Water Is Clean