Have you ever consider that your tap drinking water may contain a number of contaminants from a range of sources that can make you ill? Pure water should be absolutely colorless, tasteless and odorless. These contaminants, affects our water in different ways. Some affecting the color, while others gives it taste and odor. It may help to know when water is bad. But what happens when none of these properties of water is affected, the water has been contaminated?

Pollutants from the environment can find their way into our water supply through our groundwater, erosion of natural deposits as in areas where oil exploration is taking place, surface run-off and rain etc. Dust, smoke and poisons from industrial facilities, pesticides and herbicide and even animal all contribute to contaminate our drinking water.

Let's take a closer look of some ways that our water ends up polluted and at the end, you will judge whether or not it is safe to drink tap water.

Fertilizers and Nitrates can come in run-off from crop fertilizers as well as animal and industrial waste. Nitrates are highly leachable and are extremely dangerous for children under three months old. With improvements in agricultural practice, it is almost impossible to plant and harvest these days without the use of this nitrogenous fertilizers, organic or inorganic.

Giardia Lamdia and Cryptosporidium species: Giardia and Cryptosporidium have been the biggest problem of water authorities as far as water treatment is concern. It is a major culprit in the etiology of diarrhea in children and adults. Worse still, they are not eliminated by chlorination. They often make their way into tap water via sanitation breakdowns, and municipal water treatment facilities have no way to control for them. A typical example is following sewage system leakage.

Calcium and magnesium are natural minerals found in our water supply particularly as we increase our use of groundwater. These minerals make our water 'hard' and the taste becomes bad. Though good water contains some amounts of these elements in ionic form, it is dangerous when it occurs in abnormal proportions.

Chlorine: Chlorine is perhaps one of the most dangerous and insidious poisons in our drinking water supply. It is more so because, it is a must use by the water authorities for purification. We are made to believe that this is normal. However, chlorine is only consumed in ionic form (Cl-2). What is being used for chlorination is gaseous (Cl2) chlorine. I don't remember reading any where that chlorine gas is safe . Water treatment facilities use chlorine as a powerful disinfectant to kill micro organisms. Chlorine in drinking water is currently a leading cause of bladder and rectal cancer and asthma. It is now currently being linked to breast Cancer.

Water from the water treatment plants travel through a network of pipes, including those in your own home, are old, rusty and totally corroded. These pipes can contain a range of contaminants which may enter our water supply especially heavy metals. These contaminants build up over a number of years and can cause the water to be dirty or worse. They can be particularly prevalent when pipes are accidentally broken or accessed for repairs and maintenance.

Copper and Lead can leach into the water supply from the copper pipes in your house and they have been identified as particularly dangerous to health. Lead: Lead makes its way into tap water through corrosion of the pipes in a home's plumbing system. Lead poisoning causes 'hard water' and in the body can lead to sudden death. Lead in drinking water is particularly harmful to children and pregnant mothers and nursing mothers. Ingestion of lead can result in severe developmental delays and/or learning disorders in children.

Microbial substances in water can make the child fall ill. Tap water is the fastest way of spreading an epidemic to an entire municipality. In biological war fair, public water supplies are usually targeted. There are a multitude of parasites, cysts, and bacteria that survive chlorination process, and they can be dangerous if you have a suppressed immunity.

Again, sometimes after chlorination, it is found that the water becomes acidic with a PH is less than 7 or 6. Sodium Hydroxide is then used to neutralize the acid. Sodium hydroxide is the chemical used in making soaps. This is not very good for the body.

What then do we do?

If you want to continue drinking water from the tap, you may need a filter that incorporates activated granular carbon. This will help to absorb some of the chemicals. Together with a multi media block, it can filter out the chemical contaminants. It also has a submicron filter for parasites and bacteria, and an ion exchange for heavy metals. Ion exchange will also mineralize your water, and adjust pH levels. The filters will effectively block 99% of the contaminants that attempt to enter your home.

The best piece of advice that I have for you is that if you want to keep your family happy and healthy you need to purchase a top quality water purification device for your home. Let your family enjoy drinking pure water with all the additives taken out, including bacteria. This works out cheaper over the years than buying bottled water. It is also 'greener' as you don't have to worry about where to dump your used bottles.



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