Checking your water
One way to determine the quality of your water is to check your Consumer Confidence Report, or CCR. Utilities are required to provide a CCR to their customers every year. You may also find the CCR printed in your newspaper or posted on your local government website.
I found it interesting that recent analysis of CCRs from the 13 largest U.S. cities revealed that most treatment plants claimed to have some federal water-quality violations. Though none of the other water systems were consistently unhealthful, all had some samples containing significant quantities of contaminants. In New York City, for example, some samples had lead levels several times the federal limit. Note that a CCR might indicate safe levels of a contaminant even though your tap water actually has experienced potentially harmful spikes. Also, a CCR tells you about the water in your municipality, but not necessarily about what's coming out of your particular tap. Only testing your home supply will do that.
Homeowners with a well on their property face even greater uncertainty, because the water quality isn't surveyed or reported on in CCRs. You can call the EPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791) for the names of state-certified testing labs or for your local health authority, which might offer low-cost or free test kits, or check out www.epa.gov/safewater/labs. This where I went to get our testing kit.
Our treatment plants are not capable of removing all of these pollutants so they end up in our drinking water. It is our responsibility to remove these pollutants from our drinking water by installing a water filter in our home. Purchasing a water filter is not a cost but an investment in the health and well being of our families. We have searched for the best type of water filter for the typical family and considering long term cost and typical family water use, the best type to use is the under counter, or under sink, filter system.
One way to determine the quality of your water is to check your Consumer Confidence Report, or CCR. Utilities are required to provide a CCR to their customers every year. You may also find the CCR printed in your newspaper or posted on your local government website.
I found it interesting that recent analysis of CCRs from the 13 largest U.S. cities revealed that most treatment plants claimed to have some federal water-quality violations. Though none of the other water systems were consistently unhealthful, all had some samples containing significant quantities of contaminants. In New York City, for example, some samples had lead levels several times the federal limit. Note that a CCR might indicate safe levels of a contaminant even though your tap water actually has experienced potentially harmful spikes. Also, a CCR tells you about the water in your municipality, but not necessarily about what's coming out of your particular tap. Only testing your home supply will do that.
Homeowners with a well on their property face even greater uncertainty, because the water quality isn't surveyed or reported on in CCRs. You can call the EPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791) for the names of state-certified testing labs or for your local health authority, which might offer low-cost or free test kits, or check out www.epa.gov/safewater/labs. This where I went to get our testing kit.
Our treatment plants are not capable of removing all of these pollutants so they end up in our drinking water. It is our responsibility to remove these pollutants from our drinking water by installing a water filter in our home. Purchasing a water filter is not a cost but an investment in the health and well being of our families. We have searched for the best type of water filter for the typical family and considering long term cost and typical family water use, the best type to use is the under counter, or under sink, filter system.