Water, Water, Everywhere…Part 2

This week, I am finishing my quick water test list to objectively analyze your drinking water.  Next week, we get to the all important topic, of filtering options and budget.

• Local Water Company: I know this may seem obvious but public reports can actually be the very best source. Did you know that every water company is required by the EPA to report to you every year on the quality of your water? If you use e-billing to save a few trees, then you may have to do a little more digging online to find the report. To make the search a bit easier, the EPA created a map to help you find the report from the water company in your area.  The CDC also has a guide to help understand all of the information in the EPA’s Consumer Confidence Reports.
• Perform a Tap Water Test: The ultimate method for testing your home’s drinking water is to have it tested. A quick call to the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline can offer you names of water testing agencies in your area. You can also purchase home test kits, but they are usually recommended for tracking changes in your water supply when treating your water and want to check the progress, and not for ultimately determining the safety of your water.

One final word about the importance of having a good water supply. Perhaps you may feel that drinking water purity was overdramatized in Erin Brockovich. But, let me be clear from a scientific point of view. There is more than a causal relationship between safe drinking water and disease. The evidence is overwhelming. If you do a fifteen minute google search on cancer hot spots across this country, you will find that many occur in the same areas where water safety is low and/or questionable.

Cancer hot spots are areas of the country where cancer rates of a particular cancer type are higher than the general population. These rates on monitored historically. It typically takes about five years for an area to be declared a “hot spot” by the federal government. In my area, the rates of certain pediatric cancers are concerning. Is there a connection to the water supply?  I cannot state it as a certainty but, to me, the suspicion is high. High enough, that I am not going to wait and find out with my own family. It’s just not worth the risk.

In addition, did you realize that drinking water may contain detectable levels of medications such as Prozac? Or, how about the hormonal imbalance and possible acidity to the body that tap water contaminants may affect?  Any of this information is available if searched and it was generated through solid scientific data.

So, before we continue on with other natural medicine topics, I decided to take a step back and write some foundational articles for all of us. Water is an elemental building block to our health. It is worth the time, energy, and cost to make your water safer. Next week, I will discuss different levels of cost and effectiveness related to water filtration systems. There is something effective to fit nearly every budget.

As always, please leave your questions, comments or topics of interest!