What is in your drinking water?

Did you know that you are able to look up what is in your water that comes out of your tap? Depending on where you live and if you are on city or county water you can go to your local water company and see what is in your water. Here is a breakdown of what they test for and to my surprise I found out some interesting information. Coliform Bacteria is tested in all of our drinking water. Do you know what that is? Coliforms are a broad class of bacteria found in our environment, including the feces of man and other warm-blooded animals. The presence of coliform bacteria in drinking water may indicate a possible presence of harmful, disease-causing organisms. That’s right, human feces is and can be found in your drinking water. E. coli Bacteria is also tested for in our drinking water. E. coli is a type of fecal coliform bacteria commonly found in the intestines of animals and humans. E. coli is short for Escherichia coli. The presence of E. coli in water is a strong indication of recent sewage or animal waste contamination. E. coli comes from human and animal waste. During rainfalls, snow melts, or other types of precipitation, E. coli may be washed into creeks, rivers, streams, lakes, or groundwater. When these waters are used as sources of drinking water and the water is not treated or inadequately treated, E. coli may end up in the drinking water. Drinking water with E. coli in it can make you very sick. Chlorine is an additive used to control microbes that is added to our drinking water. According to the CDC chlorination is the process of adding chlorine to drinking water to disinfect it and kill germs. Different processes can be used to achieve safe levels of chlorine in drinking water. Chlorine is available as compressed elemental gas, sodium hypochlorite solution (NaOCl) or solid calcium hypochlorite (Ca(OCl). While the chemicals could be harmful in high doses, when they are added to water, they all mix in and spread out, resulting in low levels that kill germs but are still safe to drink. Chlorine levels up to 4 milligrams per liter (mg/L or 4 parts per million (ppm) are considered safe in drinking water. At this level, no harmful health effects are likely to occur.

Trihalomethanes and Haloacetic Acids are also found in our drinking water. This is a byproduct from the chlorine used to clean our drinking water. According to the EPA the use of chlorine to disinfect water for the purpose of drinking produces low levels of various disinfection by-products with the trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids being the most common. The trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids have demonstrated carcinogenic activity in laboratory animals. Carcinogens are agents that can cause cancer. The EPA has done testing on how these byproducts effect the body. The results did show cancer growth in mice that were tested in a lab. Metal components that are found and tested for in our water are copper and lead. Lead and copper enter drinking water primarily through plumbing materials. Exposure to lead and copper may cause health problems ranging from stomach distress to brain damage. In 1991, EPA published a regulation to control lead and copper in drinking water. This regulation is known as the Lead and Copper Rule (also referred to as the LCR). Since 1991 the LCR has undergone various revisions. The treatment technique for the rule requires systems to monitor drinking water at customer taps. If lead concentrations exceed an action level of 15 ppb or copper concentrations exceed an action level of 1.3 ppm in more than 10% of customer taps sampled, the system must undertake a number of additional actions to control corrosion. Atrazine is tested in our drinking water. Atrazine is a widely used herbicide that can be applied before and after planting to control broadleaf and grassy weeds. Atrazine is part of the triazine chemical class, which includes simazine and propazine due to their common mechanism of toxicity. It is primarily used in agriculture (with the greatest use on corn, sorghum, and sugarcane). To a lesser extent, it is used on residential lawns and golf courses, particularly in Florida and the Southeast. Atrazine is banned in the European Union and clearly linked to harm to wildlife and potentially to humans, the pesticide atrazine provides little benefit to offset its risks. Alpha emitters are tested in our drinking water. Certain minerals are radioactive and may emit a form of radiation known as alpha radiation. Some people who drink water containing alpha emitters in excess of the MCL, Maximum Contaminant Level, over many years may have an increased risk of getting cancer.

Beta/photon emitters are also found in our drinking waters. Certain minerals are radioactive and may emit forms of radiation known as photons and beta radiation. Some people who drink water containing beta and photon emitters in excess of the MCL over many years may have an increased risk of getting cancer.

Radium can be found in our drinking water. Radium (Ra) is a naturally occurring radioactive element that is present in varying amounts in rocks and soil within the earth’s crust. Small amounts of radium also can be found in groundwater supplies. Radium in water may pose a hazard to human health when the water is used for drinking or cooking. Only a small portion of ingested radium is absorbed from the digestive tract and distributed throughout the body. The rest is passed unchanged from the body. Some absorbed radium is excreted in urine. Absorbed radium behaves similarly to calcium and is deposited in the tissues of the body, especially bone. Any radiation received externally through showering, washing, or other uses is not a hazard since alpha particles do not travel through your skin. Internally deposited radium emits alpha particles that may then damage surrounding tissue. Studies of workers exposed to high levels of radium and other sources of alpha radiation for extended periods show that high levels of radium may cause depression of the immune system, anemia, cataracts, and fractured teeth. Exposure to high levels of radium also has shown an increased incidence of bone, liver and breast cancer.

Fluoride is tested in our drinking water. Most people associate fluoride with the practice of intentionally adding fluoride to public drinking water supplies for the prevention of tooth decay. However, fluoride can also enter public water systems from natural sources, including runoff from the weathering of fluoride-containing rocks and soils and leaching from soil into groundwater. Fluoride pollution from various industrial emissions can also contaminate water supplies. In a few areas of the United States fluoride concentrations in water are much higher than normal, mostly from natural sources. Fluoride is one of the drinking water contaminants regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) because it can occur at these toxic levels. In 1986, the EPA established a maximum allowable concentration for fluoride in drinking water of 4 milligrams per liter, a guideline designed to prevent the public from being exposed to harmful levels of fluoride. Fluoride is also found and tested in our drinking water. Many people believe that the fluoride added to our water is fine to the human body, others do not. In 2006, researchers from Harvard School of Public Health and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai did a systematic review and identified five industrial chemicals as developmental neurotoxicants. This included unquestionable poisons like lead, methylmercury, polychlorinated biphenyls, arsenic, and toluene. Since then, they've documented six additional developmental neurotoxicants and have added them to the list of what are now 11 known industrial chemicals that harm brain development in human fetuses and infants.4 One of the recently added neurotoxicants is fluoride. Fluoride is not a nutrient; no biochemical process in the human body needs fluoride. Once fluoride is added to the water supply, there is no way of controlling the dose; it goes to everyone regardless of age, weight, health, need, or nutritional status. Nitrites are tested in our drinking water. Nitrate is one of the most common groundwater contaminants in rural areas. Nitrate in groundwater originates primarily from fertilizers, septic systems, and manure storage or spreading operations. Infants are most commonly affected by nitrates in the water. Most adults are able to consume rather large amounts of nitrates without adverse effects, according to Colorado State University. Barium, found in our drinking water, (Ba) is a naturally occurring alkaline metal found primarily in the Midwest of the United States. Traces of barium are found in surface and groundwater. Barium in water can also be found in oil and gas drilling muds, waste from coal-fired power plants, jet fuels, and automotive paints. It is used in a wide variety of industries including the production of electrical components, bleaches, dyes, and fireworks. Barium in drinking water can be highly toxic; the current maximum contaminant levels set by the EPA for levels of barium in tap water is 2.0 mg/L. Barium can get into drinking water through improper waste disposal or erosion of natural deposits. Barium in water has no smell or taste. High levels of barium in drinking water can cause increased blood pressure and may lead to cardiovascular disease. Barium in drinking water can also cause stomach and intestinal discomfort. In some studies it has also been found to cause kidney damage.

There are many ways to filter out most of these listed above through a filtration system at home. I will be going through each one in more detail and how to remove them from your drinking water. True Water Bar has four filters to help remove unwanted chemicals and toxins. True Water Bar also adds oxygen through its ionization process. Check out our website to find out more information at www.truewaterbar.com

https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/public/chlorine-disinfection.html https://www.freshwatersystems.com/s-268-barium-in-water.aspx http://www.livestrong.com/article/473727-side-effects-of-nitrates-in-water/ http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/07/01/water-supply-fluoridation.aspx https://www.nap.edu/catalog/11571/fluoride-in-drinking-water-a-scientific-review-of-epas-standards http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/factsheets/radium.htm http://www.epa.state.il.us/water/compliance/drinking-water/publications/regulated-contaminants.pdf https://www.nrdc.org/resources/atrazine-poisoning-well https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/display.highlight/abstract/22/report/F https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/display.highlight/abstract/22