One of my favorite Dave Matthews Band songs – as a title for this post, it seems appropriate….
In the last couple of weeks, the safety of water has come up again in my social feeds and in my social circles. Water safety and water purity goes back a couple of decades for me, and to this day it is something I’m still researching/experimenting with. So this post is a bit topical given the recent media coverage. Additionally, the March KIT is going to be focused on my current water setup and some additional things I’m doing on this subject as I experiment my towards greater water purity at home and while on the road here in the US.
Back to the social circles/media feeds — I’m finding people are generally breaking into a handful of camps that I’ll summarize here:
The Water is Alright
These are people that really haven’t been paying attention to their water quality and generally drink it as is. The belief that the municipal water is safe to drink is the prevailing belief that they operate from, and they have no problem with the water coming out of their faucet. I doubt these souls have any idea how that liquid arrives at their taps, and the potential for foul play along the way.
Brita Believers
A little further right on the spectrum of this camp is the ‘Brita Believers’ that think a charcoal filter with a pour through will work just fine. The people in this category have sniffed something off in their tap water, and are looking for taste improvement. Those in this camp understand that there is a possibility that something could go wrong with the water flowing into the tap at their homes. They may or may not be aware of the issues of ground contamination and with the other possible ways water can get contaminated.
Fridge Filtered Crew
This is probably the majority of the population that I’ve come across on this topic. Put the filter in the fridge, replace it when the light goes on, and I’m safe and sound. The double stage carbon thing that slots in takes out all of the chlorine and maybe some other stuff. The water certainly tastes a ton better. The ice is clear and doesn’t stink when it has been in the fridge for a few days. Free and clear here, no problems, right
These guys also have no problem slamming back a bottle of water out of a vending machine or at the 7 Eleven from tim to time – believing that the water in those bottles is good to go.
This crew may also be aware of the BPA scare from a few years ago where the plastic industry had to account for chemical seepage in drinking containers. What hasn’t been addressed is the risk that BPA poses in a variety of other containers and utensils that can touch the liquids and solids you are consuming on a daily basis. I digress…
Advanced Water Filterers at Home
This segment of the population understands that heavy metals, chemicals, and other nastiness can come through that tap water of ours. As such, this portion of the population will invest into a reverse osmosis, possibly multistage water filtration system at home that can be attached to the faucet and/or refrigerator. The water smells fantastic and is seemingly pure that you are drinking.
This segment will generally bring a bottle on the road in a non BPA container with this filtered water. Commercial bottled water is suspect to this community, although many will still opt for the bottled water rather than drinking any tap water while on the road.
Bottled Believers
Here we begin to enter what I call ‘zealot territory.’
This is the friend that has bottled – typically/ironically – in plastic jugs into their home. They KNOW that the tap water is horrendous and cancer causing. Government isn’t to be trusted, and they are fine letting the rest of the world drink that poisonous tap water. These folks are prone to offering you advice if the topic of water safety comes up and they will be more than happy to explain why the bottled water solution they’ve arrived at – is the best for you and for your family.
Bottled water is bottled water and this is the best option – even while on the road. So plastic bottled water on the road is an automatic choice.
Glass Bottled Believers
These are the folks that are aware of not only the municipal and tap water risks, they also believe that the plastics being used to serve the water up either at home or on the road as superbly rich in plastic particles. They will bring in bottled water to their homes and ensure that it is served in glass jugs to ensure that there is no plastic in the water that they are drinking.
Full Body Water Protection
This is the outer reaches of water protection – these are the folks that understand water is consumed into our bodies beyond our mouths. Sounds really weird, right? Well I’m talking about showers, baths, oceans, lakes, and pools. I bet these folks would never go to a water park for example…
You will see tell tale signs of this community as water filters on the shower heads or full home water filtration systems that can run into the thousands of dollars. If they even have a pool, chances are it is as all natural as possible with salt-based water systems in their swimming areas. If they are out in public water areas – it is likely to be free flowing water like rivers that are in seemingly more natural habitats.
Okay, so that’s seven categories that I’ve been exposed to over the years with many in the Bottled Believers and Fridge Filtered Crew engaging in the social media due to a handful of stories I’ll highlight below.
The Worst Tap Water in the USA
This article ( http://bestlifeonline.com/worst-drinking-water/ ) outlines the top 25 municipalities here in the USA with the worst water quality.
They explained their methodology as follows:
“Our data includes areas with “pollution potential,” according to the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as the number of contaminants (such as chloroform, bromate, or trichloroacetic acid—all found to cause cancer) found in the local water, according to the Environmental Working Group. The “Dirty Water Score” was determined by calculating the number of contaminants found in the water of the city’s largest water utility, with greater weight given to those that exceeded the EWG’s health guidelines (established by a federal or state public health authority).”
Sounds impressive, but I do not get it.
Many on social media are now ranting about the water quality of their towns – many locals that live near me here in Texas. The town I live in made the list above, and it is concerning. I”m not shocked by the fact that there is water contamination here in the towns that I live in and around me here in Texas.
I’m more surprised that other towns located in other parts of the country are not as well represented. I can personally speak to numerous granite and heavy metal quarries and finishing plants in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts where I have seen blatantly exposed / open air ‘cess pools’ draining into the ground and nearby streams.
I have seen this with my own eyes in the past two years in all three states. The point is – this shit is happening everywhere, even in the bastions of the East Coast where there is a heavy leaning towards environmental protections – which I support.
So back to the methodology, not much detail frankly being offered up – which is suspicious to me. Whenever I see stuff like this, I like to look under the covers to see what exactly was tested, how stringent were the controls, and who sponsored the study.
Many times there is an agenda behind this type of thing.
They don’t even speak to their sampling approach – did they take only one sample per locale or did they take multiple samples over a multi week horizon? Lots of questions here in this generic summation of methodology.
For now, I’m using this article as illustrative of the following point:
There is a very high likelihood that your tap water is not safe to drink as of right now. Further, even if it is safe today – there is no guarantee that tomorrow it will become unhealthy due to a variety of factors beyond your control.
So my recommendation is to get educated on your tap water quality, and to begin taking compensating measures to protect yourself and your family.
The Bottled Water Myth
This article is just incredible.
I have read and re-read it at least six times. I’ve not shared it on social media just yet, and when I do – I’m sure it will trigger all sorts of freakout in the Bottled Believer community.
I really enjoyed this article as it speaks to the methodology used to test, the results have been published in detail here, and they admit it was not a scientifically controlled study worthy of a peer review to be published in a journal. They admit that this level of scrutiny has not been performed – for me this screams integrity, and that they thought enough of the results and of their rigor to publish it anyway. Clearly there’s an agenda here that warrants additional conversation and scientific research.
The study of plastics in our water is one being pursued Orb Media which was founded by Molly Bingham – Orb’s claim is alternative journalism aiming at freeing the truth. I’m not sure what exactly their agenda is, and let’s be honest – there is most definitely an agenda here. Altruistic or bought and paid for – I’m not sure.
Back to the study – I think it is also illustrative –
Bottled water may be dangerous, possibly even more dangerous than our tap water that is also riddled with chemicals and other badness.
The point here is this – bottled water can get contaminated just like tap water, and anyone that drinks it should treat it with the same level of scrutiny you do with your tab water at home. I continue to drink bottled water while on the road, although I’m now on a path of further research on this topic.
So what the hell are we supposed to do?
Well, I can tell you what I’ve been doing in my next post, and what I think you can do as a next step on this topic of water safety.
And if you are not concerned about the quality of the water you drink, you ought to be.
After breathing air – is is the next most fundamental thing that you consume each day. It is even more important than the food you eat. Think about it.
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