How to get safe water to drink....

Today's post: Thursday, 3-13-2008

1. Recently, it was in the news that, albeit at very low levels, almost all of the municipal water systems that were tested contained multiple chemicals. The drugs included caffeine, antibiotics, sedatives, & forms of artificial estrogen. The tests also found some solvents.

And, I also got an email that said that some municipal water systems also had other pollutants due to aging of the pipes and other infrastructure through which the water flows. In addition, the email pointed out the giardia parasite has been found in some water systems. The pipes in your home can also leech copper, lead, & plastic chemicals depending on what kind of pipes your home has.

Further, in many agricultural or farming communities that are mostly farmed with pesticides & herbicides, you can smell that the tap water contains some.

Lastly, although bottled water often does taste better it often has some of these same pollutants -- either because the water they use has some pollutants also, even if less, or because they use water that is only filtered tap water where the filters let some kinds of pollutants pass.

In addition, particularly in hot weather, bottled water leeches plastic chemicals. And the plastics are made from chemicals taken from oil & the bottled water is transported & shipped mostly by using fossil fuels.

2. Since -- other than some wine or dark beer or other alcoholic beverages & real fruit juices -- water, tea, green tea, & coffee are the drinks that support good health -- to drink safe water, tea, green tea, & coffee you need a source of pure unpolluted water, all these points are bad news.

3. The email I got was selling an at home, water purification system that used distillation.

I don’t include their contact info as I have no idea of the quality or usability of their product nor have I researched to see if there are better units or units as good that cost less.

I have heard good things about the Brita water filters for at home use (from Brita® Filtration Systems www.brita.com –“ Transform tap water into healthier, great-tasting drinking water.”)

Such filters won’t remove some kinds of pollutants; but it does remove many; it does make water taste much better; it’s widely available; & using it with your tap water is cheaper per glass or gallon of water you drink than bottled water. This also avoids the construction & transport use of petroleum involved in bottled water. Such filters will help some & are far better than doing nothing.

Further, it may improve the efficiency, reliability, & lower maintenance costs & increase the useful life of a distillation unit, to use such a filter on tap water BEFORE it goes in the distillation unit.

4. Another point is that in many places, if not most, it’s important to have about a week’s supply of drinking water on hand. Earthquakes & other natural disasters & some other kinds of bad events can shut off your tap water supply that long. And in such conditions, bottled water gets sold out at stores.

So, it occurs to me that getting about a tenth or so of your water supply from bottled water once you buy enough to last you & your family a week might make sense. Then run both your little bit of bottled water & your tap water though the filter & the distillation system for your supply of safe, pure water.

That way you eliminate 90 % of the problems & costs of only getting your drinking water from bottled water. And, by rotating your bottled water supply, this system also ensures that none of your emergency water reserve has sat too long to drink safely if your filters & distillation unit are also taken out by a disaster.