Should I be concerned about drinking tap water?
I grew up in the United States and have been drinking tap water my whole life. More recently some of my friends have been making me feel a little bit guilty or awkward about the safety of tap water, usually recommending me to use either use a water filter, or to boil my water. I think this is just hyperbole, but after a long time hearing this from different people, I am beginning to feel unsure.
I know some places in the United States and across the world have unsafe drinking water, but how do I know where the water is safe or not? Are there any certain tastes that are considered dangerous? Is it better for me to just start using filtered water?
Best Answer
It really depends on the location. Sciencemag.org has an article on this, which is backed up by this paper. To quote a relevant part from sciencemag:
Allaire and her colleagues downloaded EPA’s data and looked at the number of health-related water quality violations for 17,900 community water systems in the continental United States over a 34-year period. Some were for elevated lead levels, the problem in Flint, but the data set also included violations for coliform bacteria—a group of microbes that is easy to detect and serves as an indicator of bacterial contamination in general—nitrates, arsenic, and other contaminants. The researchers combined those data with information from the U.S. census such as housing density and average household income, to figure out which communities were most vulnerable.
The following sentence from the significance page from the scientific article's website leads me to the conclusion that you shouldn't be worried per se, but that it is certainly worth looking into the situation in your area:
Here, we show that health-based drinking water quality violations are widespread, with 9–45 million people possibly affected during each of the past 34 years. While relatively few community water systems (3–10%) incur health-based violations in a given year, improved compliance is needed to ensure safe drinking water nationwide.
If there is something wrong with the water (as you might find after your research) then see what the specific advice is. Some things may go away after boiling, others may not.
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Quick Answer about "Should I be concerned about drinking tap water?"
In most parts of the United States and Canada, it's safe to drink tap water from public water systems. Tap water that's been properly filtered is equally safe as bottled water and provides you with essential minerals you may not get from bottled water.Why you should avoid tap water?
While there are many different health issues that can arise if you drink tap water, some of them include:- Metal poisoning. Heavy metals are metallic elements with a relatively high density that are toxic or even poisonous when ingested. ...
- Lead poisoning. ...
- Skin irritation. ...
- Asbestos exposure.
Can tap water cause problems?
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), \u201ctap water can reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants.\u201d Drinking water that has unsafe levels of these contaminants can result in both acute and chronic health effects, including cancer, liver or kidney problems, and ...Is tap water in the US safe to drink?
The United States has one of the safest and most reliable drinking water systems in the world. Every year, millions of people living in the United States get their tap water from a public community water system. The drinking water that is supplied to our homes comes from either a surface water or ground water source.Is tap water worse for you?
Overall, both tap and bottled water are considered good ways to hydrate. However, tap water is generally a better option, as it's just as safe as bottled water but costs considerably less and has a much lower environmental impact. Plus, with a reusable water bottle, tap water can be just as convenient as bottled.Think Twice About Drinking Tap Water
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Answer 2
I would ask your friends what evidence they have to support their opinions. They will be unlikely to produce anything besides conspiracy theory level information. It’s similar to the vaccine debate. Who do you believe? The large, established scientific community, or your friend’s hunch?
Tap water is regulated by state and federal governments for safety. Virtually all tap water in the US is absolutely safe to drink. Filters can improve taste, which is impacted by many factors, but neither home filters nor boiling would remedy a Flint, MI type contamination.
Mistrusting tap water would mean mistrusting our regulatory bodies (tempting right now, understandably) - but to do so would impact so much more than your tap water. It would be like rearranging deck chairs on the titanic to filter your tap water if you believe the the functionality of our government has so degraded. Meat, milk, household cleaners, detergents, eggs, bottled water, packaged and caned foods — all and more would also be compromised by regulatory corruption.
Also, the poor, hospitals, etc. depend on tap water — if it’a not safe, shouldn’t your friends and fellow citizens be more outraged? Even if they filter or boil it, they still pay for the water, shouldn’t they protest or complain to their provider?
US tap water is safe, drink away.
Answer 3
Have you considered simply taking a sample of your tap water to your local water company and requesting that it be tested? If you don't trust them to test it and give you the actual results, there are literally thousands of companies in America that will do this for you for a very small fee.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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