Disturbing Facts About America’s Drinking Water
September 10, 2014Clean water is a luxury that we often take for granted. In many third world countries, uncontaminated drinking water isn’t even an option!
But despite our technological advances, even the water you get from your sink could be contaminated with an assortment of harmful chemicals and bacteria. In this blog article, we want to inform our readers of some of the most disturbing facts about drinking water in America, and the places it’s gotten particularly bad (although some of these same issues can be found all over the world).
At Azure Water, our water is sent through a rigorous purification process to ensure that you get water that’s 99.9 percent pure. Unfortunately, this is definitely not the case for most drinking water you come across.
Harmful Chemicals Found in Drinking Water
Over the years, numerous harmful chemicals have been found in America’s drinking water. Although many efforts have been made to remove most of these chemicals, traces can still be found in many water sources to this day.
Lead
We’ll begin with lead. While measures have been taken over the past few decades to remove much of the lead from our drinking water, it is still often found in homes and buildings with older pipes. These pipes can end up leaching lead into drinking water, which over time can lead to lead poisoning.
Chlorine
Chlorine is another chemical that causes issues in our drinking water. While it is purposefully added to help purify the water, it’s actually its reaction with other substances in the water that causes most of the problems. As chlorine reacts with organic materials in the reservoirs (such as dead leaves), it produces carcinogenic toxins. Unfortunately, keeping these reservoirs free of organic materials has not been a top priority for most utility companies.
Pesticides and Pharmaceuticals
Pesticides and pharmaceuticals found in drinking water are due to runoff from landfills, yards and farms. Pesticides like atrazine have been linked to gender changes in frogs and endocrine production disruption. Certain pharmaceuticals can lead to various forms of cancer and hormone disruption as well.
Cities in America with the Worst Water
According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), there are “a total of 316 contaminants in water supplied to 256 million Americans in 48,000 communities in 45 states.” Not great news to hear! Based on the EWG’s findings, the top three cities with the worst drinking water are Pensacola, FL, Riverside, CA and Las Vegas, NV.
Why America Should Be Concerned
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 55 percent of America’s water ways are rated as being in poor condition. Many water treatment plants are also over 30 years old, and are not equipped to remove all the pollutants that are now in our water. Chlorine treatments remove the harmful bacteria, but leave many of the pesticides and herbicides behind.
Be Wary of Some Bottled Water
Unfortunately, not all bottled water is a safe bet. Many times, bottled water manufacturers are using the same local water source that you get in your home. Some companies are also resistant to revealing the methods they use to filter their water. While water utilities are required to release reports about their water quality, bottled water companies are not.
At Azure Water, we are open about our water sources and how we purify our bottled water. We use water from the Florida Aquifer, and then send it through a rigorous filtration process. To see this process, take a look at the Our Water tab on our site. We also blow our own bottles, so once the water is filtered, it can go straight into the bottles, leaving less chance for contamination that can come from transportation.
Want to know more about our water and our custom label bottled water? Give us a call or get in touch with us through our contact page. We would also love to hear from you on our social channels! Having clean drinking water is easy at Azure with our water, your logo.