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Water Contamination: How pure is purified water"

By Megan Roth

Some of you may know this, some of you may not (and most of you probably don't care, but it's relevant) : I currently live in New York City. By the end of my first week living here, I had spent a large portion of my checking account on bottled water. Sounds silly? Yes, but I'm naturally a thirsty girl and I drink a lot, which posed a problem considering there was no way in hell I was going to drink water from the tap in New York City (If you've visited midtown - my neighborhood - you'd understand why. Lots of bars and restaurants rinse the muck outside, where it runs freely into and around the never ending trash lining the streets). I reasoned I wouldn't eat garbage, so why would I drink it?!

Thus, I was buying bottles of water and virtually every other Duane Reade I came across. Until one day, when a coworker commented on my habit and suggested I refill them. "Duh - if I was going to refill them, I'd just drink out of a glass and quit wasting my money on the bottle!" I retorted.

"Why don't you?"

"Because that's disgusting! New York's water is probably comparable to that of a third world country!"

"Not even close! New York City actually is actually at the top of city's in the U.S. with the cleanest drinking water!"

Wait, what?! You mean I've just spent a small fortune on bottled water and I could've been drinking straight from the tap the whole time!? I decided this was cause for some research. Turns out, my coworker was right; I ended up being just as surprised as Thirsty and found out I could save up to $1400 each year just by switching from bottled to tap.

Mayor Bloomberg says, "Our drinking water system is the lifeblood of our City...the men and women of the Department of Environmental Protection work tirelessly to uphold the high quality and integrity of our drinking water."

And state health commissioner Dr. Daines will attest: "...some of the world's best-tasting and highest quality drinking water is found in New York's largest city."

But what makes it so great?

For starters, it's unfiltered - the exact opposite of what I would think to be 'safe'. Again here, I'm not alone. Most people who have no extensive knowledge of safety and drinking water would assume unfiltered water is dangerous because it allows parasites and other harmful bactera and substances through. However, this is a common misconception and distilled water is actually much more dangerous than unfiltered.

Of course, this is provided certain safety protections are implemented to ensure water quality will not be degraded. For example, effective waste management strategies are vital. Similarly, it's essential that septic tanks are repaired and replaced on a routine basis.

These steps are absolutely necessary to ensure that the harmful bacteria and pollutants known to contaminate water aren't allowed to swim freely amongst our drinking supply - or our digestive system, for that matter.

But what happens when those steps aren't properly implemented? What happens when our water is contaminated? And what happens when whatever it is contaminating the water reaches us?

Ugh - I've started the research. Trust me - you don't wanna know...

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Megan Roth

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on November 12, 2008 (boomark / email).