Resources mentioned in this episode:
In comparison to countries around the world, we are so lucky to have safe water in the United States. But when we hear about water emergencies like that of Flint, Michigan, it makes me wonder how safe our water really is.
Is your water safe? Lead, toxic chemicals, and what to know about water contaminants.
It’s not only a concern for the residents of Flint or just lead that we need to be worried about. There have been additional reports on the safety of water.
On a federal level, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is in charge of limiting contaminants within our water. In 2009, the EPA’s report, Water on Tap, What You Need to Know, highlighted that while water in the US is generally safe to drink, threats to our drinking water are increasing. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has highlighted the issue of chromium-6, a probable human carcinogen and the water safety issue exposed in the movie ‘Erin Brokovich’, in drinking water supplies ov over more than 200 million Americans. And, in 2016 a Harvard University study highlighted polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) at unsafe levels in the drinking water of 6 million Americans.
The thing that is even more frightening, these are unsafe levels of chemicals that are currently monitored by the EPA. No new pollutants have been added to the list of chemicals monitored by the EPA since 2000 and there are over 2,000 new chemicals created each year. A new law passed in 2016 required the EPA to test unregulated chemicals on the market, a minimum of 20 year at at time each with a seven year deadline - so it could take centuries for the EPA to get through testing all of the existing chemicals being used in the US today.
While the EPA is in charge of establishing the safety of water across the US, there are over 150,000 public water systems that provide and manage water locally. If you are wondering how safe your water is, contact your local water system.
But…the water it tested before it reaches your home or goes through the pipes, fittings, and faucets of your home. Lead can leach into our water through corroding plumbing and sobering materials. Lead pipes are often found in homes and buildings older than 1986.
if you’re curious about testing your water for lead, contact your local water supply system. They may have free or inexpensive tests available to you.
And what about other places we get water. Like at school?
In Washington, the Department of Health tested over 199 schools and preschools who volunteered to be get their water fixtures tested. 97% of the schools tested had at least one water source with levels over one part per billion, the threshold recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Of all the fixtures tested, about 61% tested at or above one part per billion and 5% failed the federal threshold or 15 parts per billion.
Unfortunately, my kids’ schools weren’t a part of these tests, so we don’t even know how safe the water is at their school. Considering the age of the buildings, I don’t feel comfortable with them drinking the water at school.
So how do we make sure we are drinking safe water at home? We use a Berkey water filter. When I fill my Berkey water filter I can actually smell the chlorine in the water coming straight from the tap. Yuck! But what’s not yucky is the delicious water that comes out of my Berkey. It’s hard to drink water from anywhere else now that we have a filter that works so well!
We also hope to get a whole house water filtration system at some point in the future.
While our family can afford a high quality water filtration system, everyone deserves healthy and safe water. We need to pay attention to water policies and vote and support change that makes it so that every person has access to healthy water.
And one more thought…bottled water isn’t the way to go either. Plastic water bottles are bad for the environment and our health (the plastic often leaches chemicals into the water), and even if recycled still pollute the planet. Plus it's usually just bottled tap water.
*I am a Berkey affiliate but truly do love my Berkey filter! I didn’t become an affiliate until I realized how much I loved it.
