Life cannot exist without clean drinking water. The increasing populations is disrupting the natural purification of water. Humans now adopt the role to clean our drinking water. This is concerning because human error can occur or lack of knowledge to remove harmful chemicals. One issue people are concerned about is the tap water that comes out of their faucets at home.
In order for water to be considered safe, it needs to have low levels of harmful chemicals. Despite tap water being tested multiple times a day, harmful chemicals still get through.
- Pharmaceutical chemicals
- Non-iconic surfactants
Scientists claim technology is scarce to track these types of chemicals in tap water which is one of the reasons it isn’t more reported and tracked. I think that the technology is there, but the laws aren’t in place.
One particular chemical called non-ionic surfactants used to improve the power of detergents is not screened for tap water in Arizona.
It’s also important to understand “safe” water might not be safe for everyone. Certain people are more susceptible to water illnesses because of health issues that can lower immune systems.
I find it interesting that none of the Annual Drinking Water Quality Reports for Arizona are posted online. This makes it challenging for the everyday consumer to get actual facts about their drinking water. I’ll be reaching their offices soon.
This leaves us with a question: What is safe to drink?
People use at-home filters or drink bottled water, but how safe are those choices?
If you’re very interested in this topic of contamination of water I suggest you read a book called Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. This book covers many environmental issues including different angles of water pollution. The most important thing about this book is the time it was written. Carson predicted a lot of things would happen when she wrote the book in 1962. Many of her predictions have come true and many of her environmental concerns still exist today.
I love this! Very professional and informative.
By: Lauren Fach on January 19, 2012
at 11:55 am
From what I have read, communities only need to check for certain chemicals in the water before calling it “safe” to drink. Those chemicals are by no means a complete list of all the dangerous chemicals that are found in water. The incidence of cancer in the U.S. has been rising for some time now. There is a hell of a lot going on that needs to be brought to the attention of the general public. This is a great subject to write about.
By: Rick Florez on January 28, 2012
at 9:09 pm