Even though we all need water to survive, it is easy to take drinking water for granted.
In the U.S., people get their tap water from public community water systems.
The supply of drinking water to your home either comes from a surface water source or a groundwater source.
The former is collected from reservoirs, lakes, rivers, and streams.
In this article
How Does Drinking Water Become Contaminated?
Take the Camp Lejeune water contamination incident as an example.
The CDC estimates almost 900,000 veterans, family members, and civilians were exposed to the harmful contamination.
But how did the drinking water become contaminated in the first place?
Check for Signs of Cloudiness
Water that is safe to drink should be clear and transparent.
So, one way of checking for contamination is to look for cloudiness.
Chromium-6 was the contaminant that was part of the famous lawsuit filed by Erin Brockovich.
Yellow water can also be a sign of the buildup of lead, iron, copper, or manganese.
However, sometimes yellow water can simply be the effect of your utility clearing its pipes.
Water That Smells of Bleach
If your water smells like bleach, it could contain excess chlorine.
U.S. water supplies contain chlorine to kill pathogens and germs, so a small dosage is not harmful.
And sulfate can cause dehydration the opposite of what water should do!
Cadmium is a chemical that is found in copper and lead ores.
It can leach into water pipes via industrial waste and can cause liver, kidney, and bone damage.
Barium is a naturally-occurring chemical that can seep into water supplies via manufacturing or drilling.
The release of such metals into drinking water supplies can also make the water taste salty.
However, a metallic or salty taste could be simply the result of a low pH.
This is a test to discover whether your water may be hard water.
Those substances can leave deposits on drinking glasses, faucets, and sinks.
While water companies regularly check water supplies for contaminants, as we know, sometimes contamination can still happen.
The EPA sets regulations for the presence of over ninety different contaminants in public drinking water.
They include potentially serious contaminants like cryptosporidium,salmonella, and E. coli.
So, you may wish to take steps to get your water tested yourself.
And exposure to the contaminants in drinking water can sometimes lead to serious health conditions.
So, to recap, you should:
