Is our tap water safe for our health?
In America, we are very fortunate to have functional sewer systems and plenty of water that is free from diseases. But is our water really clean and safe? The short answer is No. This blog post discusses water contamination, how to get a report on the water you drink, and how to find a water filter for your home.
Unfortunately, there are an incredible number of chemicals in our tap water and groundwater (this applies if you have a well!) that are known to be harmful to human health.
The chemicals contaminating our drinking water depend on where we live. A non-profit organization called the Environmental Working Group (EWG) specializes in making guides for consumers to help us understand how our health is affected by our environment and how our choices affect the health of the planet we live on. They have a great tool for water quality (click the link here) based on zip code that is super easy to use.
Our water quality in New Braunfels, TX
Typing in our New Braunfels ZIP code, 78130, and selecting NBU allows you to see the report at the bottom of this page. To sum it up for you: there are 29 contaminants detected in the New Braunfels tap water, 16 of those are above the health guidelines.
Some of these include:
- Arsenic
- Chloroform
- Radium
- Nitrates and nitrites
- A slew of other chemicals that are known to be cancer causing
- Endocrine disrupting (messes up our hormones), toxic to our nervous system and more.
The reports for drinking water in most cities look something like this.
Water filters can help reduce chemicals & improve health
This is why you need a water filter for the water you drink and cook with. If you scroll down on the EWG page, you will see a chart that shows you three common types of filters and what contaminants they remove.
- Activated charcoal will remove many of them, but not all. This includes a pitcher water filter, one that mounts on the faucet, or one that can be mounted under your sink and dispense through a separate faucet. It is generally the most affordable system and works pretty darn well.
- A reverse osmosis system will remove almost all contaminants. These systems tend to be the most expensive. Also, the reverse osmosis systems that mount under the sink waste a ton of water! For every gallon of filtered water you drink out of a reverse osmosis system, four gallons are wasted! In drought-prone Texas this waste seems inappropriate to me.
- Ion exchange filters remove much of what the activated charcoal filter misses. Often sold in combination with an under-the-sink charcoal filter system.
See this link to an EWG page with more in depth information on water filters and how to find a quality one.
Where can I find water filters?
All of these water filters are widely available at grocery stores (pitchers), hardware stores, online, etc. There are several third party labs that test the quality of water filters, including NSF. On the NSF website you can see everything that a water filter is proven to remove (though the PDF with this info is not user friendly).
What water filters Dr. Simmons uses?
Currently, my family uses an NSF-certified activated charcoal filter from Brita that mounts on my sink, cost me $24, has to have the filter replaced once per month, and is very convenient for me and my family. But there are many other great options out there you can search for.
If you are a patient of mine and want help selecting a water filter for you and your family’s health, please just reach out to me and I can talk you through some recommendations.
