Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Great site!
It was interesting to see the different cities.
Quote:
I don't like the idea of buying bottled water. All those billions of plastic bottles use up imported oil to produce, and I would bet that a large percentage end up in the garbage or litter, or floating around in the ocean.
I see those bottles every day: on the beach, in the street, etc
Quote:
If your local tap water is not up to par with your preference, try a good quality under the sink dual filter system. Those tiny little faucet filters or pitcher filters don't do that great of a job - get something better that costs much less over the long haul. The under sink filters are easy to install, I did mine in about 10 minutes. Here's an example of what I used, this is not a sales pitch:
I thought all tap water in the U.S. is supposed to be safe for drinking. I had not heard about the arsenic thing, and so I looked it up. The EPA website says that there is a set arsenic standard for drinking water, and all public/community water systems much comply with this standard. Therefore, I think tap water is pretty safe to drink although it may not always be the most pleasantly tasting.
However, water from private wells are not subject to this standard, and it is up to the well owner to have the water tested for arsenic.
Where I live here in Arizona, a notice was actually sent out to all residents who got their water from this certain source regarding the levels of arsenic that were above these set standards.
They had to warn their residents. I think of this as a big enough issue to not drink the water regularly.
So, now the city is devising a plan to knock these arsenic levels down.
I cut down on my usage of water here after receiving the notice about 5 months ago.
Where I live here in Arizona, a notice was actually sent out to all residents who got their water from this certain source regarding the levels of arsenic that were above these set standards.
They had to warn their residents. I think of this as a big enough issue to not drink the water regularly.
So, now the city is devising a plan to knock these arsenic levels down.
I cut down on my usage of water here after receiving the notice about 5 months ago.
Yikes! That is scary! In that case, I would recommend a reverse osmosis system for your home. As recycled said, get an under the sink system. The faucet filters and pitcher filters aren't as good especially since it seems like you are more concerned about contaminates and not just the taste of tap water.
Also, I looked up the quality of the tap water in my city (thanks recycled for providing the link!), and that tap water looks pretty scary too. I'm glad I only drink the filtered water from my RO system when at home.
You guys are right...I won't drink my water straight from the tap...but I am also against all of the environmental issues with bottled water (along with the reported health issues with the water). But there is a solution...use a good water filter and you can drink from your faucet, its way cheaper and actually makes Healthier water than the bottled water. Heres a site that compares some of the top brands.
Here's an example of where you can get some of the best, purest water that is delivered to the faucet of homes, unfiltered and with no chemical additives:
McCLOUD COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT (http://www.ci.mccloudcsd.ca.us/District_Services/Annual_water_quality_report_2004.htm - broken link)
It's so good that Nestle corporation wants to build one of the largest bottled water plants in the country right outside town and "tap" into their source. That has set off a bottled water battle that has been going on for over 4 years. Here's a good article from a Chico, CA newspaper that tells about what the impact is of a mega bottle water plant on a little rural town. Nestle will pay a local utility district about .0008 cents per gallon of pure water, which will be sold at retail prices for about $8 per gallon (if you add up the prices for a bunch of those small water bottles they typically sell).
Which to me is still better than the tap here. High levels of arsenic? Wouldn't you be scared to drink that, too?!
If I could afford to use bottled water (whether from a fresh spring or tap through reverse osmosis) for ALL of my water needs then I would!! But....
But see bottled water doesn't have higher standards than tap water so high levels of anything in bottled water can just as easily be a problem.
It is my understanding that not all bottled water is run through reverse osmosis. It is all legally required to be filtered of course but again, no higher standards than tap.
Also, I've never understood this. Does water straight from a spring not have minerals or even bacteria in it, ever?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Bottle Your Own
