Is Houston's drinking water dangerous? (San Antonio, Pasadena: inspection, utilities, health)

[stoneclaw]

I hear from some people that if you drink the tap water in Houston, you're taking a risk. I drink it and it tastes normal to me. Does anyone know if theres truth to this. I heard that Houston's water actually comes from a lake in San Antonio, not the nearby gulf. Can anyone confirm this?

[Poltracker]

The majority of the City of Houston's water and the folks it sells water to including Pasadena, Galveston, and numerous MUDs and municipalities comes from the Trinity River. Lake Houston is the back-up/supplemental source. Houston also has water rights for Lake Conroe, and the Brazos River. The quality of the water is actually pretty good. You can view yearly water quality reports at this website: City of Houston -- Public Works and Engineering -- Public Utilities Division -- Water Production (http://www.publicworks.houstontx.gov/utilities/waterprod.htm - broken link)
You can also go to the next link to check inspection and water quality reports conducted by the TCEQ: Search the Water Utility Database (WUD)

[Mom2Feebs]

No. Houston takes great pride in the quality of the water here. Our drinking water comes from both surface and underground, here in Harris County, depending on the part of town in which you reside. Houston's tap water is rated "Superior", which is great! It's got a clear color and tastes great. I use a Brita filter pitcher just to get any extra chlorine out, but otherwise, it's pretty doggone good!

City of Houston -- Public Works and Engineering -- Public Utilities Division -- Water Production (http://www.publicworks.houstontx.gov/utilities/waterprod.htm - broken link)

[Mom2Feebs]

man, I am jinxin' all over the place LOL!!

[Mr. Football]

I believe Houston's water is Fluoridated. Many public water utilities in the US do Fluoridate, however it is banned in most European countries (Austria, Hungary, Denmark, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Norway, The Netherlands) as well as China and Japan. The type of fluoride (calcium) that is naturally found in H20, is replaced with a cheaper more toxic variety that is made from industrial byproduct. IMO, there's really no good reason to fluoridate water other than to subsidize the chemical industry and give them a place to dump their byproducts.

Fluoride's 'good' for you!

[Wysiwyg]

my tap water is limey. it leaves white crap all over the sink, granite, hardware, shower/tub. for some reason it leaves some white crap on the fridge's filtered tap water. you can also see some watered soils turn limey white. we dont drink straight from the tap. we use the brita pitcher for cooking and drinking water. I have yet to add filter systems

[tstone]

I'm sure the water is fine. I drink it through the fridge that has a filter on the bottom. Takes out the funky chorlinated taste. The water is very hard, though. Over time it can clog up your shower heads and degrade dishwasher performance. In lieu of a water softener, a little CLR in the right places will clean it right up.

[EasilyAmused]

Montgomery County had the funkiest tasting water and made Harris County's lime problem look like child's play.

I think the water tastes ok, I still prefer bottled to drink.

[Supermac34]

Flouride in water is not "toxic." Its benefits greatly outweigh any perceived or falsified negatives.

There is a reason that people from areas with flouridated water have remarkably better dental health than those from non flouridated areas.

[tstone]

Originally Posted by EasilyAmused

Montgomery County had the funkiest tasting water and made Harris County's lime problem look like child's play.

This might be a well-water thing. I remember this exact issue in Brazos county. Water there was very soft, too. My Brita was a must.

As for the fluoride thing, it's more of a ''Big Brother knows best'' idea that irks people. It makes some folks think the government is trying to engineer their population to an extent.