Do you drink the water here in Arizona? (Phoenix: house, buy)

[krazykatlady]

My husband says that it has high levels of arsenic in it....what say you??

Sud

[S. Chris Webb]

"Water in Arizona" is a pretty big brush to paint with. There are several different water suppliers that come from different sources just in the Phoenix area! While the flora in the water in one vicinity can have an unpleasant odor, taste, and questionable safety, another area a few blocks away could have water so refreshing that you could bottle and sell. I've noticed fairly high levels of arsenic on some of the reports on the water in my location. I think the water companies have to make public the tests on their water periodically - maybe you could find out who your water supplier is and see if they have the tests on their web site?

[HX_Guy]

Assuming you mean tap water...yes I've drank it before if I ran out of bottled, I'm pretty sure there has to be some law or rule that says it has o be safe for drinking.

Arrowhead water is the water of choice though, love that stuff.

[LocoAZnative]

Is this a serious question lets see i have dranks AZ tap water my whole life and I'm not dead yet

[locolobo13]

Yep! I drink the tap water here.

Several municipalities have quality reports online about the water. There is Arsenic some places. Read the following:

http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/water/az1112.pdf

You can also google Arsenic in Arizona Water.

[azdr0710]

the tap water here is entirely safe....it is tested daily and may be "safer" than some bottled waters....arsenic is probably in many municipalities' water, but not at a dangerous level....

the tap water, though, may taste "earthy", chemically, or what have you, but that's normal....buy a Brita- or Pur-type fridge filter if you'd like....but please don't buy plastic bottled water and clog up the landfills after one use of the bottles.....

[wit-nit]

Originally Posted by krazykatlady

My husband says that it has high levels of arsenic in it....what say you??

Sud

If it did we'd have 4 /12 million dead bodies here would'nt we...

[Nanny Goat]

I've read that large city water supplies are usually pretty safe. Some people drink the bottled for the aesthetic appeal.

[Ponderosa]

Your husband is right! Arsenic is a common contaminant in water in Arizona and California. However, any municipal source has to meet Federal standards which means that the arsenic content must be equal or less than than 10 parts per billion. This has been the law since Clinton left office (it was briefly overturned by Bush but then reinstated. The old standard was 50 ppb). The law resulted in over a third of wells in AZ and an even higher percentage in California being shut down. Some consider 10 ppb to be overkill, while others think the standard should be more relaxed. Nevertheless, public water supplies do meet the standards now through treatment or mixing.

Private wells are another matter. It is reasonably likely that a private well in AZ does have significant arsenic contamination. If you are considering a non-municipal (private) source then you should investigate this matter further. If you are moving into a house served by a city or a private water company operating a public utility (the vast majority of us) then you can relax about it.

NOTE: Getting rid of arsenic and other contaminants at home can be done with an inexpensive under sink reverse osmosis unit. Many people use these to remove sodium that water softeners add and to improve the taste of their drinking water.

[AksarbeN]

I use a good water filtering system at home for drinking and cooking. I avoid drinking tap water whenever I’m away from home if possible. Different water companies will tell you that their water is at or above the standards of good healthy drinking water. The question is can you trust them and their water?