Six Ways To Ensure Safe Drinking Water For Your Family

Check Your Plumbing --- Most older homes were built with copper pipes soldered together with toxic lead, or actual lead pipes.  Over time, the lead dissolves into your drinking water, threatening the health of your family.  Health officials often recommend that homeowners in this situation let the tap run for a few minutes before using the water for drinking or cooking, to flush clean water through the lines, but this method wastes water and is not guaranteed to achieve safe water quality.  You can also replace the toxic pipes, but a less costly option would be to install a water filter.  Be sure to check whether the brand of filter is certified and proven to remove lead, because some filters won't remove dissolved metals.

Study Your Local Water System --- Each year, community water utilities produce a Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) which provides information about that utility's drinking water sources and the treatment methods they use.  The report includes data on the quality of the water provided during the previous year, and they are required to report any violations of health standards for chemical contaminants or pathogens.

Check and Maintain Your Well System --- If you drink water from a private well, it's important to maintain it properly and check for contaminants.

Have Water Samples Analyzed --- Many companies offer packaged water tests which can tell you a great deal about your water quality.  Costs generally increase if you request that the test cover a larger number of chemical types, bacteria and/or viruses. Testing for a few "indicator" chemicals or organisms may tell you whether a broader test is necessary.

Install a Water Filter --- If you have unavoidable contaminants in your tap water, or would simply appreciate the extra security, you can install a water filter on your kitchen faucet, your shower, or your entire household water system.   Many companies offer a variety of filter types, with varying effectiveness and costs.

Contact Your Elected Officials With Your Concerns --- Though public drinking water systems are generally reasonably safe, our government regulations of drinking water supplies are often not as comprehensive or as well-enforced as we might hope.  Some drinking water health standards have been politically compromised, while many chemicals have no drinking water standards at all.  Testing frequency is often limited due to budget constraints and underground water supplies are often not protected from excessive withdrawals by high-capacity wells or other threats nearby.  We all need to tell our elected officials that water supplies and water quality are extremely important to us, and must be protected.