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Is our water safe to drink


jugoso

Do you drink water from your Tap?  

28 members have voted

  1. 1. Do you drink water out of your tap without treating it?

    • Yes
      20
    • No
      6
    • Only under special circumstances
      2


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I´m hoping that there will be a poll that comes with this post. I was just reading an article about the safety of Canadian drinking water.

On any given day there are an estimated 1,500 boil water advisories in effect across Canada. Some are in effect for hours, some for days -- and some have lasted decades. Portugal Cove South, in Newfoundland and Labrador, has been under a boil water advisory for 29 years, since 1984.

According to Chris Wood, co-author of Down the Drain: How We Are Failing to Protect Our Water, a lot of illness is caused by unsafe drinking water in Canada. "Across the country, roughly 500 times a day, somebody visits an ER [hospital emergency room] or visits a doctor for some kind of gastrointestinal distress which basically comes down to their water," he told The Current in a recent interview.

When I lived in Canada (just over 10 years ago, I never hesitated to drink water out of the tap. I currently reside in Mexico where no one drinks water from their tap for obvious reasons. I´m just curious if members of UM drink water from the tap or not. Thanks for taking the time to answer the poll.

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Calgary, Alberta resident here. The only time I ever drink from the tap is when I'm visiting a friend/relative and no filtered water is available, or I might take an occasional swallow of water while showering. The bulk of my water passes through a Brita filter system first.

As an interesting aside, I was quite surprised to see the difference in the clarity of my ice cubes since I started using the Brita. If I fill the tray from the tap, the cubes are almost opaque. When I fill using the Brita, they are crystal clear except for a small opaque spot in each cube...

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I don't drink tap water period,Who knows what they put in it,saying that though is bottled water safe.

You just don't know.

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I don't drink tap water period,Who knows what they put in it,saying that though is bottled water safe.

You just don't know.

Pepsi, Nestle and few other big names have admitted their bottled water is simply tap water

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Pepsi, Nestle and few other big names have admitted their bottled water is simply tap water

Well, it is water in a bottle so I guess technically they are being truthful. Must make a good buck from filling up plastic bottles with tap water and selling it. SAD IMO.

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Nothing wrong with the water here. Little chlorine and some natural lime in it.

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Just watched Gasland II the other night. We here in Florida are pretty safe, but those living near fracking are really getting screwed, big time.

My son lives in Garfield County Colorado, and the water is so bad it ruins clothes when doing laundry. They can shower, but never drink the water. Something over 300ppm of particulate matter. Yuck.

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I can't drink the water here. Way too much chlorine in it. I live in the Shuswap in BC, Canada. There are rivers and lakes all over and we treat our water. A few years ago a town had an outbreak of Beaver Fever, a bacteria that killed a few older citizens. This was an excuse to chlorinate the water. BUT, chlorine doesn't kill Beaver Fever. It is carcinogenic, though. IMO, I think it is a money grab for companies. We are weakening our systems by being too 'clean'.

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Nothing wrong with the water here. Little chlorine and some natural lime in it.

Where´s here? Greece or Iowa?

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I can't drink the water here. Way too much chlorine in it. I live in the Shuswap in BC, Canada. There are rivers and lakes all over and we treat our water. A few years ago a town had an outbreak of Beaver Fever, a bacteria that killed a few older citizens. This was an excuse to chlorinate the water. BUT, chlorine doesn't kill Beaver Fever. It is carcinogenic, though. IMO, I think it is a money grab for companies. We are weakening our systems by being too 'clean'.

I was really interested in getting a home water filtration system (one that would all water coming into house,) a few months back. I had the opportunity to talk to a filtration salesman while at a "home and garden" convention (wife's idea!) and as I expressed concerns over flouride in the water he stopped me and said "they stopped putting flouride in the water in Canada a few years ago. The chlorine has to stay in the water to prevent a buildup of bacteria. Otherwise the water would start to smell and taste funny." Seems like a pretty good reason to me. Not too thrilled about the idea of chlorine, but it does make sense. Unfortunately it's not something the Brita filters out...reverse osmosis filtration is the only way to fully remove it.

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We have a filter going to the refrigerator ice maker and water dispenser, but I do drink directly from the tap too. Don't get me started on the scam that is bottled water.

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Where´s here? Greece or Iowa?

Right now I am in Greece on a remote little island. In Iowa there is slightly more chlorine in the water, have not analyzed the other contents yet.

Edited by questionmark
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We have a well, so we always drink tap water. We do have a filter on the well pump, but that's due to fine silt. Only time our water seems to be a problem is when particular city friends visit- they are unused to well water so it seems off to them.

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I drink out of my tap. I have a deep well and the water is good.

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Just watched Gasland II the other night. We here in Florida are pretty safe, but those living near fracking are really getting screwed, big time.

My son lives in Garfield County Colorado, and the water is so bad it ruins clothes when doing laundry. They can shower, but never drink the water. Something over 300ppm of particulate matter. Yuck.

Florida water tastes horrible, though that is not really a sign of safety. There was some city I read about where the water tasted great, but was not particularly safe.

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I´m hoping that there will be a poll that comes with this post. I was just reading an article about the safety of Canadian drinking water.

When I lived in Canada (just over 10 years ago, I never hesitated to drink water out of the tap. I currently reside in Mexico where no one drinks water from their tap for obvious reasons. I´m just curious if members of UM drink water from the tap or not. Thanks for taking the time to answer the poll.

Well keep in mind that a boil water advisory doesn't necessarily mean anything is wrong with the water. In most cases they are simply required by law when something has happened to the water pipes. We had one in our neighborhood earlier in the summer - lasted 3 days (the NY minimum b/c you have to have 3 negative tests) - due to some guys breaking the water main. The results came back negative on every single test.

As for me, I have no qualms about drinking tap water in the developed world. Sure, bottled water might taste better in some cases due to mineral or high chlorine content, but in very few cases are there any real safety issues.

One of the greatest marketing coups in the last 30 years has been carried out by the bottled water industry - I hope every marketing major is studying what they did because it was brilliant. They actually convinced a huge percentage of folks that the water coming out of their tap was unhealthy and that they needed to spend more than they spend on things like gasoline to buy water in little plastic bottles. As I said, brilliant. I saw a thing on the NYC news a couple years back where they interviewed school-aged children and virtually every single one of them said that tap water was bad for them.

And the other ironic thing about it is that those little plastic bottles have become a blight on our planet probably second only to plastic grocery bags.

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I was really interested in getting a home water filtration system (one that would all water coming into house,) a few months back. I had the opportunity to talk to a filtration salesman while at a "home and garden" convention (wife's idea!) and as I expressed concerns over flouride in the water he stopped me and said "they stopped putting flouride in the water in Canada a few years ago. The chlorine has to stay in the water to prevent a buildup of bacteria. Otherwise the water would start to smell and taste funny." Seems like a pretty good reason to me. Not too thrilled about the idea of chlorine, but it does make sense. Unfortunately it's not something the Brita filters out...reverse osmosis filtration is the only way to fully remove it.

Ah, but do some investigating on your own. Don't you think that was a biased opinion? The guy makes money by filtering out stuff like chlorine. There was a community called Erickson in BC that was fighting chlorination a few years back. You should read their research into how harmful it is for us.

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Ah, but do some investigating on your own. Don't you think that was a biased opinion? The guy makes money by filtering out stuff like chlorine. There was a community called Erickson in BC that was fighting chlorination a few years back. You should read their research into how harmful it is for us.

And Natural News and Mercola aren't biased? Come on.

Chlorine is used as a disinfectant in drinking water the world over and has been for decades with no ill effects. Chlorine at the 4ppm level as mandated by the EPA and most other governmental agencies is perfectly safe to consume.

Is Chlorine dangerous? Sure. But then so are Oxygen and Hydrogen. It's all about the dose.

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Ah, but do some investigating on your own. Don't you think that was a biased opinion? The guy makes money by filtering out stuff like chlorine. There was a community called Erickson in BC that was fighting chlorination a few years back. You should read their research into how harmful it is for us.

My whole point with the story was that he wasn't being biased. I was only concerned with flouride which would have given him every opportunity to sell me a filtration system, but he didn't. He gave me a good tip, a pamphlet and sent me on my way. Given the industry that he's in, I would consider him to be knowledagable about the water in my city. Credible? Maybe not, but knowledegable.

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Well keep in mind that a boil water advisory doesn't necessarily mean anything is wrong with the water. In most cases they are simply required by law when something has happened to the water pipes. We had one in our neighborhood earlier in the summer - lasted 3 days (the NY minimum b/c you have to have 3 negative tests) - due to some guys breaking the water main. The results came back negative on every single test.

Sorry that I forgot to include the link in the OP which is http://www.cbc.ca/bo...e-to-drink.html

Three days isn´t too much of an inconveniece. This community has been under a boil-water advisory for 29 years!

Portugal Cove South, in Newfoundland and Labrador, has been under a boil water advisory for 29 years, since 1984.

Now that would suck!

.... but in very few cases are there any real safety issues.

One of the greatest marketing coups in the last 30 years has been carried out by the bottled water industry - I hope every marketing major is studying what they did because it was brilliant. They actually convinced a huge percentage of folks that the water coming out of their tap was unhealthy and that they needed to spend more than they spend on things like gasoline to buy water in little plastic bottles. As I said, brilliant. I saw a thing on the NYC news a couple years back where they interviewed school-aged children and virtually every single one of them said that tap water was bad for them.

I partially agree with you that bottled water companies have made out like bandits and have probably been involved in the "hype" around the dangers of tap water. That being said, I do believe there are some safety issues around drinking water.that need to be considered. (from link above)

Wood said that our water treatment systems have done "a pretty good job of dealing with the conventional threats." But he pointed out that there's a new set of threats from chemical products. It's estimated that there are "as many as 80,000 individual chemical products which are in use in Canadian homes and workplaces."

People don't necessarily notice the effects these products are having. Wood cited the fact that the proportion of male and female babies born annually in Canada has changed, and "the prime suspects...are what are called endocrine-disrupting compounds. There are thousands of these. They're used in hair products, they're found in pharmaceuticals, [in] many of our pesticides."

According to Wood, "the St. Lawrence River tests positive for about a dozen pharmaceuticals. The Fraser River, on the West Coast, tested positive for more than 200 pharmaceuticals and other high potency, man-made chemicals." And he warns that our water-treatment systems are "essentially defenceless against more complex chemicals."

A vast array of pharmaceuticals including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows.

To be sure, the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose. Also, utilities insist their water is safe.

But the presence of so many prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen in so much of our drinking water is heightening worries among scientists of long-term consequences to human health.

And while researchers do not yet understand the exact risks from decades of persistent exposure to random combinations of low levels of pharmaceuticals, recent studies which have gone virtually unnoticed by the general public have found alarming effects on human cells and wildlife.

"We recognize it is a growing concern and we're taking it very seriously," said Benjamin H. Grumbles, assistant administrator for water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

http://www.greatlake...ment.Doc?id=811

http://hosted.ap.org...te/day1_01.html

Even though the levels found are miniscule, the long-term effects to exposure are not yet fully understood.

And the other ironic thing about it is that those little plastic bottles have become a blight on our planet probably second only to plastic grocery bags.

Completely agree on this one with you Rafterman. May be a first! :rofl:

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Sorry that I forgot to include the link in the OP which is http://www.cbc.ca/bo...e-to-drink.html

Three days isn´t too much of an inconveniece. This community has been under a boil-water advisory for 29 years!

Now that would suck!

I partially agree with you that bottled water companies have made out like bandits and have probably been involved in the "hype" around the dangers of tap water. That being said, I do believe there are some safety issues around drinking water.that need to be considered. (from link above)

Even though the levels found are miniscule, the long-term effects to exposure are not yet fully understood.

Completely agree on this one with you Rafterman. May be a first! :rofl:

Granted, there are places with bad water - water that tastes bad and is bad for you. I recall vacationing at Gulf Shores, AL, as a child and the well water had so much sulfur in it that it turned everything brown and tasted horribly. It wasn't bad for you or anything, but was pretty gross.

The pharmaceutical question is a good one though. And unfortunately the stuff is turning up in ground water as well as municipal water supplies, which means there's a good chance that it's in some of the bottled water too. We were told for decades to flush medications down the toilet and I would guess that the vast majority of folks still do that. Then of course there are the medications that come out of us. Not much we can do about that.

While it is something that needs to be addressed and should raise some concern, the concentrations are generally so insignificant that I wouldn't lose much sleep over it.

See, I'm not such a bad guy after all. :w00t:

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in the UK, our tap water is fine. we pay water rates that guarantee it's filtered to within an inch of its life, and there hasn't been a case of water poisoning here for 100yrs.

most of the water i drink contains hops, barley, malt, and alcohol, but when i DO drink tapwater i know it's safe to do so.

in the UK, our tap water is fine. we pay water rates that guarantee it's filtered to within an inch of its life, and there hasn't been a case of water poisoning here for 100yrs.

most of the water i drink contains hops, barley, malt, and alcohol, but when i DO drink tapwater i know it's safe to do so.

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We get enough flouride on our teeth from toothpaste and mouth wash, not sure why we need to expose other bodily tissues to it via drinking water. If it is naturally occuring, I'm fine with it, if not, then maybe more research is needed.

Edited by WoIverine
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Where I live in Alicante Province, Spain, all of the water is from 2 huge desalination plants. The only trouble is that they are too good at their job and a separate plant adds back the minerals that were filtered out :-*

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