Your Water

It takes only a few seconds to see what’s in your tap water.  Go to:

  www.ewg.org/tapwater

Enter your zip code and see the contaminants in your water.  This site also compares the levels found with the most up to date science on the impacts to our health.  Most of the limits set by the EPA are over 40 years old and based on outdated science. Based on your results, decide if you need a water filter.

Toxins are supposed to be regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, which was passed in 1974.  The Act required the EPA to set limits on toxins and bacteria in our drinking water.  The EPA has set national limits for 89 dangerous chemicals, bacteria and viruses.  However, nearly all of those limits were set between 1986 and 1996.

Water utilities couldn’t keep pace with filtration requirements, so they lobbied Congress in 1996 and won. The law was changed to leave it up to the EPA to decide when and if to set new limits. Since then (more than 25 years), only one single new contaminant has been regulated under the law.  Meanwhile, over 30,000 new (untested) toxins have come on to the market.

Other toxins and pharmaceuticals like antibiotics, birth control, hormones, antidepressants, steroids, pain medication and anti-inflammatories and toxins like PFAS chemicals make their way into water and are not regulated under the Act. These medications are considered “emerging contaminants”, which means their health impact is unknown and legal guidelines for these impurities are not currently defined.

Use a water filter in your home or buy filtered water.  A NSF certified Reverse Osmosis system is good.