Three Reasons Why We Have Contaminated Tap Water

Whenever we hear about contaminated tap water we worry about how that might affect us, not only in health terms but in having a reliable, clean supply for all those domestic tasks and chores where water is necessary. While we need not cover all the reasons, this article will be looking at just three of them which I regard worthy of mention.

This first particular point might be more relevant to those of you who live in rural areas or communities where agriculture is a key industry. I guess you could call it an industry as it relies on farming vast swathes of land with large machinery and using chemical sprays to control pests and weeds. When we talk of crop yields in terms of so many tons per acre, we often forget that sometimes the price for having all that cheap food is contaminated tap water.

What our farmers cannot stop is the residues of these potent chemical compounds leeching into underground water supplies. It's some of these very same ones that feed into the general distribution network that enters our municipal plants for treatment.

Secondly, the way in which we manufacture and produce our everyday goods and items often produces harmful to human health by-products and waste material. Whilst dumping it straight into our rivers has been outlawed and maybe more regulated than years before, in some cases the damage has already been done. Previous neglect by those in power has resulted in us having contaminated tap water. 

It's quite ironic then that many of these are petro-chemical based compounds used in the making of plastic bottles for bottling natural mineral water.

Thirdly and lastly we take a swipe at the drugs companies and medical clinics, centers and similar establishments. It seems very few places offer the public a service whereby they can take their old, unused medicines, pills and potions to be destroyed. Instead, and because it's much easier to do, they simply flush this stuff down the toilet. You'd be surprised as how much of it is soluble once it's been in contact with water long enough.

Of course the treatment it receives prior to us drinking it is a consideration but how many of us bother to read or even ask for a water quality report from these places. Until recently I wasn't even aware that was possible, so I took matters into my own hands and installed a home treatment system to avoid getting any more contaminated tap water.