Is your tap water safe to drink?
ZIP recently researched water quality and distribution in the U.S. as well as the home filtration market. As you may know, the U.S. has one of the world’s most comprehensive municipal water systems in the world, and we, as Americans, have become accustomed to the idea that an abundant supply of clean and safe water comes out of our taps 24/7 nearly for free. From our perceptions this seems true; however, as a point of reference, in 2015, nearly 10% of the US population was served by community water systems that reported 1 or more health-based violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)(1). In order to help you answer our leading question, I will share with you five key insights that we discovered during our research. Much of this discovery came from Seth Siegel’s revealing and inspiring book about America’s drinking water called “Troubled Water” (2). Unless otherwise noted, the facts and data supporting these insights are drawn from Siegel’s book.
Aging Infrastructure and Lead Exposure
The U.S. drinking water infrastructure consists of over 1 million miles of water mains, and the system was built between the late 19th century and post WWII. In recent years, there has been an average of 240,000 water main breaks per year as these pipes reach or exceed their expected life. Improper maintenance of these aging pipes has led to corrosion and an increased amount of lead being released into the drinking water. Furthermore, water disinfection technologies used today were developed over 100 years ago. The cost to replace aged pipes and modernize related infrastructure is estimated at $1 trillion over the next 25 years.
Ineffective EPA
A significant responsibility of the nascent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) formed in 1970 was to enforce the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974. In 1974, the SWDA covered the regulation of 23 chemicals. An amendment to the SDWA in 1986 increased this number to 83 chemicals. While this is a notable increase, there are over 120,000 chemical compounds, pharmaceutical products and plastics being used in industry today that can potentially find their way into U.S. drinking water sources. Moreover, despite the thousands of new chemicals created every year, the last time the EPA added a new compound to be regulated in the drinking water was over 20 years ago. In addition, political pressures to support industry and keep the cost of water low undermine the EPA’s authority and further reduce the effectiveness of the SDWA.
Decentralized Management
There are over 51,000 municipal water utilities providing drinking water to over 90% of the US population. While the EPA manages regulations, each water district is responsible for adhering to these regulations, and each water district has its own set of priorities on how to use limited resources to manage the infrastructure and water quality. Small and large water districts are managed differently. Compared to large cities, small towns are exempt from federal regulations for testing potential contaminants that are not yet regulated by the EPA. In addition, the smaller utilities lack the resources and sophistication to properly manage the aging infrastructure. This lack of systematic and strategic cohesion has led to a number of public health disasters including extensive lead exposure in the drinking water in Flint, MI, and high levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a chemical by-product of Teflon manufacturing, in Parkersburg and Hoosick Falls, WV. In these three communities alone, municipal tap water exposed residents to contaminants that will impact the health and cognitive function of these individuals for decades to come. Furthermore, in 2013-2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 42 drinking-water-associated disease outbreaks caused by pathogens, chemicals or toxins from 19 states.
Poor Safety Thresholds
The manner in which the EPA manages regulations encourages utilities to deliver drinking water that is “good enough” at the lowest possible cost. In Europe, the toxic chemical control standard puts the burden on the manufacturing company to prove a chemical is safe before it is introduced to industry. In contrast, the US allows all chemicals to be used in industry until they are proven harmful. Once a chemical is put on the EPA’s regulated list, the amount determined to be safe for human consumption is more often driven by economics than public health. Chemical companies clearly want the threshold as high as possible to avoid potentially costly environmental clean-up, and the water utilities want to avoid expensive treatment technologies that may be required to meet low thresholds.
Lack of Public Awareness and Action
A recent national consumer survey of American adults conducted by NSF International (NSF) found that roughly 71% drink tap water and 55% are concerned about potential contaminants in the water; however, nearly half do not take any steps to better understand what contaminants may be in the water or to filter or treat their home’s drinking water (3).
Unlike other health and environmental causes, potential problems with drinking water are usually invisible and take several years to be noticed- albeit with devastating consequences. Despite the importance of this issue, there are only a few national not-for-profit organizations dedicated to safe drinking water in the U.S. In general, environmental activism and philanthropy tend to follow the causes driven by headline news and social media. Compared to urgent and more tangible environmental issues such as climate change, endangered species and clear-cutting of forests, the issue of safe drinking water typically gets little media coverage except for recent catastrophes such as Flint, MI. As a result, it is estimated that US drinking water programs receive a paltry $2 million a year in donations.
Not only does this limited amount of funds constrain public outreach programs, it also creates a shortage of experts available to educate public officials, lobby for new legislation, and coordinate with government agencies in drafting new regulations. In addition, the lack of funding results in far less independent scientific research into drinking water contaminants. The net result of this is a lack of public awareness and lower quality drinking water for most Americans.
What do you think?
Even if the water coming from your local municipal system is deemed safe through annual water quality reports, it still has to travel several miles and go through your home’s own plumbing system until it reaches your point of use. The true measure of safe drinking water needs to be taken directly from your tap!
What can you do?
The single most important measure that you can take to understand the complex and confusing topic of drinking water safety and home water filtration is to educate yourself and share your knowledge with loved ones and friends. If you want to learn more about how the U.S. has gotten into this dire situation, you can find greater context and additional detail in the previously mentioned book “Troubled Water”.
For more immediate action, following are key first steps to get you started on your journey to ensure the water you are drinking is safe and healthy:
1. Test your tap water. The first thing you need to know is what contaminants are present in your water. There are a number of testing companies offering DIY kits to take samples and send back for analysis. One such company that we used in our research is SimpleLab (formerly SimpleWater), an award-winning science and health services company founded at the University of California in Berkeley (UC Berkeley). SimpleLab offers a DIY service called Tap Score for easy home water testing and reporting that starts around $50. Here is a link to the Tap Score website.
2. Familiarize yourself with the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The SDWA lists 83 contaminants and the corresponding safety thresholds for human consumption that are regulated by the EPA. One interesting note is that you will not find PFOA on this list. PFOA has been used in industry since the 1940’s to manufacture Teflon. As early as the 1980’s, scientific studies on lab animals showed that PFOA was toxic, and medical studies following contamination in Parkersburg and Hoosick Falls showed increased instances of cancer and disease. However, it was not until 2009 that the EPA added PFOA to their Contaminant Candidate List and issued a health advisory. Early this year, the EPA finally proposed preliminary legislation to regulate PFOA in drinking water. Here is a link to a PDF document listing the contaminants regulated by the SDWA.
3. Understand water filter certifications. The NSF International (NSF) is the most recognized international agency for certifying the effectiveness of water filtration products. It is important to note the difference between aesthetic effects (water taste and clarity) and health effects (contaminant removal). Here is a link to the NSF certification standards related to the filtration of home drinking water.
4. Research into water filtration types and products. Once you understand what contaminants are in your water, you need to determine what type of filtration product will be most effective for your situation. Simple water filter pitchers, such as a Brita, have a low initial cost and primarily improve the taste of your water; however long-term use with frequent filter changes drives up the cost. In contrast, the most effective type of filtration system for removing contaminants is reverse osmosis. These systems have a higher upfront cost, require some basic installation, and waste a significant amount of water in the filtration process. Here is a link to an overview about home water filtration from Water Filter Magazine.
5. Choose a home water filter product that is right for you. As a starting point, Consumer Reports offers unbiased reviews of various types of water filter products; however, in our experience the range of products is limited compared to what is available. Water Filter Magazine also reviews and recommends water filter products. In addition to reverse osmosis systems, there are a number of companies offering a range of high-performance water filtration products using gravity based or pressurized filter cartridges including: Berkey, Clearly Filtered, Epic, iSpring, LifeStraw and Propur to name a few.
Wishing you safe and healthy water! Please share this post with your family and friends…
Sources:
1. National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/threats-on-tap-water-infrastructure-protections-report.pdf
2. Siegel, S. (2019), Troubled Water. New York, NY: Thomas Dunne Books.
3. NSF International (NSF), https://www.nsf.org/consumer-resources/studies-surveys-infographics/consumer-survey-results/drinking-water-filtration-treatment-survey