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By Brian Cronin, Director of AquaMD
(AquaMD is the water testing division of the American Water Council,
a nationally respected provider of water education & testing
services. AquaMD has teamed with Dr. Mercola to provide you both
the free home water evaluation and the Dr. Mercola water testing
packages at http://www.aquamd.com/mercola/labtests.cfm.)
Most people know that clean water plays a pivotal role in maintaining
good health. But do you know what water companies do to the water
that comes out of your tap and enters your system when you shower,
cook, clean and brush your teeth?
Most water companies pump your water from lakes, rivers and wells.
The larger ones attempt to treat the water or strip out the environmental
contamination that occurs every day. They often make decisions knowing
that certain treatment processes may pose health risks.
The ABCs of Water Treatment
Water providers use a variety of treatment processes to remove
or neutralize unwanted contaminants commonly found in the water
supply. The most common of these processes are filtration, flocculation
and disinfection.
Filtration
Though many water treatment facilities use filtration to remove
remaining particles from the water supply, these ‘filters’
are not what you might think. The process in most public systems
involves millions of gallons of water passing through pits containing
layers of gravel, sand and charcoal, similar to the way in which
a private well relies on rock and soil to screen out some larger
organic material and other potentially harmful contaminants. It
is a fact that some organic material, natural particles and bacteria
do get through the filtration process.
Flocculation
This process involves adding chemicals, such as alum, iron salts
or synthetic organic polymers into the water to promote this coagulation.
Aluminum salts have been used for centuries and alum (also known
as potassium aluminum sulfate) has been used in the United States
for commercial water treatment for over 100 years. These chemicals
cause small particles in the water to bind together into larger
clumps so they can be removed.
The downside is that these added chemicals can stay in the water
and pass through the treatment system into your drinking water.
A number of reputable medical experts, including Dr. Joseph Mercola,
have explained the link between aluminum and Alzheimer’s
disease. Aluminum compounds enter the body primarily by ingestion
of food, and water; both inhalation and dermal exposure can contribute
to the total body burden. Despite the risks, Alum is the coagulant
preferred by many water utilities because of its history, effectiveness,
availability and cost.
Many utilities add fluoride to drinking water. Because aluminum
forms strong soluble complexes with fluoride, utilities that utilize
both flocculation and fluoridation must be careful to choose the
point of fluoride application to avoid increasing soluble aluminum
levels, ... which are toxic!
Disinfection
Finally, public water is usually disinfected before it reaches
the distribution system to kill dangerous microorganisms. Chemicals
like chlorine are often used because they are cheap; they are effective
disinfectants; and they remain in the water throughout the distribution
system and into the home. Unfortunately, the use of these chemicals
causes dangerous disinfection byproducts, or DBPs, which we’ll
talk about a little later.
After all this water is treated, it is pumped through a system
of underground mains and pipes to your home. These pipe systems
are often very old and are upgraded only when major breaks occur.
In addition, many home pipes consist of copper, iron or PVC pipes
that are assembled and connected using lead-based joint compounds.
If the pH level in the water is too low, the water will leach copper,
iron, lead and other materials found in pipe materials as it enters
your home’s water supply.
As the water flows toward your home, the chlorine and disinfection
chemicals in the water interact with organic matter and natural
particles that that passed thru the water company’s filters.
The combination of the two causes dangerous DBPs, such as trihalomethanes
(TTHMs).
The Darkside of Public Water Treatment
Some of these DBPs have been proven to be carcinogenic and many
health experts believe that they could be the most serious health
threat found in our public water supply. Long-term exposure to DBPs
may increase the risk of cancer or result in other health problems,
including liver, nervous system and reproductive issues.
As the vast majority of the U.S. population continues to receive
and consume disinfected or chlorinated drinking water, we can assume
that Americans are consuming disinfection byproducts every day,
the number of related cancer cases could be substantial.
How Can You Protect Yourself?
Never assume that someone else will take care of your water. Your
family’s health is not worth the gamble. Whether you receive
your water from a well or public supply system, we strongly urge
you to test of your own home’s drinking water each year.
If a problem is found, you can select the right treatment option
to protect you.
Note to Private Well Owners:
Although your water isn’t treated by a water company, you are
relying soley on rocks and dirt to keep your drinking water safe.
In light of the tons of chemicals pumped into the environment each
year, it’s no wonder that even the EPA, Center for Disease
Control and every federal, state and local health department in
the country strongly urge annual well water testing.
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