What's in your Drinking Water & My Top Filter Picks
So many cities and town across the US promise their citizens that their drinking water is safe to drink.....but is tap water really safe?
Test after test across the nation have found that NO drinking water in the US is not safe to drink. What is in our water?
Let’s discuss:
PFAS
- Almost all water systems in the US have PFAS chemicals, so much so that the US EPA has set legal drinking water limits for six of the most studied and toxic PFAS compounds. While this is new and great news, it does not mean that our water will be PFAS free any time soon. Utilities have 2 years to test water, and then if the levels of PFAS are above those set by the EPA they have another year or so to install filtrate systems. Beyond that, the EPA is only setting limits for 6 out of over 15,000 PFAS chemicals. It is possible that filtration systems will filter ALL PFAS but right now it is too soon to tell.
- PFAS are a group of almost 5K chemicals some of which have strong links to learning delays in children, cancer, and other health problems.
- Probable source: PFAS seep into water from factories, landfills, and other sources. PFAS are called ‘forever chemicals’ because they don’t degrade(break down) easily at all… neither in the environment nor in our bodies.
Arsenic
-Almost every sample tested a few years ago by Consumer Report and The Guardian nationwide had measurable levels of arsenic,8 % of samples had levels of arsenic above CR’s recommended maximum for drinking water
- Arsenic is a heavy metal & known neurotoxin linked to cancer & lowered iq in children even at low dosis
- Drinking water with low concentrations of arsenic over a long period of time is associated with increased risks of diabetes and cancers of the bladder, lungs, liver, and other organs.
- Source: natural deposits or industrial/agricultural pollution.
LEAD
- Almost every sample tested by Consumer Reports and The Guardian had measurable (albeit low) amounts of lead
- According to another study by Healthy Babies Bright Futures, 40 % of homes have water with lead above the American Academy of Pediatrics' recommended limit for children.
- There are no safe levels of Lead; a neurotoxin that permanently reduces children’s learning ability & is linked to behavioral problems.
-A Challenge with lead is that the source is often lead pipes that feed people’s homes or in the home’s plumbing itself... so the lead exposure might not be coming from the water utility.
Adding to the problem?
- Some scientist believe that some of the EPA allowable levels of certain chemicals in water are too high (ie: arsenic and lead)
- For PFAS, there are close to 15,000 different types of known PFAS. Many can’t even be tested for yet.
For lead, water utilities only test every 3-9 years.
Beyond these contaminants there are other worrisome contaminate often found in water
trihalomethanes (TMHs). Chlorine by product, THMs have been linked to increased risk of cancer and kidney problems.
Haloacetic acids (HAAs), another group of byproducts, can irritate the skin and increase the risk of cancer.
nitrate can be found in groundwater sources. The chemical usually enters our water supply through fertilizers or septic systems. While adults are usually spared from the poisonous effects of nitrate, the chemical can be dangerous for infants who drink more water relative to their body weight.Short-term exposure to nitrate can significantly reduce the level of oxygen in the infant’s blood, and often leads to methemoglobinemia, or “blue baby disease.”
uranium, radium, thorium, and radon, are also found in nature.Radioactive substances can seep into groundwater sources through practices such as construction, coal mining, and oil and gas production. Exposure to radium is linked to bone cancer, while other radioactive materials can lead to cancers of the skin, lungs, kidneys, liver, thyroid, and stomach.
Fluoride: According to a 2012 study from Harvard University, children living in areas with excessive levels of fluoride in their drinking water had significantly lower IQ scores than children in areas with low levels of fluoride.
Perchlorate is a chemical used to make missiles, fireworks, and rocket fuels. The EPA has identified 45 states that are exposed to this chemical in drinking water, which puts roughly 16 million US citizens at risk of consuming the chemical. Perchlorate is especially toxic for children and pregnant women since it has been linked to brain development issues.
coliform bacteria. The presence of this type of bacteria can indicate that there may be other harmful pathogens in the water.
These are just of many more….. additionally, 2 or more contaminants may be present in a water source, presenting the possibility of synergistic effects too. Finally both well water and water that comes from utilities can be contaminated.
Who is (most) at risk of drinking water with these chemicals?
Everyone, but especially developing fetus's (when pregnant women drink water) & Formula-fed infants due to outsized exposures at a time of heightened vulnerability
Bottom line: for now, at least, the burden of monitoring toxins in water falls on us the consumer.
I , admittedly, only tested my water when I moved into my home. However, it is recommended to test:
- you are planning on getting pregnant or are newly pregnant
- there is road or pipe work on your block: this can cause lead to dislodge from pipes and valves
- during summer since heat can pull more lead from pipes
4. Buying a drinking water filter.
I often get asked what the best water filter is; the short answer is that it really will depend on what is in your water. There is no one-size-fits-all, so doing a little research on your own water is what I recommend… having said that we do now know that most (not all) water systems are tainted with PFAS chemicals so that is something to consider.
How to research?
EWG has a great database, EWG’s tap water database which can be very helpful with determining what is in your local water.
Look at your water utility's published water report or test your water with an EPA certified lab (https://www.epa.gov/dwlabcert )
Test your water for lead (particularly if you live in an older home that could still use lead pipes, but sometimes your city is still using lead so the lead could come from outside the home. YOU CAN TEST FOR LEAD HERE
You can also test your water with Tap Score. They offer different testing for well water, city water, PFAS etc
I recommend getting the best one you can afford. According to a Duke University study, the best water filters for proper PFAS (and other concerning contaminant) filtration are multi stage carbon filters and/ or reverse osmosis.
Some I recommend include:
Pure Effects multi stage water filters (we have this at home)
Aquatru over the counter reverse osmosis or under sink reverse osmosis filter
Clearly Filtered: Under Sink Water Filter is a three stage carbon based filter that has been tested to remove PFAS among other contaminants
Aquasana 2-Stage Under Sink Water Filter System with Chrome Faucet
Aquasana AQ-5300+.55 3-Stage Max Flow Under Sink Water Filter
Cloud RO Reverse Osmosis
Additionally- there are many local companies that can install whole house filters and drinking water filters (please note these are different. Usually when you install a whole house filter you should add an under sink drinking water filter which is more robust and also removes any contaminants that could be added to the water via your own home piping.) Culligan is a well known nation wide company. Just make sure to ask for testing!
Read more HERE:
Best Water Filters to Filter Out PFAS and Why This Is Important
SOURCES
https://www.consumerreports.org/water-quality/how-to-test-and-treat-your-drinking-water-a2425824120/
https://www.ewg.org/interactive-maps/pfas_contamination/
https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1476-069X-12-35
https://hbbf.org/lead-drinking-water