Water Supplies Recipes Food Cooking International Guide
Water Supplies And Contaminants
By Imogen T Stubbs
The need for safe water to drink is an understatement. What are
your drinking water sources? Does it come from a well or does
it come from the city. Bottled water is nice but sometimes it
is nothing more than tap water.
The sad fact is, that not all water supplies are the same. Some
countries only have contaminated water to drink, which perpetuates
an endless cycle of dysentery and guinea worm disease. It is a
real problem for these countries and they must look for ways to
provide safe, treated water.
Water Can Pick Up Contaminants When It Rains
You have to know how source water receives its fresh input of
water. When it rains the water soaks into the ground or goes into
lakes, rivers or streams. It is during this process that it can
pick up much of its' contaminates, which are the byproducts of
industrial waste, human waste and even pesticides from farms.
It is difficult to swallow, literally, that your water supplies
may be infused with excrement.
The simple fact is that many areas, especially in third world
countries and areas stricken by poverty, do not enforce a drinking
water standard. Even in our own country, there are problems when
sewer pipelines break and seepage into the water supply system
occurs.
Water Purification Tablets
Contaminated water is not safe water to drink, that much is obvious.
There are solutions though, if you suspect that your water is
contaminated. You must review your options and either use water
purification tablets, or boil the water. Do not expect boiled
water to taste the same as fresh, clear water. It definitely is
an acquired taste.
Thankfully, the United States and other industrialized countries
have laws and regulations in place to help protect their water
supplies. But even then accidents happen and water can become
contaminated. Buying bottled water at these times of awareness
can keep you safe and protect your health.
If you travel to countries that have a suspicious water supply,
then you may want to take water purification tablets with you
or only buy bottled water. Even such drinks as tea, coffee and
mixed drinks should be avoided unless you know that the water
is clean and safe. It is your health and your responsibility.
About the Author:
Imogen T Stubbs has written a number of articles on water, kitchen ideas, holiday feasts, food and cooking including
Hot Water,
Refrigerator Water Filter,
Water Filtering System,
Whole House Water,
First Thanksgiving,
Thanksgiving Feast.
Keep a lookout for more of her articles on this website.
Did You Know?
Is well water safe?
Well water can be just as safe as bottled
water or tap water. It will have a different taste though because
all of the impurities such as lime that are found naturally occurring
in water. Some people actually prefer the taste of well water to that
of tap or bottled because of that "hard" water taste.
Unfortunately hard water is really rough on sinks, toilets, bathtubs,
showers and hot water heaters with the lime scale buildup. The
solution is to buy a water purification system and softening system
to remove the impurities.
How does the EPA monitor drinking water?
The EPA has set up analytical tests for local
sanitation offices to run in order to ensure that the drinking
water is free from a certain level of contaminants such as arsenic,
lead and other pollutants.
On a random basis they will come in and
require a water sample so that their team of scientists can check
the water sample for themselves rather than rely on reports mailed
in quarterly by the sanitation department.
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