{"id":568570,"date":"2010-05-18T12:57:39","date_gmt":"2010-05-18T16:57:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/green.yahoo.com\/blog\/the_conscious_consumer\/134\/the-experts-take-on-tap-water-safety.html"},"modified":"2010-05-18T12:57:39","modified_gmt":"2010-05-18T16:57:39","slug":"the-experts%e2%80%99-take-on-tap-water-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/568570","title":{"rendered":"The experts\u2019 take on tap water safety"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(Photo: Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Many water experts say that tap water in the U.S. is
\nperfectly safe to drink. Bottled
\nwater<\/a>, they point out, is not necessarily any safer, and sometimes it’s
\njust tap water with a much higher price tag. <\/p>\n

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Yet those statements can be hard to believe if the water
\nthat flows from your tap smells funny, tastes bad, or is discolored. It can
\nalso be difficult to ignore reports of pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and other
\nunwanted substances in water. <\/p>\n

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What do the experts say when you dig a little deeper? “The
\nfact that it might have an off taste or odor may not appeal to the consumer,
\nbut it doesn’t mean the water is unsafe,” says Philip C. Singer, Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the University
\nof North Carolina at Chapel Hill. <\/p>\n

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Of course there are exceptions to this. For example, if your
\nwater tastes metallic it could be contaminated with lead from corroded pipes so
\nit’s worth checking out, says Joan B. Rose, Homer
\nNowlin Chair in Water Research, Michigan State University. (In fact, she
\nrecommends reporting any funny smell or taste to your local water utility just
\nto make sure there isn’t a problem with the pipes.) Iron, which is not
\nharmful, can also be the cause of a metal-like taste. \u00a0<\/p>\n

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If you have hydrogen sulfide in your water, it can smell
\nlike rotten eggs. \u00a0Rose says it is
\ngenerally not harmful, but it can cause diarrhea for a short amount of time
\nwhile you get used to it. Some other common, but harmless tastes and smells: Minerals
\nmight make your water taste a little salty. Algae can give water a musty taste
\nor smell. Some people are put off by the smell or taste of the chlorine used to
\nkill any pathogens in water. <\/p>\n

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Particles in water can make it cloudy (know as turbidity) and
\nwater can appear rusty when pipes in your local distribution system are being
\nmaintained or repaired, according to Kellogg J. Schwab, Director,
\nJohns Hopkins Center for Water and Health<\/a>. He recommends
\nflushing the pipes by running your water until it’s clear. <\/p>\n

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Pharmaceuticals and other emerging contaminants are more
\ncomplicated. They are showing up in very low levels in streams, rivers, and
\nlakes, but we don’t find them as often in treated tap water, according to Rose.
\n“They haven’t been regulated yet because where they are found they are found at
\nvery low levels and at levels where they are presumed not to be harmful to
\npublic health,” says Singer. That doesn’t mean that the Environmental
\nProtection Agency couldn’t be looking harder for emerging contaminants,
\nespecially when you take into account the precautionary
\nprinciple<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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Schwab, Rose, and Singer all say they drink tap water in the
\nU.S. without worrying about it. “The bottom line is that here in the United
\nStates you can go to any city and take a long drink at the water fountain and
\nbe reasonable assured you’re not going to die,” says Schwab. “We have a pretty
\nhigh quality water system. Does that mean it’s risk free? No.” Outbreaks do happen,
\nbut they are rare. In order to keep them rare, experts say we need to invest in
\nour aging infrastructure. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Here are some steps you can take to make sure you’re
\ndrinking the healthiest tap water possible: <\/p>\n

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