Drinking Your Home’s Unfiltered Tap Water
Without freshwater, humans, animals as well as plants would have disappeared from the planet long time ago, and that is why this precious colorless liquid is known as the elixir of life. As the population expands, we understand how limited and valuable drinking water is, and we employ indispensable measure to protect the precious resource. That said, what about the tap water running in our homes, is it safe for drinking?
Around 97 percent of the world’s water emanates from the oceans and seas, and the remaining is freshwater. From the remaining tiny percentage of drinkable water, glaciers of ice lock up 2 percent of it. As such, we have only 1 percent of freshwater which includes surface water as well as groundwater. The bathing, cooking and drinking water from taps is sourced from surface water sources like streams/rivers, lakes and reservoirs or underground sources such as aquifers or permeable rocks that can keep water and diffuse it. However, the water may not be safe for consumption because they contain pollutants that may have seeped in and harmful to your health and therefore need to be treated.
It doesn’t matter if you are using surface water or groundwater, water supply company need to follow several treatment processes to get rid of any toxins. Some of the common practices used include coagulation, sedimentation, filtration, disinfection, and storage. Numerous reports have found that much of the contamination of water at its sources is done by human. Professionals indicate that the most common cause water contamination is from local land use as well as manufacturing practices. For instance, chemical use in farming like fertilizers and pesticides can permeate into surface water sources if not carefully checked.
Before figuring out whether or not tap water is safe, it is best to that identify the contaminants polluting our clean water supply. Some of these elements are arsenic, heavy metals like lead and aluminum, fluoride, and pharmaceutical drugs, among other things. Unfortunately, these elements are responsible for different health complications such as digestive conditions, neurological ailments and even reproductive problems. Another factor leading to contaminated drinking tap water is the piping in our homes.
So how do we protect our drinking water? As drinking water has been a prized resource, it is vital to safeguard it at whatever cost. With our ever-growing population, disproportionate usage and toxins contaminating our water supply, it is not surprising that governments are always brainstorming concepts. It is necessary that we adjust our lifestyle to a more natural regime. We should abandon the use of harmful chemicals like cleaning agents and pesticides that percolate into the groundwater sources and ultimately polluting it. Recycling also will ensure that we keeping our water reserves cleaner as we reduce garbage on the surface through these filters.