National studies have taught us a lot about our Drinking Water:
- According to EPA estimates, there are over 60,000 chemicals in use in the United States today, however the EPA only regulates 91 in your drinking water.
- The President’s Cancer Panel recommends “Filtering tap water” to lessen cancer risks.
- The water supplies of at least 46 million people in 2 dozen major metropolitan areas contain minute quantities of pharmaceuticals.
- Pharmaceuticals also permeate aquifers deep underground – the source of 40 percent of the nation’s water supply. Federal scientists who drew water in 24 states from aquifers near contaminant* sources such as landfills and animal feed lots found minuscule levels of hormones, antibiotics and other drugs.
- According to a March 2009 Gallup Poll on the environment, “Pollution of drinking water is Americans’ No. 1 environmental concern, with 59% saying they worry “a great deal” about the issue.”
- A study done by the Environmental Working Group found, “Nearly two-thirds of the 315 chemicals found in the nation’s drinking water over the last five years — a total of 201 — are unregulated.“
- The same EWG study points out, “Among the unregulated contaminants* detected in water supplies between 2004 and 2008, 168 have been linked to cancer, 54 to reproductive toxicity, 67 to developmental toxicity, and 35 to immune system damage…“
Doesn’t the water company take care of my water for me?
Firstly, in most places, your water does meet the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act standards so it is legally “safe”. Unfortunately, as mentioned at the top of this page, of the nearly 60,000 chemicals in the United States, the government only regulates 91 of them in your water. The other approximately 59,909 are up to you. Possibly more importantly, it’s likely that providing healthy, safe drinking water for your family will always be the homeowner’s responsibility. Why? Because only about 2-3% of the water that leaves water treatment plants is actually consumed. The rest is used for showers, laundry, toilets, washing cars, dishes and many other things. The bottom line is that it’s just not cost-effective to treat the 97% of water that we never drink to the standards of water we do drink.So how can I ensure I’m drinking great water?
- Drink Bottled Water – Be sure you ONLY drink water that has been processed by Reverse Osmosis or Distillation. Spring water and other types of water typically don’t go through any processes to remove pharmaceuticals or other major contaminants*. The big disadvantages to Bottled Water are:
- It’s often more expensive than the gasoline you put in your car.
- It takes millions of barrels of gas to produce and then deliver those small bottles.
- Each year about 27 million more bottles clog up landfills.
- You run out of water when you need it.
- Get a Culligan Drinking Water system – A Culligan Drinking Water system is a small Reverse Osmosis filtration unit that will provide about 10 cases of bottled water per day to your kitchen sink and refrigerator. You’ll have so much water you’ll use it for cooking, ice cubes, washing fruits and vegetables and even for your pets.
What are the benefits of a Culligan Reverse Osmosis?
- According to the Associated Press, “One technology, reverse osmosis, removes virtually all pharmaceutical contaminants…”*
- According to Kelly A. Reynolds, MSPH, Ph.D., writing for Water Conditioning & Purification magazine in April 2008, “Nanofiltration and RO (Reverse Osmosis) eliminated all drugs tested.”
- In Orange County California they treat their public water with Reverse Osmosis and they found, “While the incoming water contains minuscule levels of prescription drugs, tests for any traces of a half-dozen pharmaceuticals, conducted as the treated water leaves the plant, detect nothing.”
- A study conducted by the Colorado School of Mines found, “None of the investigated drugs was detected in tertiary treated effluents after nanofiltration or reverse osmosis.” In other words, after the RO filter, no pharmaceuticals were found in the water even though there were pharmaceuticals prior to treatment.