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WATER, WATER, EVERYWHERE, BUT IS IT SAFE TO DRINK?
By John Moody

There are many reasons to mourn the is worthwhile, especially for city dwellers whose
scourges of the modern age. The widespread water is already tested at the water treatment
contamination of our land, air and water is one facility. A lot can happen to water between the
of them. There is almost no source of sweet water water treatment plant and the tap in your home.
anywhere on our planet that is not tainted by our It is no myth that America's highly complex
trashing of this good terra. Some places—known infrastructure is failing and falling apart. Un-
as hypoxic zones—are so badly polluted that derground pipes of all sorts are corroded and
they have become giant, seasonal dead regions decaying. Sewer systems in many cities are
at the end of agricultural and industrial runoff ineffective and dangerous.
areas. Gargantuan garbage patches have blos- For older homes, pipes may contain unsafe
somed on the oceans that make Texas look tiny. metal mixes or soldering, or have other faults
The high mountain glaciers on the North Pole that render the drinking water that flows through
and across the globe test positive for all sorts of them dangerous to consume over time. For
industrial contaminants, even though they are those who depend upon well water, contamina-
geographically many thousands of miles from tion from conventional agricultural practices
active industrial sites. is a genuine concern, as is the possibility that
The number of nasties that may now be the underlying geology may allow potentially
found in our drinking water, whether from rural dangerous compounds, which are unwanted and
wells or municipal treatment plants, is large. This possibly harmful, to leach into the water.
toxic brew includes agriculture chemicals such
as pesticides, herbicides, and excess nitrates and HOW TO TEST WITH THE BEST
nitrites from synthetic fertilizers. Pharmaceuti- The first question to ask is which elements
cal chemicals and residues—from antibiotics to or contaminants you want to test for in your
antidepressants to digestion-altering medica- water. Many manufacturers answer this question
tions—are detectable in even so-called treated for you with test kits tailored to particular situ-
water. Industrial chemicals of all sorts, from ations. Such basic tests, unless you have a need
heavy metals to hazardous petroleum and syn- to test for specific additional contaminants, are
thetic compounds along with their byproducts, a great starting place. Most basic test kits do not
abound. test for arsenic, however, which is one of the few
It is a fact that we can't live without water, additional tests worth carrying out at least once
The first yet it seems that we also can't live with it. What for your home’s water supply.

question to are we to do? Also, for city dwellers it is also a good idea to
At the very least, the technological advances compare your home test results to those provided

ask is what of the modern age also make it possible for people by the municipal water service. Generally, the
elements or at home to take the initiative and test their water water company releases yearly test results, and
contaminants to discover what protective steps they and their many now post them online. Any differences
families should take to improve the quality of may be very helpful in identifying problems in
you want to their drinking water and to remove its impurities. your household pipes or the water distribution
test for in system in general, and a group of families could
your water. THIS IS A TEST compare results for further fun and research.

It is worth explaining why testing your water Also, the older a home or well water system,
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