We’ve discussed why drinking water is so important for the body to continue functioning well, but will just any water do? You probably already know the answer to that question, particularly if you’ve ever seen gray water or a swampy pond. Similarly, you might be ok with your dog drinking water from a stream, but you might hesitate to do the same. Rightly so as water picks up bacteria and general debris from its surroundings and needs to be carefully cleaned and filtered before consumption. Otherwise, to borrow from our earlier analogy about attempting to clean a car without water, we’d be attempting to clean a car with muddy water. The same way that water would leave behind a film of new grim and gunk, improperly sourced or unfiltered water can introduce new, harmful bacteria, chemicals, parasites and other unwanted particulates into the body.
Globally, more than 13% of the population is still without safe and clean drinking water. Fully preventable diseases and exacerbated health risks are linked to this lack and each day 800 children under the age of 5 die from contaminated water and little to no water-related sanitation resources. There’s no call to action here but if you’d like to learn more about how you can help solve this global problem, I’ll be including a couple helpful links below.
Here in the U.S. we are facing a different challenge as, though sanitation accessibility and drinking water quality is higher, we still face water contamination due to industrial runoff and as a commercial manufacturing byproduct. In addition to heavy metals like lead or mercury, recent research has gone into perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFASs. PFASs are not currently regulated by the federal government, yet they, like uranium, arsenic, lead and other regulated pollutants, build up in the environment and are linked to a number of health complications such as reproductive cancer, liver damage, thyroid disease, pregnancy complications and immune system dysfunction.
So, now it would seem that we, the consumers, are caught between a rock and a hard place. We must consume water but many of us are probably consuming contaminated water, especially if we are usually drinking directly from the tap. What is the solution? The big picture is that we need to support the regulation of PFASs at a federal level and the implementation of technologies designed to remove them from our water supply. For now though, the burden still remains with the individual. Granular activated carbon filters and reverse osmosis are two options for filtering your own drinking water. The EPA also suggests nanofiltration osmosis, ion exchange resin, and powdered activated carbon for removing PFASs. Get your water tested, whether you have your own well or are using city supplied water and then find the filtration option that works the best for you!
Below we’ve included several articles on PFASs and the Global Water Crisis. Enjoy!
More on the Global Water Crisis + And More + And a little more.