Your drinking water should be filtered and it’s important, from a health and safety perspective, to periodically replace all filtration elements in accordance with the manufacture’s maintenance recommendations.

A water filtration system can be a cost-effective option to minimize exposure to hazardous contaminants, albeit, in very low concentrations and considered safe by federal, state and local regulatory authorities.  Unfortunately, there are over a hundred known toxic substances that remain unregulated.  At least, and until such time that the USEPA and other appropriate regulatory entities establish enforceable standards for currently unregulated drinking water pollutants that are completely safe for long term consumption, effective drinking water filtration, to minimize exposure to these known hazardous contaminants, should be practiced.

There are many different types of contaminants in drinking water, including pharmaceuticals and personal care products. The pharmaceuticals are associated with wastewater discharges, generally small in volume that may enter a drinking water supply system when the facility is located in the watershed or from a septic tank that discharges into soil above a groundwater aquifer.

The extent of contamination varies by location and by season.  There is no known treatment technology that will get rid of everything, all the time. However, the importance of reducing our exposure to as many of these hazardous substances, which could possibly adversely affect even future generations, cannot be over emphasized.

For example, chlorine, a common disinfectant in both wastewater and drinking water, can create some compounds that are toxic. Therefore, unless your drinking water, including bottled water was processed through a filtration system that removes, to the maximum extent possible, the wide array of hazardous, chemical, biological and physical substances reported to exist in drinking water it would be wise to filter drinking water.

Olga Naidenko, PhD, and senior scientist for the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a not-for-profit public health and environmental research and advocacy organization, advised the USEPA to promote drinking water standards for widespread chemical pollutants that pose health risks to millions of Americans and advised that the EPA move beyond simply listing certain water contaminant chemicals that have been found in drinking water, in the environment and in people and establish regulatory standards for them. They should further, adopt a specific analytical process that will “effectively protect drinking water supplies from pollution by pharmaceuticals and antimicrobial chemicals.

A carbon filter is a good first choice for the filtration of tap water. There are reliable suppliers of these filters. It must be emphasized that the instructions that come with the filter be carefully followed. Typically, the instructions call for the replacement of the filter every three months. In addition, if you are away from home for an extended time the filter should be at least flushed prior to use and/or replaced. Activated carbon, if over used and at the end of its useful life, can release the organic substances it removed earlier in its cycle.

If this is not practiced then a careful review of available bottled water should be made. Contact a supplier for a detailed certified analysis, send water to an independent lab for analysis.

Information regarding this important public health and safety issue can be found at www.water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/index.cfm.
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Eli Salem is president of E. Salem & Associates, a full service consulting firm specializing in all phases of industrial water and waste treatment. Dr. Albert Montague, is president of C Cure IT, LLC.