Some of my earliest memories involve water. Weekends were often spent in the creek next to my childhood home. My brother, sister and I would walk the creek in either direction, stopping only to submerge our heads in our favorite swimming holes. After the ice melted each spring and the vicious water of melting snow subsided we were always anxious to see how the creek changed. We would find our favorite swimming holes filled with rocks or a newly fallen tree across the stream changing the way the stream flowed.
One summer I remember asking my parents if I could drink the water. Through my young eyes the water seemed fine—it looked clean, so I figured it would be fine to drink. I went against the advice of my parents and drank the water anyways. Over the years I continued to drink from the stream with no adverse effects on my health. Of course the stream was not my main source of drinking water. Drinking water from the stream just seemed like the natural thing to do when we were on our creek walks.
I moved away from the stream shortly before my 18th birthday. I returned twelve years later to find the stream a changed place. Much of the forest surrounded the stream had been culled and the where there had once been vineyards, now lie homes. The stream flow seemed reduced, though admittedly, this may be my perception of the creek through adult eyes. I walked the creek with my brother and sister once again. Our “go to” swimming hole was gone and the creek had a layer of brown algae growing on the bed of the stream. It was no longer the creek of my youth; now it was now just another creek. Needless to say I could not imagine drinking from the stream.
Around the same time I started drinking water from the tap again. In the United States the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) protects tap water. The SDWA protects sources of drinking water and ensures contaminants are within safe levels for human consumption. After researching the way we treat water in the United States I felt reassured that tap water is safe to drink, though I still filter the water before I drink it. The problem with drinking water where I live in Maryland is that it has a hint of chlorine. Chlorine is a common disinfectant. An activated carbon effectively removes chlorine along with a host of other contaminants.
Do you fell safe drinking tap water? Do you use a filter? When you travel to different cities within the United States do you feel safe drinking the tap water?
Jeremy
I just came back from walking my child to school this raining morning. There were a few other parents who walked their children during the rain. One of these parents, Jason, was telling me how tall his grass was and how long it took him to mow the lawn this weekend. I mentioned how fast the grass has grown the past several weeks due to the rain. Jason then said he probably over-fertilized as well.
ReplyDeleteI told Jason that there is no need to fertilize grass in the spring time. If he really wants grass, he can fertilize once each year in the fall. Then he talked about how the mix of crab grass killer comes with fertilizer, etc. We discussed how what we put on our lawns affect the water quality of our streams, and in Maryland, of our Chesapeake Bay since all the streams run into the Chesapeake Bay... He seem to be able to make many of the connections himself, so we shall see if there is change one homeowner at a time. What we do to our lawns really do affect the water quality of the streams and lakes and bays we want to use.
When I moved to Maryland a couple months ago, I was drinking the tap water. I tasted nothing to make me think it was contaminated. Then, I started to taste something that just wasn't right. We received a letter from the city informing us that they failed some test done on the tap water to make sure it was safe to drink. I kept drinking it after the letter just because I had already been drinking it with no problems. I began to notice stomach aches at night and thought it could be any number of things. I refused to believe it was from the water. I did all sorts of self tests to prove the water wasn't the cause of my stomach aches. I stopped drinking milk, thinking maybe I was becoming lactose-intolerant. I stopped eating cheese and even cut down on my acidic foods. Nothing worked, it had to be the water :(
ReplyDeleteI caved and bought a brita filter for the faucet. It works great and there are no aftertastes. The water just tastes like water. I have noticed the taste of whatever the water is contaminated with when I rinse my veggies after steaming them, since I only use the filter for my drinking water. So I use the filtered water for anything having to do with my cooking. It has been pretty easy to adapt, but I do miss my tap water.
No letter has come yet saying the water has passed the tests.