Environmental Impact

Environmental Impact

Many of us rely on our state and local officials to ensure that the water coming out of our taps is clean and safe. And with daily, mandatory testing, municipal water is actually more regulated than bottled water, which is only tested annually. Nevertheless, a few localized problems with municipal supplies cast doubt on the entire nation's tap, leading consumers to opt for bottled water. Popular also because it's more convenient and is thought to taste better, bottled water still costs 1,000 times more per gallon than tap and consumes 1.5 million barrels of oil annually in the production of single-use plastic bottles, 60 million of which are incinerated or tossed in landfills each day.

At the same time, water filters, often housed in plastic casings, aren't recycled either, making it that much more important to test your water before investing in plastic filters that will ultimately get tossed in a landfill.

Personal Health Issues

Water filters do help remove common contaminants in city water supplies, ranging from the minor (taste and odor problems) to the serious (cancer-causing pesticides and pharmaceuticals). Here are some of the most common found in city supplies:

8 Common Water Contaminants

Trihalomethanes (THMs), a byproduct of chlorine treatment, are linked to cancer, miscarriages and birth defects.

Arsenic, a poison that can also cause cancer, is found in all 50 states but with higher levels in the Southwest.

Perchlorate is a contaminant from rocket fuel that harms the thyroid and may cause cancer. Currently, there is no EPA standard for perchlorate, which has shown up in California lettuce, but its risks are being assessed.

Lead, a heavy metal, can cause brain damage and developmental problems in children and adversely affect blood pressure, kidneys and red blood cells.

Atrazine, a widely used pesticide, may cause hormone disruption, cancer, weight loss, muscular degeneration and cardiovascular damage. Found in all 50 states, it is most common in the Mississippi River Basin during spring runoff.

Nitrate, from animal waste in dairies, on cattle farms and on feedlots, can cause "blue baby syndrome," which prevents blood from holding oxygen. It is more common in rural areas.

Pathogens such as Cryptosporidium, E. coli and Giardia, carried by animal and human waste, are linked to gastrointestinal illness. Crypto infection can be life-threatening for individuals with weakened immune systems.

Methyl Tertiary-Butyl Ether (MTBE), a gasoline additive, leaks into groundwater from underground fuel storage, spills and storm-water runoff and may cause cancer.

For more information, see NRDC's report, which lists over 30 drinking-water contaminants and their effects on health, at www.nrdc.org/water/drinking.