Water News

California has myriad water woes, and here’s another one to consider. Seven years ago, the local NBC4 I-Team investigated Los Angeles area schools that had children drinking from potentially unsafe water fountains.  The schools had old fountains and pipes made with lead that leached into the drinking water.   Today, thousands of schoolchildren in L.A. are still drinking from these fountains.

 

The NBC4 story states the Los Angeles Unified School District (#LAUSD) would solve the problem by having the water lines to each fountain flushed daily, running the water for a minimum of 30 seconds at the beginning of each school day.  The schools were to keep logs for proof that the lines were flushed.  But a 2013 audit report says one #school was found to have falsified the logs, and an additional six schools claimed they had followed the policy but in fact hadn’t.

Lead leaching from older pipes and fixtures is a chronic problem in older buildings like schools, and this problem can occur in any school district in the country. The problem is exacerbated when communities use chloramine to disinfect their water, which accelerates #lead leaching.  Chloramine is a disinfectant that is formed by mixing chlorine with ammonia.  It is a less effective disinfectant than chlorine, but is longer lasting and stays in the water system as it is transported to the point of use.

The solution? Carry fresh, filtered water from home, using a Multipure Drinking Water System from Water2Drink.  The #Multipure family of drinking water systems are all tested and certified to reduce #chloramine, along with dozens of other contaminants, metals, PCBs, and cysts.  Using a Multipure system for your drinking water costs just $.09 cents a gallon, and provides assurance that you are using a superior water filter in removing or reducing the highest number of contaminants. Water2Drink.com is happy to answer your questions about choosing the best #waterfilter for your family’s needs.

If your community water system violates drinking water standards, do you trust them when they say “there is nothing you need to do?”

Recently, the town of Wrightsville Beach, NC, experienced a violation of the drinking water standard for #trihalomethanes. While the public notice indicates this is not an emergency, it goes on to list the possible health risks associated with the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system, including #cancer.

The town is working with the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR) to bring the contaminant concentration down and into compliance, and that they “anticipate improvements within three months.” The notice also says the public doesn’t need to boil water or take other corrective actions.  But during that three-month period, and for potentially longer, the public is still exposed to trihalomethanes in their drinking water.  If this happened to your water supply, are you willing to risk your health for three months? 

The only way to ensure your health and the safety of your drinking water is to be proactive.  Using a Multipure Drinking Water System allows you to be in control of the quality of your water source.   The Multipure family of filtration products are NSF-certified to reduce trihalomethanes, the offending contaminant, along with dozens of other #contaminants, cysts, and heavy metals. 

Water2Drink believes the consumer should know exactly what contaminants are reduced by using a #Multipure product.  On our website, Water2Drink.com, we have provided links on each product page to the description, features, documentation, specifications, and “What’s in the Box.”  Simply click on the Products link on our homepage, then click the drinking water system you are researching.  You will find the Performance Data Sheet listed under the “Documentation” tab.

You can’t always trust the water source, but you can trust your Multipure Drinking Water System.

If you are purchasing bottled water for convenience, have you considered the true cost of that choice?

Bottled water companies spend millions in advertising to convince you that their product is the purest and most healthful available. But bottled water is not well regulated or safer than tap water.  More than 25% of bottled water comes from municipal (public) supplies, and bottlers are not required to list the water source on the label. This means your bottled water could have come from a well located near a hazardous waste site. It also may contain chemicals that leach from the plastic bottle, in addition to other unknown contaminants present in the water source.

Buying bottled water means you often pay much more per gallon than you pay for gasoline.  A recent search of prices at Walmart revealed one popular brand of bottled water costs $3.73 per gallon.  If buying in bulk at a big box store such as Costco, you could pay $1.56 or more per gallon.  And buying for single use (i.e., from a hotel minibar or convenience store) can be more than $10 per gallon.  When you look at the actual cost per gallon, the true cost of #bottledwater is exorbitant.

Also, the environmental cost of the massive consumption of bottled water is extreme.  Bottles can take over 1,000 years to bio-degrade and, if incinerated, they produce toxic fumes, states The Water Project’s website.  Water bottles provide limited recycling opportunities, because only certain types can be recycled.  Only one out of five bottles are sent to the recycle bin, says The Water Project.

So what is the most practical solution?  Carry and drink your own filtered tap water.  Purchasing and using a high-quality, low maintenance water filtration system such a Multipure Drinking Water System will provide you the freshest, most convenient water source possible.  Owning a #Multipure drinking water system will give you delicious, clean water for only $.09 per gallon.  This is almost 48 times less expensive than imported bottled water.  Having your own certified water filtration system allows you to be in control of the water you ingest.  It also eliminates the environmental impact of both the manufacturing and disposal of all those plastic bottles.

Recently, we received feedback from our customer, D. Dixon, about our website: “I'm really liking your website. Full of great information, especially the links to the EWG water quality data and the cross reference to filters by chemicals treated.” Today, Water2Drink would like to highlight some features of our website that may help you with your water filtration purchase.

 

Our website, Water2Drink.com, is full of useful information regarding the entire Multipure family of water filtration systems.  We believe that this information is critical for our customers to become better educated on how Multipure’s solid carbon block filter is superior to other technologies on the market.  We encourage our customers to explore our website in depth to learn how and why the #Multipure products are so highly effective at #contaminant reduction.

 

Thanks to our customer, D. Dixon, here are a few suggestions on where to begin:

 

EWG U.S. Tap Water Quality Database.  This link (under “Useful Links” on the bottom of our home page) takes you to the Environmental Working Group’s National Drinking Water Database.  On this page, you can enter your zip code and/or your water company’s name, and the Database will provide the results of testing done by the water company.  It will specifically list the contaminants that exceed health guidelines in your own water supply. Knowing this information, you can use our Detailed Product Information link (described below) to pinpoint the #water filtration system that will best meet your needs.

 

Detailed product information. We provide a link to every Multipure product’s Specification Sheet (describing benefits, features and specifications), Performance Data Sheet (providing the list of contaminants reduced), and Owner’s Manual (including Warranty, Installation, Operation and Maintenance information).  These links are located under “Product Manuals” in our Resource Center, and are especially helpful in determining which system will address your specific needs.  They also provide advance information for your plumber or installer, should they have any hardware, fittings, or installation questions.

The Multipure Challenge.  This link is located in our Resource Center, under the “How a Multipure Water Filter Works” tab.  The Multipure Challenge is a cross reference list of common, harmful contaminants and the filter technologies that address them.  Only Multipure’s solid carbon block filtration system effectively reduces all contaminants, while not eliminating the naturally occurring, healthful dissolved minerals.

While many citizens may see the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a “watchdog” agency for American waterways, the EPA also researches ways to improve our national drinking water systems.

An EPA news release in September, 2014 announced the #EPA is providing funding to create “Drinking Water Innovation Centers.” According to the release, “These centers will help to develop innovative and practical solutions for challenges faced by smaller drinking water systems, which make up the majority of public water systems in the United States.”

Of the nation’s approximate 160,000 public water systems, about 97% of them service fewer than 10,000 people each. These water systems face many obstacles, such as limited funding, aging structures, and the cost of complying with new regulations.  The newly funded centers will help bolster these systems’ capacities and capabilities to provide #water throughout the country.

The recipients of the funding are the University of #Colorado Boulder’s Design of Risk Reducing, Innovative Implementable Small System Knowledge (DeRISK) Center, and the University of #Massachusetts Amherst’s Water Innovation Network for Sustainable Small Systems (WINSSS) Center.  “These organizations are leading the way in developing cutting-edge technologies,” according to the EPA news release.

If you are living in the United States, you probably have never had to ask that question in any restaurant, private home, or business setting. Most Americans believe that the water pouring from their faucets is a reliable source of safe drinking water. Almost no American has ever had to ask, is it safe to drink the water?

Clean, safe public drinking water was not always so available. Public water systems began to be established in the 1800’s, yet the first standards for drinking water were not developed until 1914, and even then the standards only applied to interstate common carriers such as trains, buses, and ships.  A comprehensive article by Professor James Salzman and published by Slate.com states, “In historic terms, the assumption of safe drinking water is a very recent development.” What we now consider safe, uniform drinking water standards weren’t actually put into place until the Clean Water Act of 1972, and with the passage of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) of 1974.

However, while these measures certainly deserve recognition, there are still significant challenges ahead for public drinking water delivery systems. The Environmental Protection Agency has estimated $384 billion in infrastructure needs ahead to replace aging water mains, which date back to the 1860’s. The SDWA is also faced with “emerging contaminants,” by-products of our modern lifestyle. Newly recognized contaminants from medications, personal care products, and components that act like hormones were unimaginable when our water treatment systems were designed.  Even new contaminants introduced by hydraulic #fracking have not yet been addressed. Therefore, these polluted fluids and #contaminants are not now being addressed by municipal treatment plants.

These infrastructure changes will take incredible amounts of effort, time and money.  Don’t wait for the public infrastructure to “catch up” to what is happening today. Get ahead of these potential health hazards and filter your own water at the point of use.  #Water2Drink recommends industry-leader Multipure International as the high-quality, reasonable-cost manufacturer.  As these newly emerging contaminants affect our water supply, Multipure is constantly pursuing improvements to their solid carbon block filter to address these concerns. Water2Drink.com is here to help you decide which filter will provide the protection you need.

This week, the U.S. Pacific coast has been dealing with severe storms in California, Oregon and Washington, while the East Coast has been hammered by winter storm #Damon. While you may have been unaffected by these particular storms, across the globe we see evidence of climate change that may directly impact you in the future.

According to the article “Thirsty for Answers: Preparing for the Water-related Impacts of Climate Change in American Cities” on the Natural Resources Defense Council website, cities across our country “face significant vulnerabilities due to climate change, ranging from water shortages to more intense storms and floods to sea level rise.” The NRDC believes that action at the local level is going to be the most effective way to reduce or prevent these effects.  The NRDC compiled research on 12 U.S. cities, and has prepared a sideshow to offer a glimpse of some of the threats.  Nearly all of the cities show “water supply challenges” likely to occur as a result of #climatechange.

You can help mitigate storm-related water contamination issues by using a high quality point-of-use water filtration system in your home and office. Water2Drink.com sells only Multipure’s Drinking Water Systems that feature a solid carbon block technology with exceptional performance. The Multipure family of products is NSF certified to reduce a wide array of contaminants, including disinfection byproducts and gasoline additives.  These contaminants can get into water sources through storm events, pollution or erosion.  

Recently, residents of Abilene, #Texas, have noticed an unusual taste and/or odor in their drinking water. KTXS12 News reports that, in the city’s news release, the City of Abilene says, “the water is safe to drink.”  If you noticed an unusual taste or odor in your local drinking water, would you be reassured by that statement?

 

According to the news release from the City of #Abilene, the Water Department staff is experimenting with various solutions to solve the problem, including using “additional treatment chemicals to address the issue.”  While we all have heard that Everything Is Bigger In Texas, is putting more chemicals into the water supply a good thing for consumer health?

 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets water quality standards for consumer protection.  These standards are for a minimum of public safety, and as a consumer you need to ask yourself if minimum EPA standards are good enough for you and your family.  It should also be noted that the EPA does not enforce #waterquality standards for taste or odor compounds that do not pose a health risk to the public.

 

The safest, easiest solution is to use a high quality point-of-use Multipure Drinking Water System.  Water2Drink.com sells only #Multipure Drinking Water Systems.  We have found that Multipure’s unique solid carbon block filter provides a wide range of #contaminant reduction that affects both the healthfulness and the aesthetic properties (taste and odor) of water.  Multipure is one of the few companies whose products are tested and certified by NSF International to reduce such a wide array of drinking water contaminants. 

 

It’s that time of year again, when the snow is blowing, the wind is howling, and your water is… cloudy?

Probably the single most asked question we get in the wintertime from our customers is, “Why is my filtered water cloudy?”  Water can be cloudy for two reasons, one that is benign and one that can be very bad.

 

The benign answer is:  it’s just air.  If you are using a high quality point-of-use water filter, such as a Multipure Drinking Water System, you may be surprised to see cloudy or milky-looking water coming from your filter.  This most often occurs when the water is cold (coming from cold ground water or being transported underground through cold pipes).  One of the properties of water is its ability to dissolve gasses, including #air.  Cold water is denser than warm water, and therefore it is capable of holding more dissolved gasses.  The cloudiness or milkiness is simply dissolved air.  You can test this by filtering a glass of water and letting it set on the counter for a moment or two. The cloudiness (air) will dissipate upwards from the bottom of the glass, leaving a glass of clear filtered water.

 

Why is this not considered turbidity?  Turbidity is the measure of relative clarity of a liquid, or of how much material may be suspended in water and how that material decreases the passage of light through the water.  Turbidity refers to how clear water is, and indicates the presence of total suspended solids.  When solids are present in water, this indicates the water is not clear of particulate matter, and these solids may also be contaminants of great health concern.   An article on Waterontheweb.org states, “turbidity adds real costs to the treatment of surface water supplies used for drinking water since the #turbidity must be virtually eliminated for effective disinfection (usually by chlorine in a variety of forms) to occur.  Particulates may also provide attachment sites for heavy metals such as cadmium, mercury and lead, and many toxic organic contaminants such as PCBs, PAHs and many pesticides.”

 

Of course, you must use a quality water filtration system such as a #Multipure filter to remove particulates and contaminants.  But just how does this filtration work?  For contaminants having a physical size, the solid carbon block filter provides mechanical filtration on a submicron level to remove particulates and bad tastes.  It also employs electrokinetic adsorption to attract and control charged particles.  Almost any carbon filter can reduce chlorine and address taste and odor problems.  The Multipure solid carbon block technology goes well beyond aesthetic improvements to remove the broadest array of #contaminants, including turbidity.  Each product in the Multipure family is provided with a Performance Data Sheet that details NSF’s product certification data and contaminant reduction test results.

 

You can’t pick up a fitness magazine or read an online article that doesn’t tout the benefits of coconut water. Even non-athletes buy into the claim that #coconutwater is full of electrolytes, potassium and other nutritional benefits.

But is it all just marketing?  A recent article from Time.com asked the experts, and four out of five agreed that there are other factors to consider.  Coconut water can have as much sugar as a banana, even an unsweetened version, but have none of the beneficial fiber. 

Fluid loss during strenuous exercise is common, and can result in stress, impaired cognition and cardiovascular function, increased fatigue, and impaired #exercise performance. Following the recommendations for fluid intake before, during, and after exercise is particularly important.  But unless you are an elite #athlete, carbohydrate/electrolyte sports drinks are not necessarily the beverage to choose for rehydration.  A 2012 study funded by a coconut water manufacturer (Vita Coco) found little difference in hydration after a workout by drinking water, coconut water, or a sports drink.  On page 7 of the study, under “Results: Performance Data,” the study concludes that “no significant difference… was noted in total exercise time between bottled water… coconut water from concentrate… and sport drink… .”

Fresh, clean water is the most suggested fluid for general fitness enthusiasts.  If you don’t want to pay for expensive, exotic water from a coconut, we recommend a Multipure water filtration system.  Water2Drink.com offers the entire #Multipure family of products, from the Aquamini travel version, to the AquaRO, a full reverse osmosis system, and everything in between, including the Aquaperform which reduces #arsenic as well.  For just 9 cents a gallon, you can have fresh, filtered water at your fingertips for post workout hydration, food preparation, and ice.

In the United States, Canada, and other first-world countries, we are fortunate to have national and state regulations enacted to protect our public water supplies. These agencies, along with your local water provider, are tasked with delivering to the public clean, disinfected water in order to prevent the spread of disease.  The most common disinfectants used today are chlorine and chloramine.  While these disinfectants are entirely necessary, even when used within federal regulation guidelines, there still are serious health issues associated with routinely ingesting such substances. 

Chlorine is highly effective for the disinfection of water.  However, challenges occur in the disinfection process because chlorine can react with organic materials in the water, especially from surface water sources.  This results in what is called “disinfection byproducts,” and these byproducts, such as Trihalomethanes (TTHM), have been identified as #carcinogens and can lead to serious illness. 

Some water supply companies have made the switch from #chlorine to chloramine.  Chloramine (also referred to as monochloramine) is a combination of chlorine and ammonia. While chloramine is less likely to produce disinfection byproducts, it is a less effective disinfectant than chlorine.  It can also change the chemical properties of water, which can foster corrosion and cause pipes to leach lead and copper into the water.

Both chlorine and #chloramine are toxic to fish, aquatic animals, reptiles, and amphibians.  While chlorine may dissipate from water if left to sit out for a few days, chloramine cannot be removed in this manner.  Chloramine cannot be removed by either boiling or by the #distillation process. In addition, chloramine vapors and disinfection byproducts can accumulate in indoor air.  The only effective way of removing these disinfectants from your water is through point-of-use filtration with a high quality carbon filter.

The Multipure family of water filtration systems reduces chlorine and chloramine to the lowest possible levels, and these reductions are tested and certified according to NSF/ANSI Standards.  While many water filters on the market make claims as to the reduction of disinfection chemicals and by-products, many are not effective in reducing chloramine. You must insist on seeing #NSF testing and certification of these claims.  #Multipure drinking water systems lead the industry in contaminant reduction, and this includes the harsh chemicals used to disinfect your water. 

Last week, we talked about how to protect yourself from waterborne microbial cysts. This week, the world of water filtration has a new Multipure product to address current concerns about transmittable disease by #bacteria and viruses as well.

At the Multipure 2014 PURE Annual Convention in Las Vegas, NV, Multipure International introduced the Aqualuxe, a bold, innovative departure from their other product families. 

 

What makes this product exceptional? Here is what we believe are the #Aqualuxe’s standout features:

 

We have not seen another product quite like this currently on the market. The expected retail price is $1,080, and the replacement filter cartridge is $150.

 

This is a remarkable departure from past products for Multipure. They introduced this product concept several years ago to their distributors, and #Multipure has been working hard to bring it to market ever since. It’s exactly what is needed for communities that constantly receive “boil water” alerts, which is happening with increasing frequency, or for anyone who is concerned about the growing #contamination problem in our nation’s water supply.

 

Multipure has the product on display at their company headquarters, and a select few test marketers have an “ACE” beta version to provide valuable feedback to Multipure.  Multipure is still in the process of obtaining NSF certifications and refining their manufacturing and supply processes, and they estimate that the product will be ready to ship in early 2015.  In the meantime, Water2Drink.com will soon be updating our website with this new product information, and you will be able to register to be notified when the Aqualuxe becomes available.

 

A recent article in The Washington Post brings to light a new example of neurotoxin exposure in the environment.

Tetrachloroethylene, or PCE, was used by New England’s water utilities to line the insides of water pipes in the late 1960’s.  PCE has been linked to increased risk for stillbirths and other pregnancy complications. PCE is widely used in the dry cleaning industry also, so it may be of concern for many other citizens as well.  The toxin has been linked to mental illness, breast cancer risks, and some birth defects.

 

Unfortunately, PCE was not only found in the New England area.  Contamination has been found on military bases across the country as well, along with water systems in Pennsylvania and California.

 

There is a simple solution to address this problem:  use a Multipure Drinking Water System at your sink or point-of-use water supply to filter your drinking water.  Multipure filters are NSF tested and certified under NSF/ANSI Standard 53 Health Effects to reduce the widest array of water contaminants of health concern of any filter on the market, including PCE. You can find a confirming Performance Data Sheet on our Water2Drink website that will give you the list of all contaminants that are addressed by using a Multipure water filter.

 

If you would like to learn more about PCE, the Environmental Protection Agency has information on their website as well.  Click here for more information about health effects and the EPA’s drinking water regulations.

 

Your search for the elusive Fountain of Youth could be as close as your kitchen sink.

Water is a critical life element for our body. Our organs cannot function properly when the body is not adequately hydrated, because water is taken from other places within the body to combat dehydration. This can lead to sunken skin, increased acne, and weakened muscles and joints.

A recent article on modernsalon.com includes a case study in which the Daily Mail U.K. writer Sarah Smith asks, “What would happen if I drank the recommended amount every day for a month?”  The article includes a before and after picture of Ms. Smith, who concluded she looked 10 years older in her before picture. Dark under-eye shadows, blotches, and lackluster skin all disappeared in just 30 days. 

Are you looking for a healthy, easy way to look younger? What would you be willing to do to take 10 years off your face? How about nourishing your body with fresh, clean drinking water? We can help to provide the water if you are willing to take the challenge. A Multipure water filtration system will give you the healthy water you need for your challenge.  The rest is up to you!  Just drink the recommended 8 to 10 glasses of water each day and see what happens. 

If you are educating yourself about your water supply, and want to know how the government is helping to protect you, we have new information on our website that may assist you in your research.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets limits on the levels of certain contaminants in drinking water.  In addition to the limits, the EPA sets testing schedules and methods of testing that water systems must follow.  These are implemented by most states and territories that oversee the water systems in their locations. 

 

Water2Drink has added a link to the EPA document, "National Primary Drinking Water Regulations," which serves as a useful summary of primary and secondary drinking water regulations. This list also includes a description of how each contaminant can negatively affect health and where the contaminant comes from. 

 

If you would like more information about the EPA’s current drinking water regulations and what the regulations address, you can visit the “Current Drinking Water Regulations” page on the EPA website for more information and links.

 

Have you ever received a Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) from your water utility? A CCR is a federally mandated annual report that every water utility is required to publish. Some utilities may not mail it to every household, but you have the right to access the information as a consumer.

If you are not sure how to read your report, NSF (the public safety and health organization) has an article that may help.  The “What’s In Your Drinking Water” article talks about what information is included in a CCR, and how to use the information.  Generally, the CCR contains an overview, an explanation of abbreviations, and contaminant tables that list which contaminants have been detected in the community water supply. 

The NSF encourages people to use a home water treatment device to address possible contaminants in your water supply. A variety of products exist to treat drinking water, so you will want to do some research to ensure you get a filtration system that meets your specific needs.  “Because residential water treatment products are not federally regulated, it’s important to verify that the system is tested and certified to meet your specific contaminant reduction needs before purchasing,” says the NSF article.

Recently, an article came across our desk about the water quality in the small community of Wake Forest, NC. The 100+ homes in the neighborhood must contend with discolored water that often contains sediment as well.

 

According to neighbor Wendy Callahan, “Some days we’ll get relatively clear water, but you just don’t know until you turn on the tap.”  President Tom Roberts of the water provider, Aqua North Carolina, calls it an “aesthetic issue” that is not health-based.

 

"We try to treat the most sufficient way we can," Roberts said. "A lot of times that's by adding a sequestrant, which is an additive that keeps it in suspension so it's invisible to the customers."

 

Sequestrant? Invisible? We looked up “sequestrant” and it does not look very appetizing.  Chemical #sequestrants are often used in treatment projects to remove contaminants that adversely affect taste, odor, and color of drinking water.  They do not remove, reduce, or solve the problem; sequestrants appear to just mask the underlying contamination.

 

Obviously, this is a small water treatment facility serving just over 100 homes, much like many smaller communities and towns across the nation.  Typically, small community water utilities are inspected at some regular interval, but they simply do not have funding to provide the optimal water filtration solution for you, their customer. Adding a Multipure Drinking Water Filtration System would provide a buffer to help protect consumers from ingesting many of the “irregularities” that occur between inspections and maintenance cycles.

 

If you have done any research on water filtration systems, you most likely know that the highest quality systems not only rely on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards, but also are tested to, and certified against, NSF International standards. While there are myriad contaminants that are reduced or eliminated by a certified filter, you may not know that currently there is no EPA standard for emerging contaminants in drinking water.

What are emerging contaminants? They are chemicals being discovered that previously have not been detected, or are being detected at significantly different levels than previously acceptable.  These include #pharmaceuticals, personal care products, pathogens, #hormones, #antimicrobials, veterinary drugs and feed additives.  These chemicals can accumulate in human tissue or blood, and are associated with health effects such as endocrine disruption.  The EPA has not been able to create drinking water standards for these emerging compounds, as only recently chemists have been able to measure trace amounts of the #contaminants present in public water supplies.

But now the issue has been identified and #NSF is working to develop a testing standard for emerging contaminants.  A recent issue of Scientific American describes the issue in depth.

The new testing standard is identified as NSF Standard 401: Drinking Water Treatment Units – Emerging Compounds/Incidental Contaminants. Since this is a new unpublished standard and testing protocols have not been finalized, no drinking water filter system can honestly promote that they are in compliance with the new standard, including Multipure’s. However, Dr. Andrew Fenwick, PhD, of Multipure International is actively working on NSF standards committees to help finalize testing protocols. #Multipure will continue to be on the forefront of product testing and standards compliance certification when the new NSF Standard 401 is published.

By now you have probably seen the news reports about the water main break in Los Angeles, CA, on Wednesday, July 30th. TWENTY MILLION GALLONS were released into the streets of the #UCLA campus.  Sadly, those 20 million gallons of water were lost during the midst of California’s worst #drought in decades.  What the headlines didn’t shout was that the aging #watermain that burst was 93 years old.  Warren G. Harding was inaugurated as the 29th U.S. President in 1921 when that water line was laid and the U.S. formally ended World War I in August of that same year.  That’s ancient!

In fact, most of the pipes that supply drinking water across the country were laid in during the first half of the 20^th century.  For many cities, the greatest population growth and urban expansion occurred from the late 1800’s into the 1920’s.  As our water supply infrastructure ages, ruptures like this will occur with increasing regularity.  The concerning thing to note is that the rupture occurred in the water line after the water left the treatment facility. Why is this important to you? 

Breaks like this happen all the time, anywhere between the plant and our homes.  There are 240,000 breaks a year, according to the National Association of Water Companies.  These breaks can allow dirt and contaminants into your #water supply after it has been treated but before it reaches your home. 

Fortunately, there is a solution.  Citizens can protect themselves by using a high quality “final barrier” point-of-use water filtration system like the Multipure Aquaversa.  The Aquaversa, with its solid #carbon block filter technology, is considered to be the most effective method in reducing a wide range of water contaminants of aesthetic and health concern.  To find out how to protect your health and your family, contact #Water2Drink and we will help you determine the right water filtration system for your needs.

Even if you don’t live in California, you should be concerned about California’s current drought situation. California’s $44.7 billion agriculture industry is poised to take a big hit which will impact your food budget as you shop for foods that are water-intensive to produce.  Why does this matter to you? California is the leading source of agriculture in the nation.

The Huffington Post graphic, “Why California’s Drought Makes Your Tomatoes So Expensive,” shows that one gallon of milk requires 880 gallons of water to produce.  A pound of potatoes? 119 gallons of water. A loaf of bread requires 228 gallons. A pound of beef requires a whopping 1,799 gallons of water to produce.

Statistics like this are frightening.  Some may decide to limit or eliminate beef consumption. Others may explore options for fruits and vegetables closer to home at their local farm stand instead of a grocery store.  And as communities and states explore alternatives for finding enough water for human consumption, the quality of water sources may become questionable.

Are you willing to get your hands dirty? An alternative to buying fruits and vegetables that are grown in and shipped from drought-stricken areas is to grow your own.  And to maintain the fertility of your garden’s ecosystem, consider adding a Multipure Aquagrow dechlorinating filter to your garden.  The Aquagrow keeps your plants healthier by removing the chlorine that kills beneficial microorganisms in your garden soil.