Is It Safe Drinking Unfiltered City Water?

Water quality can vary greatly from city to city but the majority of U.S. cities have some sort of pollution in their drinking water. City water must be filtered by the city to take out contaminants such as motor oil, sewage, acid from rainwater, as well as more dangerous toxins like bromate, total trihalomethanes, chlorine, antimony, cadmium, copper, fluoride, atrazine, chlordane, picloram, styrene, alpha particles and uranium. However, even after the city filters out these harmful contaminants some may continue to exist in low levels. The US government has deemed low levels of these contaminants as safe, but common sense should tell you that having absolutely no particles of these contaminants in your drinking water would be best.

Many of the chemicals and substances left over in city water can cause symptoms of illnesse. Contaminates such as bromate, total trihalomethanes, alpha particles and uranium have the risk of causing cancer. Chemicals like cadmium, copper, chlordane, picloram, styrene and uranium can and will cause kidney and or liver failure. Pollution and contaminants such as total trihalomethanes and chlordane will cause nervous system problems. The least of your worries but still very dangerous are problems like nausea, diarrhea, eye/nose irritation, stomach cramps or discomfort and gastrointestinal distress that are caused by high levels of chlorine and copper.

Luckily, there are multiple safe and inexpensive options for home water filtration, created specifically for the purpose of straining out these left over contaminants. Homeowners usually employ one of three popular methods: pitcher filters, point-of-use filters, or point-of-entry filters.

Pitcher filters are simply that—a plastic or ceramic pitcher with a built-in filter. They provide a small supplied of pure drinking water which fits in a refrigerator. If you have concerns about low levels of minerals that may be in your water beyond drinking it, you may want to install a point-of-use filter at your sink or in the shower. These filters instantly purify water as it flows through your faucet or showerhead.

If you have serious concerns about the quality of your water supply, then you may want to hire a contractor to install a point-of-entry filter. These devices interrupt the water supply directly at the water main pipe, before it goes to any part of the house. They can cost hundreds of dollars, but worth the investment to purify all the water in your home.