FAQs
I live in the city. Should I buy a water purifier? That depends. Three-fourths of Americans live in communities protected by the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). However, there are over 100,000 violations of SDWA regulations reported annually, so relying on municipal water for safety may not be enough. In fact, a 1989 Environmental Law Institute study found one-fifth of all water systems tested were contaminated by chemicals, many toxic. Water purification for drinking in your home can reduce the potential harm from many sources found in our water.
-- from the March/April 1990 issue of "Consumers Digest" Magazine
What is Cryptosporidium? Why be concerned about it? Cryptosporidium are cysts that have been found in 87% of the surface water supplies in the USA (surface water is the source for most Front Range Colorado communities). Cryptosporidium cysts are resistant to chlorine. Several USA outbreaks since 1993, including the Milwaukee outbreak in 1993, have been responsible for the deaths of over 130 people, and hundreds more have taken ill. For those individuals at risk -- the very young, the elderly and the immune-system compromised -- it is highly recommended to drink only previously boiled water or water that has been filtered appropriately. The Centers for Disease Control, the USEPA and the City of Boulder recommend that immune-compromised individuals boil their water. This is because cysts of both giardia and cryptosporidium make their way past the municipal treatment system.
What should I know about flouride? Julian Whitaker, MD, a well-known and well-respected medical doctor and educator who is also an advocate of healthy living, has spoken against flouride. In his newletter, Health and Healing, September 1997 issue, he makes the following points:
- Fluoride is added to 62% of municipal supplies in the United States.
- Several large well-controlled studies show little difference in caries rates with or without fluoride.
- Acting on exactly the same scientific information available worldwide, Japan and most of Europe have opted against fluoridating their water supplies.
- The FDA has recently required a new toothpaste label warning of the toxic potential if you happen to swallow more than the usual amount of fluoridated toothpaste used for brushing teeth.
- Two studies carried out in China demonstrated that children drinking high-fluoride water had a measurable decrease in average IQ compared to those drinking water low in fluoride.
I don't like drinking water so much. Why is it important? A book, Your Body's Many Cries for Water, by F. Batmanghelidj, MD, provides insight. It is a fascinating book about how many common illnesses and complaints can be completely cured simply by drinking more water and that they occur simply because we are dehydrated. Drinking alcohol, caffeinated tea, coffee or soft drinks actually increases our need for water and we can't depend on our thirst sense to tell us to drink. If we feel thirsty, most of us are already dehydrated! Backaches, stomach aches, ulcers, arthritis pain, overweight, headaches, high blood pressure and depression are often treated successfully simply by increasing water intake according to the author.
What are DBP's or CBP's? Disinfection byproducts (DBPs) (also known as chlorination byproducts (CBPs)) are produced by the addition of chlorine at the municipal plant to a surface source of water such as we have here in the Front Range area of Colorado. The Cities of Boulder, Lafayette, Louisville, Longmont, and Left Hand Water District all rely on surface water. Surface water contains a small amount of organic matter which reacts with the chlorine to produce such byproducts as trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids which are suspected of being carcinogenic in humans. The USEPA in 1979 set a maximum contaminant level of 100ppb (parts per billion). In 1999, that level was decreased to 80ppb. Eight recent studies looked at the relationship of low-level exposure to these DBPs and rates of fetal birth defects and spontaneous abortion. These studies were reviewed in the May 2002 issue of "Water Conditioning and Purification Magazine". The conclusion was that there was "moderate evidence for association of DBPs with small-for-gestational-age infants, neural tube defects and spontaneous abortions".
