Tap versus Tank - what's in your water?

Don’t assume that just because the water coming out of your tap looks fine, tastes okay and doesn’t smell that it is safe to drink or shower in. Many people believe that because their water has been “treated” by their local water suppliers that it’s safe, or that because they only drink rainwater, from their own water tanks, that it’s pure.

Water is too important to our health and our culture to be taken for granted. Australians consume it in large volumes, teach our babies to swim in it, encourage our children and athletes to get fit in it and yet we don't question its quality or think about the volume of chemicals we are exposing ourselves and our families to. We blindly assume that water is just water and that if there was a problem with it, our local government would take care of it for us.

TREATED TAP WATER

Large volumes of chemicals are added to our municipal water supplies on a daily basis, to disinfect it, control its pH (acidity/alkalinity) and keep it appearing clear, smelling clean and tasting good. Most of these chemicals are used to protect us from water-borne diseases, such as cholera, typhoid and dysentery. However, these same chemicals can and do create other, more insidious health risks.

Chlorine is the most widely used disinfectant, added in the form of sodium hypochlorite. It’s cheap and effective but has a nasty way of reacting with organic material already in the water to form toxic byproducts (DBPs) such as trihalomethanes (THMs). Chloroform is a THM. THMs have been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals, have been linked to reproductive problems in animals and humans and can double the incidence of bladder and rectal cancers in susceptible people.

Chlorine can irritate skin and cause gut problems. It destroys beneficial microbes in your GI tract, and depletes your body of essential vitamins, including Vitamin E.

Other chemicals used in water treatment include aluminium sulphate, ammonia, lime and many others, the concentration and variety of chemicals used, depending on where you live and the time of the year – click here for a list.

Did you know you can absorb more chlorine and dangerous disinfection by-products in a hot shower than you can by drinking 8 glasses of the same water?

MEDICATED WATER

Sodium fluoride and Hydrofluorosilicic acid are the only non-treatment chemicals added to our drinking water supplies. These chemicals are added for the purpose of preventing tooth decay and should be considered as a form of medication. They are constantly being promoted by government bodies as being “safe and effective”, even though there have been NO studies done on the safety of these industrial chemical byproducts for safety and they have NEVER been approved for human consumption.

As for their effectiveness, after 60 years of use in Australia, they have been extremely effective in increasing the incidence of thyroid disease, hip fractures and arthritis (just to name a few health issues). Furthermore, the combination of fluoridating chemicals with water treatment chemicals has never been looked at scientifically, or even considered by our government “Health” promoters.

WHAT'S IN OUR PIPES?

Treated water has to pass through concrete pipes and then copper pipes before exiting through our taps. Biofilms (accumulation of sediment and microbial matter) build up in pipes, especially in cracks and defects and leach into our water along with heavy metals such as copper, lead, zinc, mercury with the help of the very chemicals used to keep our water safe. Tiny leaks in pipes can allow contaminants from surrounding soil to find their way into the water as well.

MORE CHEMICALS

I should mention here that our water supply is frequently topped up by pesticides, industrial spills, weed killers, cleaning fluids and even pharmaceuticals , most of which are not removed from our water before it’s delivered to us.

TANK WATER

Your tank water may not be contaminated with disinfecting and fluoridating chemicals (unless you’ve been adding chlorine) but it’s certainly not pure. The quality of your tank water depends on many factors, including the type and condition of the roof and gutters it diverts from, the presence of airborne contaminants including pesticides, industrial pollution, dust etc, the type and condition of your water tank, how often you clean out your tank, how often you clean out your gutters.

Rainwater is generally acidic (pH<7) and acidic water can corrode metals from your roof and gutters as well as from your tank. If you have a plastic tank, then you have to assume that your water may also contain toxic chemicals which leach from plastic linings, such as bisphenol A. PVC pipes and linings can leach toxic VOCs such as tetrachloroethylene into your water.

Never just assume that your water is safe to drink and bathe in

Have your water tested regularly (at least once/year) or test it yourself using a water test kit.
Filter your water using the most appropriate filters for the type, volume and acidity of the water your family uses. Multi-stage Reverse Osmosis systems will remove the majority of water toxins and contaminants, including fluoridation chemicals.
Filtering the water you shower and bathe in is just as important as filtering your drinking water. Bathesafe is one of the most affordable shower and bath filters available. It effectively removes chlorine and VOCs but does not remove fluoridation chemicals. Only reverse osmosis systems can remove fluoride and they are currently not available as shower filters.
Consider alternatives to chlorine to keep your pool water clean, such as ozone treatment or ionisation.
Don't let babies swim in public pools - the chemical load is high and the risks to their health and development are too great. Babies are extremely vulnerable to absorbing these chemicals through their skin (their body surface area relative to body weight is high) and they are more likely to swallow the pool water than an adult is.