Apparently, fish getting their freak on for Jesus in it is becoming the least of our problems.
And though CityNews has clarified for us some of the snow types not to eat (yellow is still bad, btw),
AP’s national investigation team has discovered some stuff may be making its way into the water, -particularly, unmetabolized birth control hormones and other drugs.
(I KNEW my nipples were starting to feel funny.) This must be why!
So, Now More than ever is a good time to get yourself a good home water filter.
The report covers several metro area end points and depressingly, also reservoirs and watersheds.
The standard party line of ~all water authorities is:
“We’re doing everything so the water meets federal guidelines.”
-not so that it’s as Safe or Healthy as [reasonably] possible, (Salmon Farmers using PCB-ridden feed, I’m looking at you) but just so it meets -guidelines.
So in many communities, they keep the water only as clean as the EPA says they have to.
->You could easily rephrase that to mean the water has the Maximum Allowable Levels of many contaminants in it. Read the testing data if you think this is an inaccurate statement, btw.
The statistics are usually unavailable,
but when you hear by word-of-mouth or other anecdote(s) that there are unusual outbreaks of weird ailments in 1 community,
a big factor is usually the Water in that town.
Two of the key issues with any contaminant are Size and Frequency of dose.
Any physician or biochemist will tell you that many times the body can purge itself of a 1-Time Megadose. (similar to calorie-wasting in going out for a night drinking ;) )
-The bigger problem is Repeated Long-Term Exposure. -That’s the key issue with drinking water. The repetition never gives your body a chance to recover, AND some contaminants may have Cumulative Effects.
The other big point is that there are
*No current Federal Guidelines or Testing Mandates*
on how much or how little of any drug may be allowable in municipal drinking water.
And currently, there are no treatment plants in the US even designed to pull prescription meds out of the public drinking water.
I have no information on which home systems can pull pharmaceuticals out of drinking water.
-Though I’d guess a whole-house filter of polyester, carbon & KDF and then Reverse-Osmosis units at the drinking points would probably do the best job.
Perhaps there are some more high-tech solutions like Magneto-UV-Fuel-Cell-Particle-Collider-Ozonation that can do even better.
The filter I have, which is an under-counter unit about the size of a 2-liter bottle (I think it’s a Quixtar), pulls so much stuff out of the water, that there aren’t any minerals left in at all.
-It’s almost De-Ionized.
I’ve actually had to start adding them back, using “Burton Water Salts” from Williams Brewing Supplies. These will add back Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Phosphorous and Sodium to the water.
-UPDATE: Williams no longer has them, but Midwest does.
Remember the Old Adage: “It must be something in the water.” -maybe it is.
Photo Credits: “Urban Signs 2”, by Gabriel Volonte
Links:
• Source: CNN-Drugs In Water w/Map
• More Coverage: Fox News | USAToday
Water Filtration:
Filter Comparison Chart | WaterfiltersOnline | H20Filter
Water Safety:
NSF-Home Drinking Water Quality Resources | EPA-Local Water Info | EPA-Prescription Meds In The Environment
Water Testing:
Discover Testing | Stevens Ecology
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