Water is generally classified into two groups: Surface Water and Ground Water.
Surface Water is just what the name implies; it is water found in a river, lake or other surface impoundment. This water is usually not very high in mineral content, and many times is called "soft water" even though it usually is not. Surface water is exposed to many different contaminants, such as animal wastes, pesticides, insecticides, industrial wastes, algae and many other organic materials. Even surface water found in a pristine mountain stream possibly contains Giardia or Coliform Bacteria from the feces of wild animals, and should be boiled or disinfected by some means prior to drinking.
Ground Water is that which is trapped beneath the ground. Rain that soaks into the ground, rivers that disappear beneath the earth, melting snow are but a few of the sources that recharge the supply of underground water. Because of the many sources of recharge, ground water may contain any or all of the contaminants found in surface water as well as the dissolved minerals it picks up during it's long stay underground. Waters that contains dissolved minerals, such as calcium and magnesium above certain levels are considered "hard water" Because water is considered a "solvent", ie, over time it can break down the ionic bonds that hold most substances together, it tends to dissolve and 'gather up' small amounts of whatever it comes in contact with. For instance, in areas of the world where rock such as limestone, gypsum, fluorspar, magnetite, pyrite and magnesite are common, well water is usually very high in calcium content, and therefore considered "hard".
Due to the different characteristics of these two types of water, it is important that you know the source of your water -- Surface or Ground. Of the 326 million cubic miles of water on earth, only about 3% of it is fresh water; and 3/4 of that is frozen. Only 1/2 of 1% of all water is underground; about 1/50th of 1% of all water is found in lakes and streams. The average human is about 70% water. You can only survive 5 or less days without water.
Water is absolutely vital to our bodies. Just like the surface of the Earth, our bodies are mostly made up of water. The average adult contains 40 to 50 quarts of water! The water in your body must be renewed every 10- 15 days. With the intake of foods such as fruits and vegetables, you are receiving water, but you still must drink at least 6 glasses of water daily to enable your body to function properly - water is the base for all bodily functions.
Water is essential to sustain life, and a satisfactory supply must be made available to consumers. Every effort should be made to achieve a drinking-water quality as high as practicable.
Protection of water supplies from contamination is the first line of defence. Source protection is almost invariably the best method of ensuring safe drinking-water and is to be preferred to treating a contaminated water supply to render it suitable for consumption.
Once a potentially hazardous situation has been recognized, however, the risk to health, the availability of alternative sources, and the availability of suitable remedial measures must be considered so that a decision can be made about the acceptability of the supply. As far as possible, water sources must be protected from contamination by human and animal waste, which can contain a variety of bacterial, viral, and protozoan pathogens and helminth parasites. Failure to provide adequate protection and effective treatment will expose the community to the risk of outbreaks of intestinal and other infectious diseases.
Those at greatest risk of waterborne disease are infants and young children, people who are debilitated or living under unsanitary conditions, the sick, and the elderly. For these people, infective doses are significantly lower than for the general adult population.
A recent investigative journalism report published in the New York Times about over 506,000 violations of the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act, as well as the pathetic lack of action on the part of Federal and State regulators can be seen in the multi-part series at this link
http://projects.nytimes.com/toxic-waters
The inerview with the author of this series, Charles Duhigg, took place on National Public Radio on October 19,2009 and you can listen to the interview on the playlist featured on my channel page. Special thanks to im4wur for posting the interview on his channel
http://www.youtube.com/user/im4wur
You can use the interactive database created by the New York Times to check for water pollution violations in your state here
http://projects.nytimes.com/toxic-waters/polluters
While statements made by stupid people might have gotten a lot of attention, as well as the recent rash of false DMCA filings and votebottings, I feel that a vastly more important issue for us to worry about is the safety of our drinking water in the United States of America.
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=F9FCC81DFF710A03&search_query=How+Safe+Is+Your+Drinking+Water%3F
Officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have come under fire as members of Congress demanded an explanation into reports that the agency has not enforced Safe Drinking Water Act violations. Just 6 percent of drinking water violations were actually enforced since 2004.
Recorded from NPR's (National Public Radio) "Fresh Air" - October 19, 2009
An estimated one in 10 Americans have been exposed to drinking water that contains dangerous chemicals, parasites, bacteria or viruses, or fails to meet federal health standards. Part of the problem, says journalist Charles Duhigg, is that water-pollution laws are not being enforced.
Duhigg reports on the "worsening pollution in American waters" — and regulators' responses to the problem — in his New York Times series, "Toxic Waters." In researching the series, he studied thousands of water pollution records, which he obtained via the Freedom of Information Act.
Duhigg previously wrote about businesses' and investors' efforts to profit from the growing number of older Americans in his "Golden Opportunities" series for the Times. He is a regular contributor on NPR's Planet Money Blog.
Tests have even shown that American drinking water is contaminated with perchlorate – the chemical used to make rocket fuel. Still feel like drinking eight glasses a day of this stuff?
- Article by Dr. W.C. Douglass - : "The enforcement chief at the EPA responded by announcing new enforcement protocols designed to determine the most serious and repeating water pollution offenders and established a new mechanism to hold violators responsible. The chairwoman of the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee, Senator Barbara Boxer, dismissed the plan as "bureaucratic rhetoric."
In some instances, drinking water violations were one-time events. But for hundreds of other systems, illegal contamination persisted for years. It is unclear precisely how many American illnesses are linked to contaminated drinking water, but as many as 20 million people each year become ill from drinking water containing bacteria and other pathogens that are often spread by untreated waste. Certain types of cancer, such as breast and prostate cancer, have risen over the past 30 years, and research indicates they are likely tied to pollutants like those found in drinking water.
New tests show frightening extras flow from the tap.
The contamination of our water supply is the biggest public health crisis that no one will talk about – probably because at least some of that poison is put in on purpose.
The latest incident starts out innocently enough: Researchers in Washington studying the Puget Sound have spices in the water. If you're a salmon there, you may have even noticed a distinct vanilla flavor these days.
But these fish aren't getting some kind of treat. They're getting a bi-product of human waste, because everything we eat and excrete is making it right back out into the environment.
Then, it goes into the ground water... and eventually into your tap water.
Think about that next time you fill your drinking glass or coffee pot.
Sure, you're probably thinking, "Dr. Douglass is just being paranoid. This water is treated and filtered, right?"
Right – and if you could see how ineffective this process is, you'd never touch the faucet again. And vanilla flavoring is the least of your worries.
In Spain, researchers recently ran 24 water samples at a treatment plant –AFTER the H20 underwent supposedly rigorous filtering. Twenty-two of those samples tested positive for cocaine byproducts.
In Italy, researchers say 44 pounds of pharmaceuticals flow down the Po River each day.
Think it's better here? Stop reading now and you can keep thinking that.
Antibiotics, painkillers, sunscreen, hormones, drugs and so much more are routinely found in U.S. waters. In some parts of our nation, male fish are growing female parts because they're literally swimming in hormones.
Most cities don't even bother testing for meds in the drinking water. When they do, they inevitably find them – pharmaceuticals have been found in the drinking water of 51 million U.S. homes. If we tested everywhere, I'm sure we'd find them everywhere.
And that's not all! Take a look at this shocking video out of Fort Lupton, Colorado. A natural gas leak there has contaminated the water supply. They can actually set fire to the water as it comes out of the faucet!
Remember, natural gas is completely odorless – that rotten- egg smell is added later to help detect leaks. So if this stuff is getting into the water supply because of sloppy drilling practices at the source, you wouldn't know unless you had the water tested... or set it on fire.
All this and I haven't even touched on the dangerous noxious chemicals our own government proudly adds to the water, junk like fluoride and chlorine.
All this and I haven't even touched on the dangerous noxious chemicals our own government proudly adds to the water, junk like fluoride and chlorine.There's only one truly effective way to block most of these poisons – a reverse osmosis filter, installed where the water enters your home. If you want to know more about the problems with our water and how to protect your family, read the September issue of The Douglass Report. You'll never look at your sink the same way again. And if you just want to stop drinking H2O altogether, that's fine too – keep reading to learn more.
More than 20 percent of U.S. water treatment systems have violated key provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act over the last five years. Since 2004, the water provided to more than 49 million people has contained illegal concentrations of chemicals like arsenic or radioactive substances like uranium, as well as dangerous bacteria often found in sewage.In addition, over the last three years alone, more than 9,400 of the nation’s 25,000 sewage systems have dumped untreated or partly treated human waste, chemicals and other hazardous materials into rivers and lakes and elsewhere. But fewer than one in five sewage systems that broke the law were ever fined or otherwise sanctioned by state or federal regulators.
