Water "Spots"

Your Water's "Safe" - Just Not For Babies


For the third time in six months, Fremont, Ohio issued a warning for residents to use bottled water for children under the age of six months. The city's water tested excessively high in nitrates, a toxic substance that often enters water supply systems from fertilizers, animal wastes, septic tanks, municipal sewage treatment systems, and decaying plant debris.

Even small amounts of nitrates can cause infants to become seriously ill, with symptoms including shortness of breath and blue baby syndrome. These symptoms require immediate medical care because the condition can rapidly progress to coma and death. It is highly recommended that breast-feeding mothers also refrain from using municipal water.


The Ohio Administrative Code requires that drinking water contain no more than 10 milligrams of nitrate per liter. This level is considered safe for more individuals. However, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources website, pregnant women who drink nitrate-contaminated water during pregnancy are more likely to have babies with birth defects and long-term ingestion of water high in nitrates may increase the risk of certain types of cancer.

A good quality Drinking Water System will effectively reduce the nitrates in drinking water. Nitrate is tasteless and odorless, which means that water must be chemically tested by a professional laboratory to determine contamination. Boiling water will not reduce the nitrate level. In fact, excessive boiling actually makes the nitrates more concentrated as the pure water evaporates.

Your only means of treatment are an in-home water treatment system like the Rayne Evolution or a Rayne RO System.

To read more about this article, click here.

Records Show Millions Drinking Dirty Water


A recent study of E.P.A. data shows that Safe Drinking Water Act violations have occurred in all 50 states and more than 20% of municipal drinking water systems have violated crucial elements of this law.

Some were isolated events with little risk to communities and others were due to contamination that has persisted for years. While communities are required by law to deliver safe water to residents, studies have shown that since 2004, the drinking water provided to more than 49 million people contained illegal traces of chemicals and contaminates such as arsenic and uranium as well as bacteria common in sewage waste water.


Some of these contaminates even in small doses were found to be linked to cancer and one, Radium, was found as much as 2,000 times the legal limit. Since 2004 in the state of New York, 205 water systems have recorded violations but only 3 systems have had any enforcement of penalties.

Unfortunately, most violations will not be pursued by the E.P.A. and Justice Department because imposing fines against the municipality will ultimately fine the local tax payer as more and more communities are struggling with revenue.

Regrettably a large portion of violations are in systems serving less than 20,000 residents, in communities were resources and expertise are often limited.

While the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will ask E.P.A. officials about how water safety laws are handled and the E.P.A. has in turn said they will be announcing new standards and practices, this grave data reminds us that treating the water as it enters our home can give us with the quality drinking water that our community may not provide.

Read more about this article here.


News of Interest


Proposed Bottled Water Sales Tax Will Hurt Washington’s Consumers and Employers, March 8, 2010

Americans waste 1 trillion gallons of water per year in discarded food, March 5, 2010

Pharmaceutical byproducts found in Lake Michigan, March 4, 2010

City fined $10,000 for dumping polluted water, February 24, 2010

Tests show chemical lingers in Casper soils, February 22, 2010

Drinking water becomes an ethical issue, February 21, 2010

Fed probe urged on cancer chemical in Military's water, February 19, 2010

Resident hires lab to test tap water after finding sludge in filter, February 17, 2010

Officials consider underground tunnel for transporting water, February 15, 2010

EPA orders new tests at contaminated site near Grand Island, February 15, 2010

Lionel Harris Oil Company, Inc. Fined for Violating the Clean Water Act, February 11, 2010

Studies Reveal Why Drinking Water Wells are Vulnerable to Contamination, February 11, 2010

Even Properly Disposed Drugs Can End Up In Water, February 7, 2010

Hospital Bans Bottled Water, February 3, 2010

Study Reveals Unsafe Levels of Pyrethroids in California Rivers, February 2, 2010

Obama Requests Record $10 Billion for EPA, February 02, 2010

US Nuclear Reactors Leaking Carcinogen into Groundwater, February 2, 2010

Coalition Urges San Diego City Council to Approve Wastewater Recycling Program, January 27, 2010

Lake Sonoma Drinking Water Supply Hits 100 Percent Full, January 26, 2010

117 Russians in Hospital After Drinking Holy Water, January 25, 2010

Seattle's sewers are getting clogged with grease, January 19, 2010

No runoff love for Lake Mead?, January 13, 2010

Uranium, arsenic, water softener salts found in domestic wells, January 13, 2010

Stronger controls urged on chemicals in water, January 12, 2010

Paper strips can quickly detect toxin in drinking water, January 8, 2010

Trace Levels of Hexavalent Chromium Found in Two Cities’ Drinking Water, January 8, 2010

Fremont warns again: Don't give water to infants, January 7, 2010

Test results show signs of arsenic on school property, January 5, 2010

Tests find antibiotic, other contaminants in Tampa's drinking water, January 5, 2010

Officials: Valley water clean enough for humans - but not fish, January 3, 2010

Pharmaceuticals, Personal Care Products Found in New York City Water Supply, December 30, 2009

Cities With The Worst Tap Water Singled Out, December 29, 2009

Charge Of Lax Federal Standards Stirs Tap-Or-Bottled Water Debate, December 26, 2009

Bottled water sales dry up; industry asks ‘why?’, December 18, 2009

That Tap Water Is Legal but May Be Unhealthy, December 16, 2009

Millions in U.S. Drink Dirty Water, Records Show, December 8, 2009

Cape water tested for harmful chemicals, November 19, 2009

Meriden Water ‘Tastes Like A Dirty Bath’, November 19, 2009

UPDATE: Doddridge County Spill Raises Questions About Reporting, November 10, 2009

FOX Files: The Rotten Water in St. Mary, Missouri, November 4, 2009

Group Questions Raccoon River's Water Quality, October 21, 2009

What‘s in your water?, October 21, 2009

ExxonMobil to Pay $105M for Polluting NYC Water, October 21, 2009

East Shoshone County Water District agrees to install filtration system, clean up mine adit and pay penalty to settle EPA Complaint, October 21, 2009

“Ecoligate” Leads to Water Quality Action, October 20, 2009

Traces of pharmaceuticals found in central Indiana waterways, October 20, 2009

Belleair water advisory issued, October 14, 2009

Drinking water unsafe at thousands of schools, September 25, 2009

City addresses ‘marginally elevated’ lead levels in drinking water, September 25, 2009

California American Water Launches Residential Water Audits for Homes and Apartments, September 25, 2009

Pupils still banned from drinking tap water two years after it went blue, September 24, 2009

Elderly benefit from in-home treatment, September 22, 2009

Radium in water: Palm Beach County Health Department answers your water safety questions, September 21, 2009

Age is enemy of safe water, September 21, 2009

Toxic Waters Put All Americans at Risk, September 14, 2009

How Safe Are Your Drinking & Agriculture Water Supplies?, August 30, 2009

Mayor Calls For Summit On Water Crisis, Gloucester Enter 2nd Week Under Boil Water Order, August 30, 2009

Water Warnings Being Addressed, Four municipalities working on issues pointed out by Environment Department, August 29, 2009

Water utilities lack proper filters for weed-killer, August 27, 2009

Herbicide Found in Water May Pose Greater Danger, August 25, 2009

City is constantly checking to make sure Janesville water is safe, August 24, 2009

Unintended consequences of arsenic treatment, August 24, 2009

High Levels Of Estrogens Discovered In Some Industrial Wastewater, August 12, 2009

Two companies reimburse those who bought unneeded filtration equipment, July 28, 2009

Piles of junk pulled from drinking water source, July 26, 2009

Rainwater Catchment... Where every drop counts, July 15, 2009

Environmental Manganese Good in Trace Amounts But Can Correlate to Cancer Rates, July 9, 2009

Study says PFCs from water linger in blood, July 9, 2009

New statistics for POU/POE industry, July 9, 2009

Hard water reduces ‘instant’ water heater efficiency, June 26, 2009

Cancer cluster raises questions about wells, June 21, 2009

First on your menu: Treating Restaurant Water, June 2009

Convenience, taste spur bottled water purchases, June 19, 2009

Households Flushing More Organic Material Than Expected Down the Drain, June 3, 2009

‘Toxic’ drinking water spills yield fine, June 1, 2009

PET Plastic Water Bottles May Pose Health Hazard, April 28, 2009

‘Little polliwogs’ found in Conn. drinking water, April 23, 2009

What‘s In Your Water? Disinfectants Create Toxic By-products In Drinking Water, April 7, 2009

Study looks at bottled water‘s energy usage, April 2, 2009

CIA exercise turns up security concerns at N.C. water plant, April 2, 2009

Water Quality of Potential Concern in US Private Wells, March 27, 2009

Maple syrup producers look to RO, March 27, 2009

Fire-Water In 8 Ft. Lupton Homes, March 25, 2009

Leaching landfill contaminates water, March 20, 2009