Be on the lookout for these common water contaminants

drinking water system or a water filter to maintain high-quality drinking water could be at risk of common water contaminants. Drinking water contamination doesn’t happen to everyone and it doesn’t always happen in the same places. With so many variables and causes for drinking water contamination, the only true and consistent way to protect your water is with a water filter. Unfiltered drinking water could be more dangerous than you thought. Traces of 18 unregulated chemicals were found in drinking water from more than one-third of U.S. water utilities in a nationwide sampling, according to new unpublished research by federal scientists. Included are 11 perfluorinated compounds, an herbicide, two solvents, caffeine, an antibacterial compound, a metal and an antidepressant. Yuck!

Twenty-one contaminants were detected – mostly in low concentrations of parts per trillion – in treated drinking water from at least nine of the utilities. Eighteen of the chemicals are not regulated under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act so utilities do not have to meet any limit or even monitor for them. But what are the most common drinking water contaminants we can all look out for? What contaminants can our drinking water filters remove? According to most sources, here are the most common drinking water contaminants and we also included their threats to our health:

• Nitrates are chemicals found in most fertilizers, manure, and liquid waste discharged from septic tanks. Natural bacteria in soil can also convert nitrogen into nitrate. Rain or irrigation water can carry nitrates through the soil into groundwater. They are quite dangerous to infants and pregnant women. Nitrates impair the ability of red blood cells to carry oxygen. Infants are mostly at risk for a serious health condition called methemoglobinemia or “blue-baby syndrome.” Our LINX drinking water system is especially effective at removing nitrates to non-detect levels.
• Arsenic is also a common contaminant that comes from certain rock formations. Groundwater then flows through these rock formations and can dissolve the arsenic and carry it into underground aquifers, streams, or rivers. High levels of arsenic in water and multiple exposures over time can lead to health issues such as skin damage or problems with their circulatory system, and may have an increased risk of getting cancer.
• Bacteria, viruses, and other microbes and chemicals are drinking water contaminants that can rapidly cause widespread and serious illnesses. Many microbes come from human or animal wastes that wash into lakes and rivers or that rain or irrigation water carry into shallow groundwater aquifers. These contaminants can cause serious illness, and in some circumstances, death. Infants, children, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems are particularly susceptible to serious health effects from contaminants in drinking water.

Our drinking water systems are effective at removing harmful contaminants and efficient when it comes to the environment. High-quality drinking water doesn’t have to cost and arm and a leg, it only takes a phone call. Contact us today to learn more about our water filters and which of our drinking water systems would be optimal for your household.