The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.
How Safe Is Your Tap Water?
In both developed and developing countries, many people do not have reliable access to safe drinking water. For example, about 13% to 15% of Americans still rely on water from private wells. This means more than 50 million Americans are living on water that doesn’t meet the standards expected by the Safe Drinking Water Act. In many developing countries, reliable water sources are hard to find, even in critical places like healthcare facilities where clean water is of utmost importance. This is especially true in the least developed nations, where 22% of the healthcare facilities lack water services.
In 2019, the Guardian and Consumer Reports conducted a nine-month investigation that found “alarming levels of chemicals such as lead and arsenic” in tap water across the U.S. Other media reports referenced studies that question whether permitted elements in tap water such as fluoride could be harmful to specific groups of people. This raises legitimate questions, such as:
How safe is tap water?
Should I trust the authorities when they tell me that the water coming from the tap is safe?
Can I do anything to protect myself from contaminated water?
