Safe drinking water is an essential ingredient for human health. Without access to drinking water, your body may be unable to sustain proper growth or perform its most basic internal functions. Contaminated or polluted water sources may cause poisoning or encourage the presence of preventable water-based diseases such as cholera.
The Basics
Each person on the planet requires between 20 and 50 liters of water each day for uses that include drinking, food preparation and bathing, according to the National Academy of Sciences' Global Health and Education Foundation. Each year, polluted water sickens tens of millions of people across the globe, while nearly two million people die yearly from cholera and other water-borne illnesses that cause diarrhea. While drinking water in the United States is largely free from this level of contamination, you may still encounter a number of threats to your health in water that comes from private wells or public utilities.
Water Sources
Drinking water can come from surface sources such as lakes, streams and rivers or from groundwater wells, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Roughly 66 percent of Americans drink publicly provided surface water, while 14 to 24 percent drink public groundwater. Another 10 to 20 percent drink water from private wells. You can find the source of your drinking water by calling your water supplier or reviewing your yearly water quality report. If you want to know more about the watershed that generates your water supply, you can refer to the EPA's Watershed Information Network.
EPA Standards
The EPA tracks the levels of 90 potential drinking water contaminants, including microorganisms such as Cryptosporidium and Giardia, chemical contaminants such as cadmium and arsenic, radioactive materials and disinfectants such as chlorine. While drinking water may contain trace amounts of these substances, contaminant amounts must still fall below a maximum threshold. If water suppliers do not keep their sources below maximum contamination levels, they cannot legally provide drinking water.
Private Wells
While public utilities are responsible for testing public water supplies, you must test your own water if you own or access a private well, the EPA explains. At a bare minimum, you should check annually for the presence of coliform bacteria and nitrates. You may also want to test more frequently if you live in an area with known contamination problems or check for additional substances such as pesticides or radon. You can consult your local or state health department to learn about specific contamination risks in your area.
Considerations
Children and people with compromised immune systems may have a greater susceptibility to water contaminants, even when pollution falls below legally acceptable levels, the EPA notes. Use of home treatment systems may improve water quality for these individuals. Safety standards for tap water and bottled water are the same, and you will not necessarily get a higher degree of safety from bottled water.
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