Let me tell you a quick story.
In 1992, Tucson, Arizona began pumping treated water from the Colorado River through a 330-mile canal to 84,000 homes in the city. The Central Arizona Project, or the CAP water project as it is called, caused more than $2 million in damage to private residences due to rust and corrosion within common galvanized pipes in the plumbing under the streets of the city and in the houses to be released with force.
CAP water has a different mineral composition than the well water Tucson has grown accustomed to using. The “new” water from the city’s big project not only damaged infrastructure as well as homes, it “looked brown and smelt salty,” longtime residents who remembered the event said at a 2001 town meeting. It made me wonder, “What’s in the tap water?” Obviously, where it comes from makes a difference. This was evident by listening to the stories that circulated through the packed meeting room.
Being quite health conscious, I felt compelled to find the answer to my question. I consulted a variety of sources, starting with the library at the University of Arizona. I was interested, if not disgusted, to find some shocking answers. Tap water contains microorganisms, household and industrial chemicals, and even radionuclides. No wonder we refer to unfiltered water as “hard.”
In response to my findings, I began filtering the water in my house. I always had backpacking trips with the kids. Why not at home? Why would I not guarantee the purity of the tap water in my home for my family? The idea of commercially bottled water seemed like a waste with a leftover plastic bottle in my hand and then in the bin and then in the landfill. So I thought, why filter only our drinking water? We bathe and wash our clothes in this, as well as drink it. So, my quest to find the best whole house water system began.
Recent technology has made multi-stage carbon filters perfect for whole house systems. I have reviewed reverse osmosis systems, but they only remove unhealthy inorganics and healthy trace minerals that give water its good taste. Distillation filters remove things like lead and calcium, and kill bacteria. That’s great, but some harmful chemicals are left behind.
I find that multi-stage carbon filtration works best for removing harmful elements from tap water. Recent technology has made multi-stage carbon filters perfect for whole house systems. Multi-stage carbon filtration systems ensure the purity of tap water by using carbon filtration, ion exchange, and submicron filtration directly at the tap. They filter lead, chlorine, VOCs, MTBE and cysts.
These systems retain essential trace minerals in the water you drink. That means healthy drinking water, softer hair and skin, and cleaner clothes. No more “hard” water. My search ends here, but the quality of life that my family and I experience continues thanks to this type of water system.
So what’s in tap water? More importantly, what water system will you buy to ensure the purity of your home tap water for your family? The answers are clear to me. I’m sure they are clear to you too.