Most of us don’t think about the water we drink. We turn on a tap, fill a glass, and drink. But how much water do you really need to drink every day? Is the water you're drinking safe or would bottled water be safer? What can you do if your tap water suddenly became contaminated? Read on to find out how much you know about the drinking water in your own home.
How Much Water Do You Need?
Your body weight is more than 50% water. Without water, you couldn’t maintain a normal body temperature, lubricate your joints, or get rid of waste through urination, sweat, and bowel movements.
Not getting enough water can lead to dehydration, which can cause muscle weakness and cramping, a lack of coordination, and an increased risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. In fact, water is so important that a person couldn’t last more than five days without it.
So how much water do you need? Enough to replace what you lose daily through urination, sweating, even exhaling, knowing that your need for water increases in warm or hot weather, with vigorous physical activity, such as exercise or working in the yard, during bouts of illness, especially if you have a fever, are vomiting, having diarrhea or coughing.
Health Effects of Drinking Contaminated Water
How contaminated water affects your health depends on the type of contaminants. For example: Cryptosporidium is a pathogen that sometimes gets into water supplies. It can cause a gastrointestinal disease that could be fatal.
Nitrates can contaminate water and pose an immediate threat to infants. In the intestines, nitrates are converted to nitrites, which prevent blood from transporting oxygen. An enzyme present in the system of older children restores the blood's ability to carry oxygen.
Lead can cause both physical and mental developmental problems in infants and children. Adults who have been drinking lead-tainted water for a number of years can experience kidney problems and high blood pressure.
Does boiling contaminated water make it safe to drink?
The safety of drinking a boiled contaminated water is dependent on the contaminant. Boiling water can kill germs, but things like lead, nitrates, and pesticides aren't affected. And since boiling reduces the volume of water, it increases the concentration of those contaminants.
Water Quality and Water Filters
To make their drinking water safer, some people use water filters at home. There are four main kinds:
• Activated carbon filters can remove certain organic contaminants that affect taste and odor. Some systems are also designed to remove chlorination byproducts, solvents, and pesticides, or certain metals such as copper or lead.
• Ion exchange units with activated alumina can remove minerals such as calcium and magnesium, which make water hard. This is often used in combination with another filtration method, such as carbon absorption or reverse osmosis.
• Reverse osmosis units with carbon can remove nitrates and sodium as well as pesticides and petrochemicals.
• Distillation units boil water and condense the steam, creating distilled water.
No one system will remove all water contaminants. If you do decide you want to install a system, you should have your water tested by a certified laboratory first to find out what's in your water.
No matter which water filtering system you choose, you need to maintain it; otherwise, contaminants build up in the filter and make the water quality worse than it would be without the filter.
It's important to know that a home water filter won’t protect you from water that has been declared unsafe. If that happens in your area, follow the advice of your local water authorities until the water is declared safe to drink once more.
REFERENCE:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "Basic Information about Lead in Drinking Water." Web Accessed May 2, 2015.
U.S. National Library of Medicine & NIH. MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Water in Diet.
FDA: "Regulation of Bottled Water."
New York Times: ''Rising Sales of Bottled Water Trigger Strong Reaction From U.S. Conservationists.'' By Erica Gies March 19, 2008.
Beverage Marketing Corporation: "Bottled Water Shows Strength Yet Again, New Report from Beverage Marketing Corporation Shows," April 26, 2013.
Comentarios