Tap water versus spring water

[Iluvmycam]

https://danielteolijr.wordpress.com/2015/05/06/tap-water-versus-spring-water/

[Jimbo57]

Happily, my tap water comes from a spring in the mountains, so I don't need to make a choice.

I am really appalled that the writer of the blog says his tap water comes from a river. Surely that is not common (other than, perhaps, in the Third World).

[DeanChriss]

65% of the drinking water in the United States comes from rivers and streams.

[Edit]http://www.americanrivers.org/rivers/about/where-does-my-water-come-from/

[PeterAit]

I am really appalled that the writer of the blog says his tap water comes from a river. Surely that is not common (other than, perhaps, in the Third World).

Well, not directly from a river, certainly!

[Jeremy Roussak]

65% of the drinking water in the United States comes from rivers and streams.

[Edit]http://www.americanrivers.org/rivers/about/where-does-my-water-come-from/

And, as the article makes clear, it's treated first:

Once a community system pulls water from a river (and in some cases a well), the water is treated to federal and state required purity levels before being pumped and piped to our houses as clean drinking water. - See more at: http://www.americanrivers.org/rivers/about/where-does-my-water-come-from/#sthash.m88Okixa.dpuf

It's more surprising that Daniel appears to believe he lives in a country in which raw sewage is discharged into his local river. I think the plan set out in his last sentence is probably wise.

Jeremy

[BobShaw]

Most water (1st world countries) comes from a river. 3rd world countries often dream of that.
Most sewerage goes into a river.
There is usually a town upstream from your town. I used to live in a town where the water inlet was about 50m downstream of the town above's outlet.


Obviously the water is "purified" (chlorine added).
Obviously the sewerage is treated (broken up and skimmed).

Unfortunately during say a flood or power failure that stops.
The best water we ever had was desalinated sea water. Unfortunately the NSW government decided it was too expensive and it had rained for a while so they stopped using it.
How good your tap water is can vary quite a lot on where the tap is.

[amolitor]

It is perfectly possible to treat raw sewage to perfectly clean water plus sludge.

In the USA the standards for what gets discharged into rivers, lakes, etc is very high. Accidents occur, as noted, but that is inevitable, a result of having a large number of human designed systems operated by humans, not a sign of evil.

Drinking water in the USA is also closely regulated and monitored.

Daniel's residue is more likely to originate from the pipes in his house than it is from the municipal supply.

[NancyP]

There's a filter for that!

Seriously, I have a Sawyer filter that I use camping, but I also have the tubing and instructions for making a 5 gallon drip filter set-up for bulk non-purified water.

[Jeremy Roussak]

It is perfectly possible to treat raw sewage to perfectly clean water plus sludge.

http://dilbert.com/strip/2012-11-08

Jeremy

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

If there is a clean water museum somewhere, I am sure they already have those two fine photographs in their esteemed collection.

[BobShaw]

I wasn't saying that there is anything necessarily wrong with tap water. I use it. Just noting where it came from.
Standards are fairly high, if they are adhered to.

It is not difficult to make water drinkable. In water projects in third world countries they just filter through sand and then a micro filter cartridge.
Also drinkable isn't necessarily "nice", just safe.

[Iluvmycam]

I have updated the results to include 1 gal of Kroger purified water (filtered tap water) that has been distilled.

https://danielteolijr.wordpress.com/2015/05/06/tap-water-versus-spring-water/

[Iluvmycam]

I wasn't saying that there is anything necessarily wrong with tap water. I use it. Just noting where it came from.
Standards are fairly high, if they are adhered to.

It is not difficult to make water drinkable. In water projects in third world countries they just filter through sand and then a micro filter cartridge.
Also drinkable isn't necessarily "nice", just safe.

I updated the site. The tap water in the tests are from the Ohio River. Not known for high quality water.