Water is one of the most essential ingredients for life as we know it; human beings are over 90% water ourselves. Unfortunately a vast majority of all water on Earth is unsuitable for human consumption due to a high concentration of salt, chemical contamination, or potential parasites that can harbor serious illnesses. As a result, over 90% of our nation’s water supply comes from fresh water aquifers underneath the earth’s surface. While most people assume this water is safe for consumption, in actuality there may be contaminates and chemicals in your household water supply that could potentially make your family sick.
Compromised Water Sources
Unsuitable drinking water is responsible for around 3.1% of all deaths throughout the world; in most of these communities there is a serious lack of adequate water sanitation infrastructure. There are an estimated 2.5 billion people in the world that live without modern sanitation with 1.8 billion of those people currently living in Asia. Even in our own nation a recent survey found that only 28% of all streams in the United States have healthy biological communities. Even local water treatment plants cannot remove all the contaminates from the public water supply and in fact add in fluoride and even chlorine into the water to make it sanitary.
Cleaner Water
The recent water crisis suffered by the town of Flint, Michigan that found an abundance of lead in the town’s water supply after sourcing their water from the Flint River has raised the public’s awareness on the dangers of water contamination. Experts suggest installing whole home water filtration systems for cleaner, healthier water. Most of these systems include a multi-step filtration process that can include a charcoal filter and reverse osmosis filtration system. Many people also choose to install a water softener as dishwashers and washing machines that use hard water have been found to have significantly shorter service lives. Although water filtration systems are able to purify water they may not be able to keep the water ionically pure.
The Science Behind Water Quality Analysis
There are a number of fresh water test kits that can measure the pH level of your drinking water; the pH is connected to the water’s conductivity which is measured in water resistivity units. Water with low water resistivity units may have an abundance of salt and other particulates; this can help to throw off the body’s natural pH being neutral at around 7 — granted, blood is slightly alkaline and stomach bile is naturally acidic. When gauging the water resistivity units in one’s tap water keep in mind that the instrumentation must be compensated to 25 degrees Celsius as temperature can significantly affect resistivity. Ultrapure water is not a good conductor of electricity and thus has a high resistivity measurement. For those looking to have the freshest and most pure water for their home, consider investing in a whole home filtration system and a water resistivity meter to always know what is in your drinking water.
