Water is one of our most valuable natural resources, but it isn’t always as pristine as we might think. When water isn’t purified, it contains certain minerals, metals, and elements that can act as contaminants. The build-up of these contaminants when consumed can lead to serious health hazards. The drinking water supply in many parts of the United States including the St. Charles and St. Louis, Missouri, areas naturally contain these contaminants. Tap and well water passes through your water system along with the mineral components in that water. To avoid consuming these components and having to deal with health problems in the future, you need to purify your water.
If this sounds alarmist, allow us to show you how drinking water that isn’t purified can affect your health.
Common contaminants contained in unpurified water
Although these contaminants are naturally contained in water, drinking them can lead to unwanted health impacts on our bodies. Here are the contaminants that you may want to avoid in your drinking water:
Lead
The Flint water crisis1 has made it clear that lead contained in drinking water has dangerous health consequences. Yet, lead is a very common component of the drinking water supply in the United States. The water infrastructure2 around the US is also old, causing an accumulation of lead that may get into your drinking water. As authorities took action to quell the crisis by banning lead-based plumbing3, there were no requirements set for existing plumbing systems to be replaced. As such, most of the water mains around the country still contain lead. The long-term health risks of lead include kidney and liver damage, blindness, behavioral problems and slowed physical and mental development. With these health hazards lurking around the corner, taking an extra step to purify your drinking water doesn’t sound so bad now, does it?
Mercury
Unpurified water also contains mercury. Mercury holds long-term health risks that include muscle weakness, loss of peripheral vision, impairment of motor functions including speech, hearing and walking, lack of coordination, and more. Mercury can impair children’s cognitive thinking, fine motor skills, memory, attention, visual-spatial skills, and more. Michigan residents have been warned against the intake of mercury released into Lake Michigan4 when they consume certain species of fish in the lake. If they can’t eat the fish, should they drink water from the lake? Purified water is a better choice.
Chromium-6
Chromium-6 has been receiving an influx of attention since the early 2000s, thanks to the movie Erin Brockovich, which specifically deals with the contamination of a town’s central water supply. Experts have found that millions of Americans are consuming this contaminant through their drinking water. The long-term risks include anemia, ulcers, reproductive damage, cancer, and kidney and liver damage. Just like those of the other contaminants, they are grievous.
Radium
Radium is released into the environment and into the water by human activities like mining uranium and burning coal. It is a silvery-white radioactive metal and occurs naturally in the environment. Wells that are dug deep enough also naturally contain high amounts of this metal5. Radium can cause anemia, cancer, cataracts, fractured teeth, and even death.
Start drinking purified water today
After all of these very real situations that are affecting Americans all over our country, simply deciding to drink purified water doesn’t seem like much of a hassle anymore, does it? By now it should be pretty clear how unpurified water can cause some serious health problems in the long run. Taking time to purify the water you consume is simply investing in your health. Let’s not wait for a terrible reason why we now need to immediately start drinking purified water, instead, let’s be smart about it and make this change because we understand how important our health is.
At Plumbing Experts STL, we help install water treatment and filtration systems in your home, ensuring that your drinking water is safe. If you have these systems in place, our professionals can conduct maintenance checks and repairs on them to ensure everything is working fine. The water treatment systems we install include water softeners, water filtration systems, and water purification systems. You can rest assured you and your family will be safe and will not have to worry about any troubling discovery authorities might make down the line regarding your town’s water supply. Contact us today to start improving your home’s filtration system. You can also call us at 636-223-5068 to schedule an appointment or ask for an estimate.
References
1 October 26, 2022, https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/casper/pdf-html/flint_water_crisis_pdf.html
2 October 26, 2022, https://nwnl.blog/2020/12/02/the-impact-of-aging-water-infrastructure/
3 October 26, 2022,
https://www.epa.gov/sdwa/use-lead-free-pipes-fittings-fixtures-solder-and-flux-drinking-water#:~:text=In%201986%20Congress%20Amended%20the,providing%20water%20for%20human%20consumption.
4 October 26, 2022
https://www.ourmidland.com/news/article/Michiganders-warned-not-to-eat-PFAS-contaminated-17154777.php
5 October 26, 2022, https://mde.maryland.gov/programs/water/water_supply/Pages/radium.aspx
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