Am I Drinking Contaminated Water?

Nearly half of all U.S. faucets contain deadly chemicals. In the United States alone, over 7 million people contract waterborne illnesses every year. On a larger scale, over 2 billion people worldwide do not have access to safe water, while 4 billion people face water scarcity annually! In honor of Michigan's Drinking Water Week, I wanted to dive into why contaminated drinking water is such a pervasive issue.

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There are two major contributing factors to contaminated drinking water. First is scarcity: only 3 percent of water on Earth is freshwater, and half of that is tied up in glaciers or is too deep underground to access. Coupled with climate change, megadroughts, and wasteful practices, there is even less potable water present. The other main factor? Pollution. After storms, contaminated runoff from industrial plants, farms, or septic systems can enter surface waters, or they can overwhelm water treatment facilities and make water unsafe for consumption.

Contaminants are very prevalent-- even if the treatment plants are working fine, the service lines and home plumbing itself can contain lead or other heavy metals. Older homes, especially those built before 1978, are far more likely to have lead present in plumbing fixtures, paints, soil, and dust than new residences. During the Flint water crisis, many people turned to bottled water to stay safe. But even that is risky: a liter of water in a plastic bottle contains an average of 240,000 plastic fragments. And if heavy metals and microplastics weren’t enough to fret over, tap water frequently exposes people to PFAS, or forever chemicals.

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There are ways to protect yourself: if you are unsure about the quality of your drinking water, reach out to your local water utility or conduct EPA-developed tests. Boiling water can reduce up to 90% of microplastics, and using cold water can mitigate the amount of dissolved lead. Buying a water filter that specifically removes lead, PFAS, and other toxins can go a long way towards improving water quality. Many libraries, schools, and gyms also have filtration stations handy. Moreover, funds have been allocated to cities to so they can replace lead service lines and improve their stormwater infrastructure.

At its core, the water crisis is an issue made worse by industrial activities and pollution. But we can all work towards mitigating these problems by preventing pollution, decreasing our water usage, and by promoting sustainable habits, such as using reusable water containers rather than disposable plastic. For further reading on this topic, reference the hyperlinked articles!