A survey by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found 141 unregulated chemicals and an additional 119 for which the Environmental Protection Agency has set health-based limits. Most common among the chemicals found were disinfection byproducts, nitrates, chloroform, barium, arsenic and copper. The top 10 states, listed in order of the most contaminants in their drinking water, were: California, Wisconsin, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, Texas, New York, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Illinois, according to EWG, which listed the biggest sources as agriculture, industry and urban and sprawl developments. 
The cost of treating water is high and will only increase if current policies continue. According to the EPA, the nation's water utilities will need an estimated $53 billion in investments for water treatment over the next 20 years, to meet safety standards for water polluted with the chemicals that EPA has failed to control upstream. This investment is not designed to vastly improve tap water quality — it's set to ensure that water suppliers can continue to meet current standards. And yet at current levels of contamination, the public doesn't trust the water: Americans will spend an estimated $10 billion in 2005 on bottled water, in part because of the belief that water from the tap isn't safe enough to drink. So we pay for our water twice, once at the tap and once in a bottle. We have, in essence, created a system with an economic divide, where those who can, buy bottled, and those who can't, drink it from the tap. Tap water should be safe for everyone to drink. More information on Water compliance solutions
by Erin Swanson ESwanson@enviance.com |
