Water Filtration And Treatment

Municipal tap water is treated to keep certain contaminants within EPA regulations and chlorine and/or chloramine are added to kill bacteria and prevent waterborne disease. However, only 91 contaminants out of the estimated 80,000 are actually regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act (source: The President’s Cancer Panel annual report). Furthermore, chlorine and chloramine (a combination of chlorine and ammonia) are classified carcinogens and known irritants to soft tissues and mucous membranes, exacerbating asthma and allergy symptoms, eczema, red itchy eyes, and gastrointestinal disorders like Crohn’s and colitis. Chlorine will dissipate from a glass of tap water in about 30 minutes if left out, but chloramine will not dissipate. When we use unfiltered tap water to drink, cook, bathe, or shower, it contains (at minimum) chlorine and/or chloramine, as well as their byproducts and VOCs. Other concerns include fuels, pesticides, pharmaceutical residues, and more that are not regulated and that municipal treatment plants are not designed to remove.