August is National Water Quality Month
As you may know, August is National Water Quality Month. National Water Quality Month was founded years ago to educate consumers about the importance of clean water. Water, especially PURE water, is so important not only to our wellbeing but our very existence! We should celebrate every time we take a swallow of this most precious liquid because it shapes the world in which we live in almost every possible way. The purer the water, the better your life!
Pure water IS life! What are scientists searching for when they look to outer space for a potential planet for humanity. You’ve guessed it. WATER! We need water to support life. Thank goodness it is recyclable and is sufficient for our current needs, thanks to municipal water treatment and point of use water purification systems such as distillation. Hopefully, as the population of our planet grows, we will continue to have enough water for all our needs.
So, as we consider our water supplies, now and in the future, we should remember to do what we can to conserve water in quantity and preserve its purity. For example, when using household chemicals in our everyday lives, such as personal care products, we should take care not to waste them and dispose of them properly. These products include all of our household cleaners and prescription drugs, as well as chemicals for our lawns and gardens, and paints and finishes. Always read and follow the instructions for safe use and disposal. Proper disposal is for your safety and safety of animals and plants nearby.
We also need to consider the long-term security of the water we consume and use for other purposes. Remember, water is both unique and indispensable, and since we all live downhill from each other, we must do all we can to prevent water contamination. Owners of such businesses must be cautious and consider the impact of their day-to-day operations on the environment around them as well.
The question remains, however, who can you depend on to ensure that the water you and your family drinks is safe? The answer is YOURSELF. While governmental agencies set up minimum standards for some of the most common substances present in our public water supply, these standards only apply to about half the people in the United States and, unfortunately, are poorly enforced. We must assume the safety of our water as a personal responsibility.
So, where do you start? Well, using our senses of smell and taste certainly is not enough to ensure even minimum safety. So let’s start with a very simple household water test that helps to rule out most of the inorganic contaminants. It is a TDS (total dissolved solids) test. The basis for this simple test is that inorganic solids, such as metals, acids, and salts, conduct an electrical current. Tap water will sometimes measure very high in these total-dissolved-solids, telling us that there are contaminants such as arsenic, lead, nitrates, or hardness minerals present in the water. Even though is this is a big step in the right direction; it should not be considered a complete water safety test. Why? First of all, there is no such “complete” test available – we can only guess at the contaminants present in water and test for those. Secondly, this does not differentiate the inorganic contaminants and does not detect the presence of organic chemicals such as solvents and pesticides, or biological contaminants such as bacteria, cysts, and viruses. For complete water testing, one needs further testing, preferably by an EPA certified laboratory.
https://watercheck.com (800) 458-3330) is one such lab, offering some fairly basic to more complex testing for tap or well water, and you can accomplish that testing on your own. Again, we can never be sure what’s in a water source at any given time. That’s why distillation is so important. This process removes the broadest range of contaminants possible. Here at AquaNui, we’ve had 3rd party lab tests conducted on our distillation systems and the results have been outstanding.
Please contact us for more information about distillation or the AquaNui line of water distillers.
Eldon C. Muehling, known as “Dr. Water” is the go-to guy for science questions about water and the author of “Pure Water for Better Living.”
