Local incidents, such as spills and treatment problems, can
lead to short-term needs for alternative water supplies or in-home
water treatment. In isolated cases, individuals have needed to rely
on alternative supplies for the long term because of their individual
health needs or problems with obtaining new drinking water supplies.
Local water suppliers are required to notify you if there is a
problem with your drinking water. In addition, if you suspect a
problem, you can hire a laboratory to analyze your drinking water.
Are Alternative Water Supplies Available?
What About Bottled Water?
Yes, alternative sources of water are available. Bottled water
is sold in supermarkets and convenience stores. Some companies lease
or sell water dispensers or bubblers and regularly deliver large
bottles of water to homes and businesses. Bottled water is very
expensive compared to water from a public water system. Bottled
water quality varies among brands, because of variations in the
source water used, costs, and company practices.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates bottled water
used for drinking. FDA imposes quality standards that are equivalent
to EPA's drinking water standards. Source water and product water
must be periodically sampled and analyzed for compliance with quality
standards for microbiological contaminants, radionuclides, organics
and inorganics. FDA has adopted regulations to ensure fair labeling
practices. These include standard definitions for sources such as
mineral water, artesian water, ground water, and distilled water.
Requirements are also established for the nutritional content of
bottled water, as part of normal food labeling regulations. As an
additional safeguard, FDA recommends that bottled water be handled
like other food products and refrigerated after opening.
Can I Do Anything In My House To Improve
The Safety Of My Drinking Water?
You can choose to install a home water treatment device to add
a factor of safety, or to address concerns about the taste of your
water. Point-of-use (POU) systems treat water at a single tap. Point-of-entry
(POE) systems treat water used throughout a house. POU systems can
be installed in various places in the home, including on the counter
top, at the faucet itself, or under the sink. POE systems are installed
where the water line enters the house.
POU and POE devices are based on various contaminant removal technologies.
Filtration, ion exchange, reverse osmosis, and distillation are
some of the treatment methods used. All types of units are generally
available from retailers, or by mail order. Prices can range well
into the hundreds of dollars. Depending on the method and location
of installation, plumbing changes can also add to costs.
Home filtration units use activated carbon filters, which adsorb
organic contaminants and constituents that cause taste and odor
problems. Depending on their design, some units can remove chlorination
by-products, some cleaning solvents, and pesticides. To maintain
the effectiveness of these units, the carbon canisters must be replaced
periodically. Activated carbon filters are not efficient in removing
metals such as lead and copper.
Because ion exchange units can be used to remove minerals from
your water, particularly calcium and magnesium, they are sold for
water softening. Some ion exchange softening units remove radium
and barium from water. Ion exchange systems that employ activated
alumina are used to remove fluoride and arsenate from water. These
units must be regenerated periodically with salt.
Reverse osmosis treatment units generally remove a more diverse
list of contaminants than other systems. They can remove nitrates,
sodium, other dissolved inorganics, and organic compounds.
Distillation units boil water and condense the resulting steam
to create distilled water. Depending on their design, some of these
units may allow vaporized organic contaminants to condense back
into the product water, thus minimizing the removal of organics.
You may choose to boil your water to remove microbial contaminants.
Keep in mind that boiling reduces the volume of water by about 20
percent, thus concentrating other contaminants not affected by the
temperature of boiling water, such as nitrates and pesticides.
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Maintaining Treatment Devices
All POU and POE treatment units need maintenance to operate
effectively. If they are not maintained properly, contaminants
may accumulate in the units and actually make your water
worse. In addition, some vendors may make claims about their
effectiveness that have no merit. Units should be tested
for conformance with standards of the National Sanitation
Foundation (NSF) or the Water Quality Association. EPA does
not test or certify these treatment units.
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Where Can I Learn About the Effectiveness
Of These Devices?
Your local library has articles, such as those found in consumer
magazines, on the effectiveness and cost of these devices.
Copies of a booklet Drinking Water: Inadequate Regulation of Home
Treatment Units Leaves Consumers at Risk (December 1991) are available
from the U.S. General Accounting Office, P.O. Box 6015, Gaithersburg,
MD 20884-6015 (phone: (202) 512-6000).
Organizations you can contact for more information on home treatment
units are:
The National Sanitation Foundation
3475 Plymouth Road
P.O. Box 1468
Ann Arbor, MI 48106
(877) 867-3435
web: http://www.nsf.org 
The Water Quality Association
Consumer Affairs Department
P.O. Box 606
Lisle, IL 60532
(800) 749-0234
web: http://www.wqa.org
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