Drinking Water Pollution
...The Question of Contaminants

I grew up in the Congo, in Africa, where we were told never to drink water unless you first boiled it. So for me, now living in the United States, tap water is wonderfully clean. However, using a western standard for defining "pure" and the possibility of filters that can give you a wonderful quality of purity, I believe it is worth it for my health to be drinking the best water possible. A few quotes from authorities will help put the true state of our water's purity in perspective.

Or look at this quote on drinking water pollution: "Remember -- a glass of tap water here and there will probably not harm you...It is the cumulative effect of drinking tap water over your lifetime that will cause potential irreparable harm to your bladder, kidneys, reproductive organs and heart."

For a full treatment of contaminants I will send you elsewhere on my site. My purpose here is to help you think through your general approach to drinking water pollution and it's impact on the way you evaluate and compare filters. I will also suggest resources for finding out more specifically what are the contaminants in your own tap water.

Develop Your Own Philosophy of Drinking Water

The first approach says, "Our tap water is basically safe. All I want in a filter is something that will improve the taste or odor or color of my drinking water." If this is your approach, you will likely need a pitcher filter for one or two people in the household or a faucet filter for a larger household. Both of these solutions are relatively inexpensive.

A second class of people will say, "I want to know specifically what are the contaminants I need to be concerned about or I already know I am concerned about this, this, and this contaminant." If this is your approach to drinking water pollution, you will do research to identify the contaminants which exceed the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) standard or you might run water tests of your own and identify other pollutants of concern. Then you will look for a filter that removes these specific contaminants.

A third group of people say, "I want a filter that removes 99.9% of as many contaminants as possible. In this way I know that I am covered for anything that comes down the pipe!" If this is your approach, you are looking for a filter that will filter down to 0.5 microns and is certified to remove the widest range of all contaminants possible. For you, cost is secondary; safety and "peace of mind" are primary.

Resources for Analyzing Your Water

2. For information on EPA drinking water standards go to their website Remember that the EPA standards are not necessarily standards that are best for your health but standards that are acceptable and financially feasible for water systems to provide.

3. For information on local water systems go to the EPA Website. Click on your state and find information on your municipality.

4. For a self-test kit go to this site which offers a self-test kit. Such self-test kits test for a limited number of contaminants.

5. To find a certified lab in your area go to another section of the EPA Site. Lab testing can be quite costly depending on how many contaminants and which ones you are testing for.

How to Find the Right Filter for You?

If you are looking for cosmetic improvements such as good taste, color or odor, a good pitcher filter or faucet filter is what you are looking for.

If you are looking to remove specific contaminants, list them and then look at the filters that are certified to remove those particular contaminants.

If you are looking for a filter that will remove the most contaminants possible, go to our section on "best filters" where we give you more detailed information on some of the best filters available.

For additional information on drinking water pollution and other criteria for evaluating water filters go to our discussion of "How to Choose a Water Filter"