The water coming through our faucets might appear clean, but it can often be contaminated with several pollutants and harmful organisms.
While these contaminants may not always cause immediate health issues, they could lead to health problems.
Chronic exposure to some contaminants may result in cancer, heart disease, and other health issues.
So how can we protect ourselves from drinking contaminated water?
We’ll go over some of the most common types of contaminants found in tap water and how to filter them out so you no longer have to worry about your family’s safety!
1. Look for Symptoms of Water Contamination
It is important to look for symptoms of water contamination to avoid severe health issues.
If you are not sure about whether your water supply source is contaminated or not, here are some symptoms that you can look out for:
- odors in the air
- loose stools
- diarrhea
- nausea or vomiting
2. Collect Samples from Your Water Supply Source
Once you have collected the samples, here are some things to look for:
- The color of your sample. Depending on the source of contamination, water will take on a different color. For example, if there is iron in it, it can turn red or orange-ish; if there are algae in your water supply and they have bloomed over time, then your water may be greenish; if there is manganese in your system (which is not uncommon), then that can lead to black streaks or spots. If any color other than clear comes out of the tap, let it sit overnight so that any sediment at the bottom can settle down and be filtered out by gravity alone. Then pour off the clear water that is at the top into another container leaving behind the sediments and other waste in the existing container.
- The odor and taste of your sample will also indicate certain contaminants such as chlorine or saltiness/sulfur smells/tastes. These indicate potential contaminants like sewage effluents leaching into groundwater supplies via faulty pipes or septic systems wastewater infiltration issues nearby yours.
3. Acquaint Yourself with the Kinds of Water Contaminants
The primary water contaminants include:
- Bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Most of these are killed by boiling, but they may also be present in untreated water. A good way to get rid of them is to let the water sit out overnight and boil it the next day.
- Heavy metals, salts, and toxic chemicals occur naturally in some areas or are added during industrial processes like mining or manufacturing. These can cause serious health problems if you drink them regularly over time. Your body doesn’t eliminate these substances as fast as it does with other types of pollution (for example, heavy metals like Arsenic build up over time resulting in Arsenic poisoning). Symptoms might include stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc. It’s best not to consume any water at all if you suspect this type of contamination. But if there isn’t an alternative, adding bleach before drinking can help reduce its negative effects on your body.
The pathogenic microorganisms are generally destroyed by boiling them for at least five minutes.
However, this process has been known not to work effectively against Cryptosporidium oocysts found in some surface waters such as lakes/rivers/streams/ponds.
It may cause gastrointestinal disease, especially among children under five years.
4. Install a Water-Filtering System
One of the best ways to avoid water contamination is to install a water-filtering system.
These filters are very cheap and easy to install and can be installed at any point in the water system.
They come in different forms, including faucet-mounted, pitcher, whole house, or under the sink with a reverse osmosis filter.
You can install filters right at the source of your supply before entering your home or apartment building and sometimes even at points where there will be multiple uses for drinking, washing dishes, and doing laundry.
5. Look for Local Laws and Regulations in Your Area on Water Testing and Filtering
It’s important to know that certain local governments have laws and regulations on water testing, filtration, usage, storage, handling, and disposal.
The health department maintains a list of these regulations and any other information you may need about water safety in your area.
If you believe that your drinking water is contaminated or have been sickened by contaminated water, contact the health department or call them first (so they can start an investigation).
Let them know about your concerns and what happened. In some cases, depending on the severity of the issue (and if it involves more than one person), there may be a legal obligation to report it immediately.
You should be aware of the local lawsuits that compensate for your health issues that might have caused due to air or water contamination.
One good example of this is the Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Lawsuit.
This lawsuit gives the residents of Camp Lejeune the right to get claims for health issues because of the contaminated water they consumed in the area.
Likewise, you must also be aware of legal suits that give you certain rights to claim health benefits if you fall ill because of water, air, or sound pollution in your area.
6. Observe Proper Water Usage, Storage, Handling, and Disposal
You should not eat, drink or cook with any water that has been contaminated. You should also avoid using it to wash your hands and body, brush your teeth and wash dishes.
As well as being dangerous to drink, contaminated water can cause many more problems, including digestive issues such as diarrhea or vomiting.
If you feel unwell after drinking the contaminated water, please see a doctor immediately for treatment.
You Can Avoid Health Issues by Taking Preventive Measures
Water contamination is a serious health issue. It can lead to death, severe health issues, serious health issues, and minor health issues.
In addition, contaminated water can cause several problems for you and your family, including gastrointestinal illness or diarrhea, skin rashes, kidney failure, liver damage, and cancer.
To avoid these problems, you must take the proper precautions when dealing with contaminated water sources in your area. Here are some tips on how to stay safe:
- Don’t drink from rivers or streams until they have been tested by local authorities (or use an alternative source such as bottled water)
- Avoid swimming in lakes or oceans during times when there has been flooding. It will increase the risk of ingesting potentially harmful bacteria from stagnant waters – instead, opt for pools where chlorine levels will kill any potential contaminants before they reach you.
Conclusion
The best way to avoid water contamination is to prevent it from happening.
You can avoid water contamination by avoiding the use of chemicals, not dumping oils and chemicals into the sewer system, and keeping your lawns free from pesticides.
Also, be sure to dispose of all trash properly so it does not end up in our oceans or other bodies of water where they can cause harm and kill marine life.
If we keep these things out of our water supply, we will have fewer issues with diseases such as cholera.
Diseases like cholera affect over one million people worldwide due to contaminated drinking sources such as rivers, lakes, or wells.