Many of us take the safety of our tap water for granted. But what’s really flowing from our faucets? Hardly a month goes by without a news report somewhere detailing how bacteria, pharmaceutical residues such as antibiotics and hormones, nitrates, toxic metals and other contaminants can be found in tap water.
Are Public water management authorities doing a good job of treating water destined for residential or commercial kitchens? Most use chlorine or similar chemicals to disinfect water of bacteria and parasites – and chlorine not only tastes bad, but is also poisonous in large amounts.
Germs are not the only problem. Lots of other nasty stuff can get into the water during its journey from the municipal works to the tap. WHO says just one-third of the world’s fresh water can be used for human needs due to ‘increased pollution from municipal and industrial waste and the leaching of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture’.
Aging municipal water pipes are a serious issue. In Malaysia , as much as 70 percent of pipes in systems that deliver water to over 100,000 people are between 40 to 80 years old, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). And about 10 percent are even older.
The U.S. Water Quality Association (WQA) says ‘water that leaves the treatment facility can become contaminated by the time it shows up at your tap’. The WQA view is supported by Consumer Reports that says ‘dangerous contaminants such as lead, chloroform, arsenic, nitrate, nitrite, radon, and E. coli bacteria are common in tap water’.
Most of the world’s municipal water treatment plants are simply not geared to remove all chemical and pharmaceutical residues. But ordinary citizens can help protect themselves – by using Kent's innovative reverse osmosis technologies.
Kent turns tap water into healthier, better tasting drinking water by removing
Toxins
Pesticides and insecticides are leeched into our water environments despite the best efforts of the agriculture industry, which uses over 70 percent of all the fresh water on the planet
Bacteria & Viruses
WHO says 1.6 million people die every year from diarrhea-related diseases caused by drinking unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation giving free reign to hazardous microbes and bacteria
Toxic Metals
Lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic accumulate in ground water and our bodies, with potentially fatal consequences. Nitrite exposure (usually found where water has been polluted by fertilizers) can cause blue baby syndrome in infants, which may spark heart problems leading to death
Smells
Organic or non-organic compounds can cause unpleasant tasting water.