I've been in the water business for 7 years now, and it's not uncommon to see these opinions. So this is gonna be a long post, but it's something that affects everyone you know, including your chams
The most dangerous thing about tap water is the delusion that people have about its quality - they think it's safe, but that opinion is based on nothing, or on the fact that the city you live in is NOT required to tell you what is in your water. They're only required to alert you about E.coli, Cryptosporidium, Giardia, etc.
The US has more regulations than Canada, but that doesn't mean much. Last year there were over
200,000 violations to the Safe Driking Water Act.
The worst part is that the smaller the community, the stronger the belief their water is good. Truth is, the smaller the community, the less protected they are.
I have several reports from cities in my region here in British Columbia, which is a place on Earth believed to contain some of the purest water.
The Uranium content is often 30x - 300x higher than the government set acceptable levels.
Mercury is often double to quadruple.
All Volatile Organic Compounds are at maximum level or double.
Lead is often double to triple.
Unfortunately, the municipalities are ONLY required to alert the public if there is anything 'living' in the water. They are NOT responsible for any other carcinogens, chemicals, or naturally occurring contaminants.
Passed by Congress in 1974, and amended in both 1986 and 1996, the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Act was intended to ensure safe public drinking water.
It’s been documented that each year there are over 200,000 violations to the Safe Drinking Water Act – involving over 20 percent of water treatment facilities.
However, I have no information that your particular water treatment facility had violations.
EPA standards are based on a 175 lb. male drinking water with only one chemical present.
It’s scientifically recognized that if 2 or more chemicals exist at the same time in your tap water, the synergistic toxicity of those two chemicals greatly magnifies the negative effects.
Imagine what happens when you have 6 or 7 chemicals in your water...
If you're interested in your city's own report, go to city hall or your public works department, or the treatment facility itself. Often they will lie to you, or offer to write down what's in the water. Be firm and ask for the official report. I have really had to push in each city to get the official report (which is allegedly public information). They really don't want you to know what is in your water.
Here is a complete list of contaminants found in my city, the * beside the name means it was over the federal set maximum level. Often, they are between 20x and 400x higher. This report is dated January 7th, 2011
Bromide
Chloride*
Fluoride
Nitrate*
Nitrite*
Nitrogen*
Sulfate*
Aluminum*
Arsenic*
Barium*
Calcium*
Chromium*
Cobalt
Copper*
Iron*
Lead*
Lithium*
Magnesium*
Manganese*
Mercury*
Nickel*
Phosphorus
Potassium*
Selenium
Silicon*
Silver
Sodium*
Strontium*
Tellurium
Thallium
Thorium
Tin
Titanium
Uranium*
Zinc*
Zirconium
Trace amounts of 150 known chemicals, including DDT which has been banned here since the early 1970s, and Atrizine, banned in the EU. A lot of these chemicals come over here from India, Thailand, China, etc. Toxaphene levels in the livers of freshwater cod found here in BC have been over 600 ppb, and the amount considered safe by our federal government is maximum of 6.2 ppb.
Volatile Organic Compounds (Note: they are all, always above the limits set)
Bromodichloromethane*
Chloroform*
Trihalomethane*
------------------------My question then becomes...If the mineral supplement you used for your chameleon contained any of those on the ingredients list, would you dust your crickets with it??? What if many of them were 20x higher than what was safe for a human?
I could go on for days about water quality, but the bottom line is that I've seen the tests, and worked with the communities affected by poor quality tap water, and poor quality filtration.
It's my job to be a little bit in your face about it, but you're wrong if you think your tap water is good, and that your Brita filter is doing the job you think it is.
Brita filters are only rated to get rid of larger particles that cause discoloring/turbidity, and chlorine. Reverse Osmosis is rated to get 93-99% of EVERYTHING out, and if you buy an RO filter, make sure it's been tested and certified by NSF and the Water Quality Association.
All other filters should be considered JUNK.
Sorry for the long post, but it's a serious problem. The EPA has information out on the cancer rates associated with chlorine and chlorine byproducts.
93% increase risk of cancer (of any type)
Chlorine byproducts have been found to be a huge cause of breast cancer (1992 study)
Responsible for over 50,000 bladder cancers
Responsible for over 40,000 rectal cancers
New studies are being done linking chlorine in the shower to skin cancer and lung cancer. IMO more skin cancer is caused by chlorine compounds than the Sun.
Increased risk of leukemia in children.
As far as bottled water, I've tested over 40 brands, and they were ALL terrible, except for Aquafina, which did contain some contaminants but only between 5-20, most likely from the plastic itself.
You can't properly digest the minerals in water, as they are unlike the minerals in plants - causing kidney stones, arthritis, and atherosclerosis (hardening of arteries due to build up of the inorganic calciums). It's similar to our chameleons and different sources of vitamin A. They are both vitamin A, but have different properties and effects.
Water quality is progressively getting WORSE. My city spent $63Million on a new treatment system for a population of 80k people, and the chemical levels in the treated water have made it more dangerous than it was before. There are more rates of breast cancers, leukemia in kids, colon cancers, etc. It just LOOKS cleaner. We also add $342,000 worth of aluminum sulphate to our water, and that has resulted in one of the highest rates of dementia, Alzheimers, and Lou Gherig's disease in the area.
The list of contaminants above was from this city, after our state-of-the-art treatment facility.
I always meet people who think their water is good and say they've had no problems with it, only later to find they or their loved ones suffer from some disease that has been linked to water contaminants.
The water you drink and cook with is too important to leave to a bunch of politicians and city workers.
YOU are the only person responsible for the quality of your water.