| You have probably heard of the statistic that | | | | it makes sense to treat any water used within a |
| recommends that for optimum health, an individual | | | | home as drinking water. |
| should drink between five and eight large glasses of | | | | The problem with receiving your water treated |
| water a day. At first blush this seems like a fairly | | | | directly and solely by local operations is that you |
| obvious proposition; after all, we use water to | | | | really don't know if there is a problem until it is too |
| replenish our bodies and to flush out any impurities | | | | late. The water is consumed, and the bacteria or |
| we may have. | | | | chemicals within the water are already at work by |
| But what if the impurities are actually found in your | | | | the time everyone realizes that something is amiss; |
| drinking water? Canadians don't have to look very far | | | | this is exactly what happened in Walkerton. |
| back to remember the latest drinking water crisis, | | | | The way to ensure that your drinking water is safe |
| when the town of Walkerton, Ontario experienced | | | | for you and your family is by taking control of the |
| an epidemic of E. Coli that resulted in thousands of | | | | situation yourself. Not only should you install |
| people sick and seven dead. | | | | reasonable home measures for your own drinking |
| While the Walkerton example is an extreme one, it | | | | water, as a concerned citizen you should do all in |
| does illustrate the importance of knowing exactly | | | | your power to ensure that industries within your area |
| how your drinking water is being treated. City | | | | are treating their used water in the most effective |
| treatment plants can be highly efficient, but they are | | | | manner possible. |
| as susceptible to failure as anything else. In addition, | | | | For the individual, this will usually mean applying |
| remember that treatment plants don't just operate | | | | methods such as filters and even on occasion |
| to make water for drinking; most water that goes | | | | chemical treatments, to ensure that purities of all size |
| through them is used for bathing, watering lawns, | | | | are removed from drinking water prior to |
| sewer systems, and so on. | | | | consumption. Don't rely solely on the methods used |
| Still, that does not change the fact that most of the | | | | by municipal organizations to get clean drinking water |
| water that runs into our homes does have the | | | | into your home; some initiative could mean all the |
| potential to be sampled by some member of the | | | | difference to your health. For your boiler, cooling and |
| family. If you have little kids, for example, you know | | | | wastewater systems, a water treatment chemical |
| that despite your best efforts, sometimes bath | | | | supplier ensures that your manufacturing and |
| water is going to end up in their system. Therefore, | | | | environmental issues are managed. |