The New York Times on the Subject of Water Quality in America

A recent op-ed piece in The New York Times has received much attention, even generating letters to the editor. The subject was not international war or the Presidential race: it was water filters.

The New York Times op-ed page discussed the quality of American tap water. Overall, they point out, the quality of American water is very high. As a nation we’ve become accustomed to that. So it comes as a shock for many when they discover that in fact their local water supply is tainted and undrinkable. Part of the problem, according to the Times, is that the water distribution infrastructure – literally, the pipes – is deteriorating at an alarming rate. The op-ed piece cites a 2003 EPA study estimating that it would cost close to $280 billion to maintain America’s water distribution system at a reasonable level over the next twenty years. And that study is several years old – so the dollar amount would doubtless seem even more intimidating now!

The New York Times offers the hope that America will decide to invest in maintaining the water infrastructure to assure us of high quality water supplies for years to come. While acknowledging that the EPA requires that public systems test their water for more than 90 contaminants and make their findings public, it states that this is not enough. We agree. Bottled water companies are also required (by the FDA) to test their water supplies, but the public is even less likely to find out the results of those tests. This is unacceptable. The fact is, the average citizen has very little control over his or her water supply and its quality until the supply is already in the house.

This is why so many people resort to water filters. Experts on water quality and health will almost always advise home consumers to filter their water, especially water that’s used for cooking and drinking. Infants, the elderly, pregnant women, and those who suffer from chronic illness should also, it is advised, always consume filtered water.

Until the American consumer can be more confident of the safety of the water in home pipes, he should not take chances. We are all concerned with pesticide runoff, and the leaching into our water systems of other chemicals (subjects for another day!), but the fact is, if something as basic as piping cannot be relied upon, we must take action and install water filtering systems.

Related posts:

1. Robert Morris in the New York Times
2. What Exactly Is Water Quality?
3. How is America’s Quality of Water?
4. Tsunamis and Water Quality: Is There a Correlation?
5. Global Warming and Recreational Water Quality