The Real Dirt on Clean Drinking Water

Posted by Cindy Latham on Apr 3, 2012 in Green Home, Natural Nutrition


We all know water is essential to good health, but some of our drinking water may not be as healthy as we think. Over the past 50 years, thousands of chemicals have been widely used to make our lives more convenient. Unfortunately, some of these chemicals can find their way into just about anything —including our drinking water.

To help safeguard our water supply, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency established the Clean Water Act, which sets standards and testing requirements to be followed by our municipal water treatment facilities for 90 different contaminants. Unfortunately, the number of potential contaminants in our water far exceeds EPA testing protocols. In fact, a research study found more than 300 agricultural and industrial pollutants in the tap water of 45 states, and more than half of those pollutants had no drinking-water safety standards.

I went on the EPA’s website and entered my zip code into their MyEnvironment search box. To my dismay, I noted that my local municipality’s water was flagged as “impaired.” When I dug a bit deeper, I found a report suggesting my drinking water contained 26 contaminants, 2 agricultural pollutants, and 12 industrial pollutants—and 12 of the chemicals present were over the legal limit for maximum contaminant exposure. One of the chemicals present was chloroform. Long-term exposure to this toxin may cause liver, kidney, or central nervous system problems and can increase cancer risk . Urk!

Lucky for me, I take extra precautions and filter my family’s drinking water with the Shaklee Get Clean® Water system. If you want to see what this amazing water treatment system removes, just check out the WQA’s Gold Seal Certification. This is one of my favorite presents to give to the people I love because I know it is the best one on the market.