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Your Drinking Water Could be Killing You

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I live in South Florida, and I recently adopted a hobby hunting alligators in Lake Okeechobee. Spending so much time there, I think about the many pollutants festering in the water, and wonder whether or not this toxic fluid could find its way into my local drinking supply — and annihilate my gator prey.

You see, back in 1980, the population of alligators in another lake — Lake Apopka — dropped dramatically in the 10 years following a chemical spill. It made me wonder about what else was in the water.

So I began researching the technology and logistics of South Florida’s water-management system. And I realized the system has a major flaw …

It centers around the lake I hunt in, Lake Okeechobee. Due to its proximity to adjacent farms, pesticide runoff has a habit of pouring into the lake. When it was dredged several years ago, arsenic and other pesticides were discovered in the mud.

And that poisoned water could find its way to us.

Decades ago, in an effort to prevent flooding in local communities and keep floodwaters from flowing south into the Everglades, the government created spillways around Lake Okeechobee to divert the excess water into coastal rivers. After all, nearly one-in-three Floridians get their drinking water from the Everglades. The flipside is that the filthy water filtering through these coastal rivers pollutes the aquatic ecosystems of river-front cities and towns, just as it did last year in my hometown of Stuart, Florida. And that became a huge controversy. Toxic algal blooms killed several types of animals as well as caused rashes, flu-like symptoms and lung infections in the local community.

It was a classic example of how government incompetence leaves us holding the bag.

The dike surrounding Lake Okeechobee in South Florida was designed to prevent flooding in local communities and protect the water in the Florida Everglades, but contaminants were inadvertently redirected into river-front cities and towns.

I wish I could say this kind of gross irresponsibility for the health of our communities is only focused in Florida, but that’s not the case. Municipalities around the country bear much of the weight in keeping our water clean, but they are woefully fighting a losing battle.

Water pollution typically begins with runoff that picks up contaminants before entering sources such as rivers, lakes and aquifers. Much of these toxic substances in the runoff come from:

  • Pesticides and fertilizers in agricultural fields.
  • Animal waste at feedlots and farms.
  • Industrial pollution from factories.
  • Spills and leaks of petroleum products and industrial chemicals.

It’s a constant battle for our water-treatment facilities fighting off these sources of toxicity. But that’s not the end of it — deteriorating pipes and plumbing fixtures are also at least partly to blame for releasing toxins into the water. So whether the struggle is with outdated infrastructure or source pollution, the result is clear: There are many modern-day contaminants in our water.

Shockingly, a study by the Natural Resources Defense Council revealed five common dangers in America’s city water: lead, pathogens, chlorine by-products, arsenic and … rocket fuel.

Arsenic, while deadly toxic, is at least understandable because it can occur naturally. But rocket fuel? Really?! The chemical is called perchlorate, and it interferes with thyroid function. The EPA first considered setting safety standards on it more than 15 years ago. At one point, they suggested one part per billion was safe — that is, one microgram of perchlorate per liter of water. During this period, government scientists estimated 16.6 million Americans were exposed to unsafe levels. But instead of reducing the threshold — that is, raising the safety standard — they suggested 15 parts per billion was a legitimate safety threshold and that official regulation would not be meaningful for public health. Finally, in 2011, they reversed that ludicrous suggestion and decided to move forward with a regulatory proposal for perchlorate.

What a joke! This is why I question government’s effectiveness.

Taken together, all the contaminants in our water can cause health problems such as brain damage in infants and children, reproductive problems, birth defects, cancer and various illnesses. In short, our precious water supply is killing us slowly.

On top of that, our water is full of drugs. Yes, drugs!

More than 10 years ago, the U.S. Geological Survey said over 80% of waterways tested in the United States showed traces of common medications including oxycodone, high-blood pressure medications and acetaminophen. A new study by the EPA tested large wastewater treatment plants around the country for 56 different drugs. Over half the samples revealed at least 25 of the drugs monitored.

I guess that shouldn’t be a surprise, since treatment plants permit up to 93% of highly concentrated active drug compounds to pass through the system.

So the question we’re left with is this: How can we make sure our water isn’t drugged or filled with rocket fuel?

How You Can Protect Yourself From Contaminants in Our Water

There is much to be done to make our water safer and healthier.

To be fair, our water treatment facilities are not completely failing us. In most cases, they don’t violate federal regulatory standards. Instead, it’s the blind trust of inadequate regulatory standards that fails us.

But let me also be clear: I’m not looking at contaminated water as a problem to be dealt with by federal government and its regulatory agencies. I don’t want to invite regulatory overkill and greater centralization of our water systems. Plus, I don’t think our agencies can be fully trusted. Frankly, I just don’t want to have to place any trust in them, especially when it regards matters of my and my family’s health and well-being.

So here’s what you can do: Take matters into your own hands and clean your water yourself.

Whatever the reason, our water poses an everyday health risk. If that’s not enough to provoke you, consider how easily you might be hung out to dry in an emergency such as bioterrorism or a natural disaster. Earlier this year, a chemical spill in the Elk River left as many as 300,000 West Virginians without drinking water.

Luckily, there are personal solutions to clean your water and give you peace of mind.

Your Choice: Drink Deadly Poison … or Get This Filter

The market is full of different filtration systems. But if you truly want peace of mind, you want a system that’s going to eliminate the greatest number of dangers.

You want a ceramic, carbon block filter.

A good ceramic filter with an upgraded carbon block will remove chemicals, pesticides, bacteria, fluoride, heavy metals, nitrate, nitrites and parasites. It will also remove contaminants such as chloramine, THMs (trihalomethanes) and HAAs (haloacetic acids) that other filters don’t touch.

You can find a decent selection of basic water filters at your local home or hardware store.

Those will do the job. However, I’m doing my due diligence to really find the best options out there. In the coming weeks, I’ll tell you about my findings and let you know which ones I specifically recommend, and why.

Bottom line: Accumulation of the toxins prevalent in our water could be killing us. Regulatory standards are based on tests done in isolation (and under the watchful eye of misguided bureaucrats). But the agencies really have no idea how the interaction of so many toxins might impact the human body. We’d be foolish to believe they can adequately protect us from the dangers floating in our drinking glass.

Fortunately, with an effective filtration system, you don’t have to worry about it.

To quality living,

JR Crooks
Editor, Sovereign Living

The post Your Drinking Water Could be Killing You appeared first on The Sovereign Investor.


Source: http://thesovereigninvestor.com/sovereign-living/contaminants-in-our-water-could-be-killing-you/


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