Is public drinking water safe?

[peteg59]

Wondering out loud if BLM ever tests its presumably potable water stations with any regularity?

 

[RvNaut]

Do you have reason to believe they do not?

 

[tx2sturgis]

Wondering out loud if BLM ever tests its presumably potable water stations with any regularity?

Sure..the spigots have PLENTY of pressure as anyone who cracks open the spigot lever all the way can attest!


Oh you mean is it for safe for humans to consume? Well, not this human!



Watch a line of RVers at the dump or potable water spigot sometime. Concern for the next person in line when dealing with faucets and hoses is seemingly not even on the radar.

Washing dishes and showering with that water ....I never had a problem...but I just WILL NOT drink water supplied from these public spigots. You just never know. You might go 30 years with no problems. But really, is it worth it? Especially when you get a feeling of nausea at 3 am....just what was the cause of that?

I don't want to find out later that there are toxins or live organisms in the water I've been drinking!

But there are many people who do just fine, trusting and drinking it for years. Like everything else in life, we make choices.

 

[user 22017]

People probably boil it and/or filter it.

 

[peteg59]

Not a germaphobe, but drinking municipal water almost anywhere is potentially risky business.

My concern in water testing is to see exactly what is found in the "local" water system in any town I might pass through, or stay planted in.
That knowledge or understanding of water quality becomes a factor in how long I might stay in any given locale.

Some places are so bad, showering in, or washing dishes in it are simply not safe...

 

[RvNaut]

Not a germaphobe, but drinking municipal water almost anywhere is potentially risky business.

100's of millions of people drink city water everyday. It is demonstrably safe, outside of some cities in Michigan.

 

[WanderingRose]

I have been traveling the country for 20+ years and never had any problem with municipal water.

Anywhere.

 

[Morgana]

A couple of years ago the small town I was living had some water problems -- soon fixed (the mayor's office even sent someone to test the water at my house), but it got me curious about this. Some of the things I read were, OK, not awful, but not as reassuring as I expected either.

I could swear I found a website where you could look up your local water system to see if there were known issues, but I can't find it again now. I did find this -- don't know how easy it is to use, but apparently by federal law each local water system has to provide a report on the system's water quality, and you can request a copy (see the "consumer" section of this web page: https://www.epa.gov/ccr). So if you're really curious ...

Here's a Consumer Reports article from 2021: https://www.consumerreports.org/water-quality/how-safe-is-our-drinking-water-a0101771201/

practical information from UC San Francisco on what to do if you're worried about your water: https://cchp.ucsf.edu/sites/g/files/tkssra181/f/Note-DrinkingWater.pdf

and a 2018 article from Science magazine: https://www.science.org/content/art...y-unsafe-tap-water-how-does-your-county-stack

FWIW

 

[maki2]

Yes they check it. The have to comply with the county health regulations regarding testing well water. The do have a filtration system on that well. Not the best tasting water but safe to drink.

La Posa South is within the city limits of Quartzsite.

 

[peteg59]

100's of millions of people drink city water everyday. It is demonstrably safe, outside of some cities in Michigan.

Please take a minute to read Morgana's post #24 above specifically the 2018, (recent enough in my book), article in Science Mag. regarding municipal water safety.
It might save your life!

 

[user 22017]

I could swear I found a website where you could look up your local water system to see if there were known issues, but I can't find it again now.

Try Propublica. They have a bunch of research on water quality.

 

[user 423]

Over the years and in various parts of the country I've seen local boil orders in the news fairly often. Austin had 3 in the past 4 years. It's only filtered/purified water for me.

 

[tx2sturgis]

I'm not worried too much about the municipality supplied water itself, but our aging infrastructure means that as the water stands in the pipes and then is pushed thru the pipes to the faucet, it can pick up a variety of impurities.

Then at the spigot, there can be multiple instances of inadvertent backflow and resultant impurities and etc from mishandled hoses and fittings attached and handled by others ahead of you at the public water station where RVs and bulk water containers are refilled.

Hey I eat raw sushi now and then and i've never gotten sick from it. But if I ate it ever other day, the chances of something bad happening increase by a large margin. I'm trusting everyone up the supply chain has done everything 100% safely and correctly to get that food to me unspoiled and uncontaminated.

We all make choices.

 

[Morgana]

Over the years and in various parts of the country I've seen local boil orders in the news fairly often

To play devil's advocate -- and, not completely sure I believe this, but, arguably -- if they're placing boil orders, that means they're monitoring the situation, and if they're lifting the boil orders, that means they're fixing the problems. It apparently doesn't take much to trigger a boil notice -- so it's hard to know if it's a minor technical glitch or some huge awful problem.

Filtered water has its own issues, too.

Just to get those ideas out there; not really arguing for one side or the other. I drink filtered water a lot too.

 

[JDub]

I'm not worried too much about the municipality supplied water itself, but our aging infrastructure means that as the water stands in the pipes and then is pushed thru the pipes to the faucet, it can pick up a variety of impurities.

Then at the spigot, there can be multiple instances of inadvertent backflow and resultant impurities and etc from mishandled hoses and fittings attached and handled by others ahead of you at the public water station where RVs and bulk water containers are refilled.

Hey I eat raw sushi now and then and i've never gotten sick from it. But if I ate it ever other day, the chances of something bad happening increase by a large margin. I'm trusting everyone up the supply chain has done everything 100% safely and correctly to get that food to me unspoiled and uncontaminated.

We all make choices.

Hey! I eat raw fish all the time and - honestly - I've never had a problem (but then I grew up on it). Some of the best from Take's Fish Market at the Moanalua 99 Food Court in Mapunapuna HNL. Now CLOSED as of Friday so this old local place can be torn down to make way for yet ANOTHER BEEPIN Home Depot Big Box... I'm really, really getting to dislike"progress"...

 

[Pikachu711]

I have no major concerns about the safety of the majority of public drinking water. I have a buddy who I served in the military. When he retired he became the Superintendent of a cities water treatment plant in Ohio. I won't give the name out of respect for my buddy. I once asked him about the safety of most municipalities water supplies. Federal law requires that every city, township, municipalities, etc. test the water supply from various locations within that area. They will test water from reservoirs, storage tanks, water treatment facilities, etc. These samples are sent to a federal testing laboratory to check the water for any impurities that would put citizens health at risk. If there is an issue it is addressed in a timely manner until the issue is resolved. If the water supply passes all the required tests they are required to publish the results of the water test in the media. This is on accordance with state and federal law. This is why I have no problem drinking tap water. That is all I drink! I'm not into paying for "flavored" water. JMHO

 

[Hybrid-000]

A ceramic filter should do the trick. Boil if you have reason to suspect contamination. Salinity cannot be cured. DB

 

[maki2]

Drinking water in towns is not an issue for me as it would be a lot more trouble trying to find a faucet for obtaining free drinking water than buying water from a filtration machine. I am not in a vehicle with a large water storage tank and can not lift a full 5 gallon containers so the one gallon containers are perfect for me.

The circle K gas stations I have visited a few times in Arizona have filtration machines that add electrolytes to the water. It cost more per gallon than the Glacier machines But in very hot weather it is not a bad value for helping to prevent dehydration issues to spend an extra 20 cents or so per gallon.

I do carry one of the filters that screw onto a faucet just in case. I have used it at the La Posa South LTVA when I wanted water but forgot to get some when I went into town on errands. It does improve the taste of that water.

 

[user 423]

For drinking water I use several 1 gall. jugs filled at the pure water machines but also use a 2 gall. Brita dispenser that sits on a counter. It is refilled from a 10 gall. tank that holds city water used only for clean up.

Brita warns that in hot weather bacteria can grow in their filters, so I only use that dispenser for water that is boiled for coffee and tea.

 

[user 22017]

For drinking water I use several 1 gall. jugs filled at the pure water machines but also use a 2 gall. Brita dispenser that sits on a counter. It is refilled from a 10 gall. tank that holds city water used only for clean up.

Brita warns that in hot weather bacteria can grow in their filters, so I only use that dispenser for water that is boiled for coffee and tea.

I didn't know that about Brita filters. I bought one about three weeks ago for my truck cap. Mine is for a countertop, too (I keep it in a milk crate so it doesn't break). I wonder if Zero Water has same issue in hot weather. Those are the top two filters.