The Truth About Tap Water

Let’s talk about water quality.

It’s easy to spiral down the rabbit hole and pick apart modern society.

But seriously think about it. How fortunate are we to be living during this time? To have access to running water, grocery stores, electricity, cars, planes, amazon prime?

We live better than most kings and queens ever did.

Everything is so convenient and fast. But have we traded quality for quantity?

In the past, you would get your water from a pristine lake, untouched by chemicals.

Nowadays, the water gets processed in a treatment plant. Traveling miles through underground pipes before reaching your home.

My husband and I live in the city and have been purchasing the 5 gallon water jugs from the grocery store for a little over a year.

As a Christmas gift, we decided to upgrade our system. The 5 gallon water jugs can be quite inconvenient and we constantly have to refill them.

Plus the jugs are plastic and we want to reduce our microplastic exposure.

This newsletter is not sponsored whatsoever and is purely based on my own research and common sense.

Let’s first dive into the different contaminants found in tap water.

(1) Pharmaceuticals

Researchers have detected all sorts of drugs in drinking water from antibiotics to antidepressants and contraceptives.

If this doesn’t worry you, it should.

Multiple studies have linked “downstream pharmaceuticals” to infertility, hormone imbalance and even sex changes among fish.

And if it’s affecting fish, it’s affecting us.

According to StatsCanada, human fertility rates are among the lowest recorded in over 100 years of data.

This is incredibly concerning.

As a woman of childbearing age - I definitely don’t want anything interfering with my ability to have children down the line.

(2) Forever Chemicals

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are toxic chemicals that take an exceptionally long time to break down. They’ve gained attention in recent years and you might know them for giving non-stick Teflon pans a bad reputation.

They can also be found in clothes, cosmetics, furniture. It doesn’t matter if you’ve eliminated PFAS in your home, they’re everywhere. Even in your tap water.

Think about it, whenever you shower - all the chemicals in your shampoo, creams, beauty products wash into the water system.

And it’s not just your products - it’s everyone’s. So even if you’re using PFA free cosmetics, guess what?

Your neighbour isn’t and it’s going into the water.

The government is openly telling us that PFAS are bad news.

The system is just really slow and it takes time to implement mass action.

You don’t have to wait till 2029, you can take your own action and reduce your exposure today.

(3) Heavy metals

The water might test clean in the treatment plant but it still has to travel miles underground to get to your home. In pipes that are eroding, leaching heavy metals like arsenic, lead, copper, and mercury into the water.

(4) Chlorine and By-Products

Chlorine is added to the water to kill germs and harmful bacteria. But remember you are also a living organism which also makes chlorine harmful to you.

The thing with chlorine is that it breaks down into by-products known as DBPs (disinfection by-products). Many of which have linked to cancer.

(5) Fluoride

Fluoride exposure has been associated with reduced IQ scores in children.

It’s also a known endocrine disruptor, which means it can alter your hormone function.

Things like blood sugar, stress and energy levels, puberty onset and reproductive problems. Many symptoms like acne, low libido, weight gain, depression, can all be linked to poor hormone health.

(6) Glyphosate in the water

It’s the most widely used herbicide in Canada and has been classified as a “probable human carcinogen”. This herbicide often finds its way into our water system through soil erosion and agricultural runoff.

(7) Microplastics

They are everywhere and make their way into our water system.

Washing your plastic clothes is one of the most notorious things for this! Click here to learn more about synthetic clothing.

Every time you wash polyester clothing, small microplastics leach into the water system.

They say we eat about a credit card worth of plastic every week.

How I Filter Toxins From My Water

Because my husband and I are renting, we wanted an option we could take with us when if we move.

I initially thought I was going to get a Big Berkey. I think this is a really great option if you’re living on a lake or have a natural water source.

However, we ended up going with a reverse osmosis countertop machine because it removes more contaminants and is better at removing fluoride - which is added to most city tap water.

Based on my own research, I chose the AquaTru Carafe reverse osmosis system.

It would be ideal to have a whole house water treatment system and eventually we will.

This stuff is so important, and I know that some of you probably feel like there is always something else you need to invest in.

Just remember that you don’t have to do it all at once. Even those Culligan jugs or a simple pitcher filter is better than nothing.

Take it one step at a time.

One small swap here and there.