NSF explains water quality reports.
While the debate continues about the benefits of
bottled water vs. tap water, I received a news release on how you can learn
more about your local drinking water.
Most public and private water
utilities are required to release a Consumer Confidence Report about this time every
year. These water quality reports
provide customers with information regarding the source of their local
community’s drinking water supply and the treatment methods used, as well as
the quality of the finished drinking water supply that is provided to the
community during the previous calendar year.
However, as with most
government reports, the information is technical and can be difficult for most
of us to understand. So NSF International, a nonprofit organization that
certifies products in the food and water markets, has decided to help us out
and decipher the techno-speak for us.
NSF now has a
special section
on its site that includes a brief intro to CCRs; explanations of the units of measurement
and common abbreviations used; how to interpret the results; and FAQs.
What About My Water?
You
can obtain your community’s CCR from your water utility. Some community’s
publish a consumer-friendly report with additional information for residents;
Chicago does this through its Department of Water Management. I decided to look
up Chicago’s water quality report on the city’s Web site, but the 2009 report
is not yet online as I’m writing this blog.
According to Chicago’s 2008 report (for drinking
water provided to residents in 2007), the city’s water supply did not have any
contaminant violations (a contaminant present that exceeded the Maximum
Contaminant Level allowed in public drinking water, set by federal and state
environmental authorities).
Chicago’s drinking water source is Lake Michigan
via two water treatment plants (which also provide drinking water to many of
the city’s suburbs). The 2008 report includes a diagram on how the treatment
process works.
Promoting Tap Water
Minneapolis
created an entire campaign -
Tap Minneapolis - to
promote its tap water, spending about $200K of taxpayer money.
And just this spring, the
National Rural Water Association held its
Great American Water Taste Test - Elberta, Ala., took first-place honors. (NRWA also has a “Quality on
Tap” campaign.)
What I found most interesting
was that Manton, Mich. - just a stone’s throw from my hometown of Cadillac -
won third place. There were 29,696 original entries from across the country,
narrowed down to about 50. Three tasting judges then chose the five finalists.
Congrats, Manton!
