Plain talk about drinking water : answers to your questions about the water you drink

208 Pages·2010·15.9 MB·English

by  James M Symons

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Dr. James M. Symons
2P-5E-1.5M-20244-9/10-UG $17.95 USA $19.85 CAN
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Plain Talk
About
Drinking
Water
Fifth Edition
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Plain Talk
About
Drinking
Water
Fifth Edition
Answers to
Your Questions
About the Water
You Drink
Dr. James M. Symons, Author Emeritus
Gay Porter De Nileon, Editor
Allen Panek, Jackie Glover, Contributing Editors
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Plain Talk About Drinking Water, Fifth Edition
Copyright © 2010 American Water Works Association
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retriev-
al system, or traansmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior
written permission from the publisher.
“Weird, Wonderful Water,” reprinted by permission from The Young
Naturalist: The Wonder of Water, ©2005 by Mary Hoff, published by
the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
Lyrics from “We All Live Downstream” used with permission.
Copyright © 2008 Banana Slug String Band, “We All Live
Downstream”
American Water Works Association
6666 West Quincy Avenue
Denver, CO 80235-3098
303.794.7711
Interior Design and Production: Fran Milner, Hop-To-It Design Works
Cover Design & Illustrations: Melanie Yamamoto
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Symons, James M.
Plain talk about drinking water : answers to your questions about the
water you drink / James M. Symons ; Gay Porter De Nileon, editor ; Al-
len Panek, Jacqueline R. Glover, contributing editors. -- 5th ed.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-58321-742-9
1. Drinking water--Miscellanea. 2. Water quality--Miscellanea. I.
Porter de Nileon, Gay. II. Title.
TD353.S96 2010
363.6’1--dc22
2009035953
ISBN 1-58321-742-8
ISBN 978-1-58321-742-9
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Table of
Contents
Preface ............................................................................vii
Acknowledgments ...........................................................ix
Health ...............................................................................1
Microbial Contaminants .......................................10
Chemical and Mineral Contaminants ..................15
Pharmaceuticals ..............................................18
Arsenic .............................................................21
Atrazine ............................................................22
Lead and Copper ............................................24
Nitrates .............................................................26
Perchlorate .......................................................27
Radon and Radium .........................................28
Water Treatment ...................................................30
Chlorine ...........................................................30
Aluminum ........................................................32
Fluoride ............................................................33
Travel ....................................................................34
Taste, Odor and Appearance .......................................41

In the Home ...................................................................51
Home Plumbing ....................................................56
Home Treatment ...................................................62
Hard Water and Softening .....................................67
Bottled Water ........................................................70
Down the Drain .....................................................76
Fish and Plant Life .................................................79
Costs .....................................................................83
v
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Sources ...........................................................................87
Quality ..................................................................94
Distribution ...................................................................101
Conservation ................................................................109
Regulations, Reporting and Water Security ................121
Fascinating Facts .........................................................135
Liquid ..................................................................135
Solid ....................................................................141
Gas .....................................................................147
Appendices
A: Acronym List ...................................................149
B: Complete List of Questions ............................151
C: Information about Natural Inorganic
Chemicals Found in Drinking Water................165
D: Pronunciation Guide ......................................177
About the Authors ........................................................179
Index ...........................................................................181
vi
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Preface
Nine years have passed since the last edition of Plain
Talk about Drinking Water was published. Since that
time, many things have changed in the water industry.
Regulations have become stricter. Detection, monitoring
and treatment technology have advanced substantially.
Bottled water has become increasingly more common-
place. Most importantly, consumers have become better
educated and aware of the products—and the water—
they use and consume. Consumers today are concerned
not only with where their water comes from and what’s
in it; they want to know more about how to protect it
from contamination, how to conserve it and how to treat
it in their home. They want to know about bottled water
and about pharmaceuticals in tap water. They have
concerns about the security of water supplies and ques-
tion the effects of climate change. They don’t want to be
placated with simple answers; they want the truth told
plainly, in language they understand but that doesn’t
talk down to them.
With both the novice and the sophisticated con-
sumer in mind, this new, fifth edition of Plain Talk
about Drinking Water has been thoroughly revised and
updated. Beginning with the strong foundation of the
first four editions that contained common questions
answered by Dr. James M. Symons, we researched,
queried and vetted all the material—updating, adding,
rewriting and clarifying answers to common, and some
not-so-common, questions about the water we drink.
vii
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Plain Talk About Drinking Water
With more than 200 questions and answers, this
new edition covers a wide range of topics, all with the
common theme of water, that most vital element of life.
The first chapter, Health, is the largest, filled with facts
about water’s contribution to health, common chemi-
cal and microbial contaminants, treatment chemicals,
travel precautions and other information that relates
to the central question, “Is my water safe to drink?”
Subsequent chapters provide information about:
• Taste, odor and appearance—aesthetics of tap water
• Home facts—ways water is used in a home as well
as information about bottled water, home treatment
and costs
• Sources—groundwater, surface water, reservoirs,
pollution issues and source water protection
• Distribution—pipes, hydrants, tanks and leaks
• Conservation—the why, what and how of saving water
• Regulations, testing and security—the role of the
federal, state and provincial governments, and
what’s being done to protect water supplies from
intentional harm
• Fascinating facts—beyond drinking water, from
solid to liquid to gas
The appendices include 1) acronyms used in this
book, 2) a list of all the questions in the book so the
reader can easily find related information, 3) details
about natural chemicals found in source waters, and
4) a pronounciation guide to some of the more unusual
terms discussed in this book.
Our goal is to inform, entertain, educate and, along
the way, provide you with a greater appreciation for the
element that is so essential to our lives—water.
Gay Porter De Nileon
Editor
November 2009
viii
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Acknowledgments
Many books, journals, newspapers and Web sites were
researched, and numerous experts were consulted in the
process of updating this book. The most useful resources
were those from official and authoritative sources,
including American Water Works Association, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Food and Drug
Administration, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Depart-
ment of Health and Human Resources, Health Canada,
Environment Canada, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, National Academies, Water Research
Foundation, World Health Organization, Water Quality
Association, NSF International, Underwriters Laboratories,
Canadian Bottled Water Association, the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, The Mayo Clinic and many
peer-reviewed science journals, professional
publications and general news articles.
Every effort has been made to make this material
as accurate and current as possible; however, we do
acknowledge that there may be some information that
researchers and others will dispute. So much informa-
tion exists about water that this book can only cover a
minimum about some issues. We encourage our readers
to investigate topics of interest more thoroughly on their
own and draw their own conclusions.
This book would not have been possible without
the assistance of many people the editors would like to
acknowledge here: Fred Bloetscher, Gary Burlingame,
Jack Hoffbuhr, Greg Kail, Pat Kline, Cynthia Lane,
ix
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