Water Article Series - The County Water Department wants to keep its customers informed on their water use and choices. Please feel free to reproduce this article in your HOA newsletter or distribute via email.

Why Tap Water?
…Why would you want to pay more for a product whose quality is worse than the water that flows from the faucet in your home?
… More than 99.9 percent of Americans live in homes where unlimited amounts of fresh, treated water is available...so turn on the tap!
… Tap water is highly treated and free of bacteria.
… Water systems that provide tap water have to test for water pathogens that can cause intestinal problems.
… County tap water can have no confirmed E.coli or fecal coliform bacteria. FDA bottled water rules include no such prohibition (a certain amount of any type of coliform bacteria is allowed in bottled water).
… County tap water, from the Biscayne Aquifer, must be filtered and disinfected. In contrast, there are no federal filtration or disinfection requirements for bottled water.
… Drinking tap water not only supports mental and physical health, but is easy on the planet. People who buy bottled water are doing harm to the environment and acting out of ignorance.
… In one publicized taste test in New York City, conducted by Showtime television, researchers found that 75% of participants actually preferred the taste of tap water to bottled water.
… County tap water must meet standards for certain important toxic or cancer-causing chemicals, such as phthalate (a chemical that can leach from plastic, including plastic bottles); some in the industry persuaded FDA to exempt bottled water from the regulations regarding these chemicals.
… County water systems must issue an annual “Water Quality” report, telling consumers what is in their water. Bottlers successfully killed a “right to know” requirement for bottled water.
… Tap water is the best water available; according to the Florida State Department of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency. There is nothing harmful in tap water.
… For those who feel tap water is any less clean than bottled water, filters may be purchased; buying filter cartridges once or twice a year requires much fewer resources than buying bottled water each day.
Adapted from www.tappening.com
www.pbcwater.com
Palm Beach County Water Utilities Department
BEST WATER, BEST SERVICE & BEST ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP.

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