How does tap water affect your body?
There’s a reason we boil tap water for a baby’s bottle; water contamination can happen anytime, anywhere – even here in Adelaide. Babies and children are especially susceptible to toxic exposure from contaminated water – but they’re not alone. Pregnant people, the elderly, the immunocompromised, people with chronic health issues, and you, a healthy adult, can all be impacted by contaminated water.
Can tap water cause health problems?
Contaminated water is among the biggest killers on earth*. But what about Adelaide’s tap water? It’s true, Australian water standards are among the highest in the world, but then, so are our cancer rates – and we don’t know why. Water contamination happens. It happens regularly. Here. In Australia. It’s not simply a problem for the rest of the world.
- Health Risks To Children
Lower body weights and immature immune systems can lead to more severe impacts. Beyond biological water contamination, (which can lead to severe gastroenteritis, dehydration, gut issues etc) chemical and metal contamination has been linked to childhood cancers, impaired cognitive function, developmental delays, poor coordination and general “failure to thrive.”
According to Unicef, around 1 in 3 children (800 million, globally) have blood lead levels above 5 micrograms per decilitre. In poor countries, and in rich countries, like Australia. Lead-based water infrastructure/pipes is among the causes.
- Health Risks to Pregnant People
Pregnant people ingesting contaminated water can pass on biological and other illnesses directly to the foetus resulting in birth defects and lifelong issues. Trihalomethanes> have been linked to foetal cardiac defects, underweight babies, pre-term delivery, oral clefts, neural tube defects, and in some cases, spontaneous abortion (miscarriage).
- Health Risks to The Elderly and Immunocompromised
The kidney and liver are the body’s main mechanisms for removing toxins from our blood. Kidney and liver function and efficiency decrease with age, leaving the elderly at higher risk of severe illness from water-borne contaminants. Similarly, the immunocompromised cannot efficiently fight off biological contaminants and may suffer severe infections from minor tap water contaminations.
How often do people get sick from tap water?
116 times in NSW in 2022 alone. That’s more than two contamination issues a week. In NSW alone.<
Australian tap water is safe, right? Who needs filtered water systems in Australia, we’re a lucky country! Well, it meets high standards when it’s all performing well. The fact is that tap water contamination happens. It happens in severe weather. It happens by an industrial accident. It happens for reasons we don’t even know. While there’s limited information on how often it’s happening in South Australia, our complex water delivery system (made up of multiple sources including rivers, reclamation, and desalination) puts us at risk of multiple tap water contamination avenues. In the case of disinfection by-products, we may not know the implications for years, if not generations to come.
What diseases can tap water cause?
- Infections
- Gastrointestinal Illness
- Cancer
- Lead Poisoning
- Mercury Poisoning (Minamata Disease)
- Fluoride Poisoning
- Diarrhoea
- Typhoid Fever
- Cholera
- Hepatitis A
- Giardiasis
- Amoebiasis
How can you prevent tap water borne diseases?
By choosing a water filtering system that removes the impurities you can see, and the ones that you can’t. That means going beyond the basic tap water filter model. Sure, it’s great to have sweet tasting, sweet smelling, clear water, but it’s what you can’t see, smell or taste that makes ALL the difference.
Whether you’re looking for a whole house water filtration system or you want to protect your family’s drinking water, the type of home water purifier matters most. Choose NSF53 Certified filtered water systems that remove more than just the impurities you can see. At Puratap, we design state of the art NSF53 filtered water systems specifically for Australians. We make water filter installation simple, and we even fit tap water filter replacements in Adelaide. We know how important pure filtered water is, and keeping your family safe is our life’s work.
