Is Tap Water Safe to Drink in Florida?
Think your tap water is safe to drink? Think again! According to a new study published recently in Circulation, a journal published by the American Heart Association (AHA), young adults free of diabetes and cardiovascular disease developed heart damage after only five years of exposure to low-to-moderate levels of arsenic commonly found in groundwater. Arsenic is a naturally occurring metal found in rocks and soil, water, air, as well as plants and animals. There are trace amounts of it in all living matter, but untreated groundwater becomes contaminated as it flows through rocks and minerals containing arsenic. So, is tap water safe to drink in Florida? Or is it filled with heart-damaging Arsenic? Let’s take a look at the facts.
Arsenic in Florida Drinking Water is Leading to Heart Damage in Young Adults
A few months ago we learned about the rising level of arsenic in drinking water, including in West Palm Beach Florida, that has caused heart damage in young adults. Long-term exposure to this poison has been linked to various cancers, kidney damage, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.
“It is important for the general public to be aware that arsenic can be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease,” Pichler said. “Private wells are currently not regulated and people using private wells, including children and young adults, are not protected,” says Dr. Gernot Pichler, lead author of the AHA study. This is an example of why filtration systems are a healthy and safe alternative to tap water, as filtering your water with reverse osmosis filtration ensures it is free of harmful toxins and safe to drink.
Your Drinking Water and The Dangers of Arsenic
In the United States, the highest levels tend to be found in private wells that tap into the ground in areas contaminated by arsenic. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set the arsenic standard for drinking water at 0.010 parts per million (10 parts per billion) to protect consumers serviced by public water systems from the effects of long-term, chronic exposure to arsenic. Drinking water that meets the EPA standard is associated with little to none of the risks and should be considered safe with respect to arsenic.
About 44 million people in the US mainland use private well water, and of those, over two million people are estimated to be drinking from wells that have high concentrations of arsenic. Unfortunately, there is no required sampling of private drinking water wells like there is of the public from the EPA.
Health effects from exposure to arsenic in drinking water typically take years to develop. At low levels, darkening of the skin (hyperpigmentation) may take years to develop. Higher levels of exposure have been found to increase the risk of cancer in humans, including cancers of the lung, skin, bladder, liver, kidney, and prostate.
Is Drinking Filtered Water Safer Than Tap Water?
YES!
Filtered water ensures it is free of harmful toxins and safe to drink. At Optimum, our Bottleless Water Systems go through a 5-point filtration system to not only eliminate toxins and natural elements you don’t want to drink (like dirt) but also restore electrolytes and minerals. As more and more people are themselves if tap water is safe to drink in Florida, we invite businesses to explore Optimum Water Systems for their office:
Ft. Pierce, Orlando, Jacksonville, Tampa, Ft. Myers, Daytona,
So, is tap water safe to drink in Florida?
There are many health benefits to staying hydrated, and the bottom line is you don’t want to run the risk of compromising your health when getting your daily water intake. Where levels of arsenic less than the drinking water standard are not likely to cause illness, the best solution is to make sure your drinking water is coming from a reliable and safe source. Drinking water with levels slightly above the standard for a short time period does not significantly increase the risk of illness. However, because health risks increase as the levels of a chemical (or how long a person drinks it) increase, it is best to drink water that meets standards.
We provide bottle-less water coolers for your office in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts. Call us for your personalized review to find the best machine for your needs.
