Stop Worrying About Your Tap Water—HaveIt Tested (NAPSA)—According to a recent Water Quality Association (WQA) survey, nine out of 10 Americans have concerns about their home drinking water. Specifically, people are concerned about such things as offensive smells or tastes, possible health contaminants, sediments floating in the water, and hard water. It’s not surprising that people are concerned. Water quality has been getting a great deal of attention lately. Underthe Safe Drinking Water Act, the EPA sets the acceptable standards of drinking water of which municipalities must comply. Unfortunately, the WQA findings indicate that those standards may not be good enough in the opinion of nearly half of all Americans. While the majority of Americans are knowledgeable about contaminants, they don’t appear to be obtaining their information from federally mandated water quality reports. Only 17 percent of the WQA survey respondents said they received and read their local water supplier’s water quality report (also called a Consumer Confidence Report). These reports provide an overview of contaminant levels present in an area’s water supply. The 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act required every public water supplier to distribute annual water quality reports to consumers beginning in 1999. “Contact your local water municipality today to request a copy of its Consumer Confidence Report, if you haven’t already seen it,” suggests Don Brockley, president of St. Paul, Minnesotabased EcoWater Systems, Inc. “And if you have difficulty understanding the information in the Water Worries E Lake Water - pe} acid Offensive Smell or Taste tet} Health Contaminants @ Source: Water Quality Association| Water worries—Nine out of ten Americans have concerns about drinking water. report, have someone explain it to you. This is information you need to know to verify that your water is meeting federal standards and contaminant levels you feel comfortable with for your family.” In addition to Consumer Confidence Reports, water testing is available through reputable water treatment dealers, private laboratories, and the Department of Health. Knowing what’s in your tap water will help determine if a home water treatment system is necessary. Systems include various filtering devices, reverse osmosis systems, and distillation units, and come in various sizes and models. Use of home water treatment devices remains high at 41 percent (up from 38 percent in 1999 and 32 percent in 1997). According to the WQA survey, 95 percent of respondents who use water treatment systems said they were satisfied with the effectiveness of their systems. For more information on water impurities, water analyzing options or methods of treating water, visit www.ecowater.com. St. Paul, Minnesota-based EcoWater SystemsInc. is the world’s largest manufacturer of residential water treatment systems. Or visit the Water Quality Association’s Web site at www.wqa.org for additional information about home water treatment issues.
