Consumer Confidence Report and Water Quality

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The major source of water originates from the spring snowmelt that flows down the Tuolumne River into the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. The water in the Hetch Hetchy reservoir is exempt from filtration requirements. According to the CCR there is a very high amount of copper in our water which I did not expect and other chemicals like Haloacetic acid. Consumption of copper has associated health risks such as nausea, diarrhea, stomach cramps and can lead to liver and Kidney problems. 

I actually do use a filter for our water. My house uses a Brita filter and we usually only drink the water once it has been filtered and not straight out of the sink/tap. The reason we do this is not because we are scared of the quality of SF water but because our house is extremely old and we are unsure of the quality of our pipes so we don't want to take any unnecessary health risks. I think we are trying to filter out any excess metals in the water like lead or copper. I do not drink bottled water because I try to cut down on the amount of plastic I use. I pretty much take my Nalgene water bottle with filtered water everywhere I go. I learned that overall San Francisco's water is pretty good quality! 

Comments

  1. Jordan DemosSeptember 26, 2018 at 7:00 PM

    Hi Caitlin,

    I live in SF and got a lot of the same info you did. This is completely random, but I thought the Hetch Hecthy Reservoir was an extremely odd name for a reservoir. The tap water here is very good and good for you. Much better than most bottled water, which turns out to be mostly from the tap too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownSeptember 30, 2018 at 6:20 PM

    Hi Caitlin,

    I also use a filter when I get water from the tap, since there are some things that are reported in the water that can pose health problems. Honestly, I am not even sure if it's filtering out all of these things, but it definitely tastes better. There are a lot of things that are reported in your county's that are surprising like high amounts of copper.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousNovember 6, 2018 at 8:44 AM

    Hi Caitlin,

    It interesting because of the contradictory information out there. I have heard many reports where they say our tap water are actually safer than bottled water. That we need to drink tab water because with the fluoride in the water, its vital for our teeth. But then we do reports like this and found out there are many chemicals in the water.

    I have a fridge that has filter system and we have to change it every year or so and its bit of a nuance. I also often drink hot water so I don't worry too much about the filtration.

    ReplyDelete

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