> wrote in message ...
> Sheldon > wrote:
> > And anyway water from a tap is not all that pure... if from a
> > municipal source that treats with chlorine (most municipalities do
> > not) it was pretty much bacteria free (live bacteria free that is)
> > when it left the plant but before it gets halfway to your tap it's
> > loaded with bacteria from the old underground piping, not to mention
> > the encrusted interior of most home plumbing. There are very few
> > water treatment facilities at homes or business.
>
> Utter nonsense. The EPA enforces water quality standards across
> the country and the large majority of municipal water systems use
> chlorine, chlorinates, or chloramines to disinfect their water
> and because they can control residual levels in the water supply
> to keep the water disinfected.
>
> http://www.epa.gov/safewater/wot/pdf...ontap_full.pdf
>
It isn't actually utter nonsense. As mentioned above, there is also the
plumbing before it gets dispensed out of the faucet. Here are some simple
tests:

How clean is the faucet itself? Remove the aerator and stick a finger or a
cotton swab into the opening. Is there any residue inside that faucet
outlet?

Also keep in mind that over time, that rubber O-ring for the aerator starts
to soften and deteriorate. That's also being mixed with the water before it
comes out of the tap, no matter how pure the water may be from the water
treatment plant.

Or, wash a load of clothes in the washing machine and leave it overnight. Do
the clothes start to smell like mildew? Those mildew spores are in the
water, and they got there somewhere between the treatment plant and the
faucets that fill the washing machine.

Or else, how frequently does one have to clean their toilet bowl or bathtub
for mildew? Again, those spores are in the water, they got there somewhere
between the treatment plant and the pipes that fill the toilet tank or the
faucet that fills the bathtub (and re-routed pipe for the shower above the
bathtub faucet outlet where it exists). Red color usually shows up before
the mildew starts to turn a black color.

That's why I at least use a carbon filter (e.g, Brita) before drinking any
water that comes from the tap. The water quality levels generally apply for
the water tested at the treatment plants, not at the tap that is ultimately
dispensing that water. Water quality varies at the tap that is dispensing
the water.