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Lately there’s been quite an outcry to boycott the bottle and embrace the tap. I’m all for creating less pollution, yet I have a hard time swallowing the notion that tap water is safe for drinking. Believe me, I’d rather not spend my money on water and contribute to the pollution and carbon toll that comes with it. I feel guilty every time I buy a bottle of water, but I cringe when I consider the alternative. When tap water comes to mind, consider this: The facts prove that there are innumerable types of waste and pervasive toxic chemicals present in our water—substances that even the most modern pumping station can’t eradicate. Worse, tap water is loaded with carcinogenic byproducts resulting from chlorine and ammonia disinfection methods.

Which is Worse?
If purified properly, tap water would indeed be the best option. However, water samples indicate that our methods of filtration remain ineffective despite the fact that Chicago has spent a fortune modernizing its water pumping stations. Chicago and most cities in the United States utilize sanitizing methods that simply do not produce the safest drinking water. On the other hand, we certainly have reason to question bottled water’s feasibility, as questions about source reliability, leaching of chemicals, astronomical shipping expense, wasteful use of resources, and plastic pollution all abound. Nonetheless, bottled water in many ways represents a healthier choice.

Chicago’s tap water comes from Lake Michigan. Although it looks beautiful, Lake Michigan has long served as a dumping ground for many industries and towns. For instance, BP’s refinery in Gary, Indiana dumps ammonia, lead, nickel, and mercury. Milwaukee has admitted that to circumvent heavy storm drainage problems, it had to dump (on more than one occasion) millions of gallons of untreated sewage into the lake. Sewage even when treated creates a problem because drugs that people ingest and household chemicals linger in water despite our technological advances in filtering. This is perhaps the most startling finding from recent water studies—the discovery of unmentionables—personal care products, drugs, and persistent chemicals in tap water. How we filter and purify water is not enough to remove these residues. Scientists are still unsure of the side effects that may result from long-term exposure, for never before have people been exposed to such an array of random chemicals and drugs like that found in tap water.

Chemical Therapy
To get a sense of how our tap water ends up being so harmful, follow the science:
Cities throughout the country, Chicago included, use chlorine and ammonia (chloramines) to “purify” water. These in turn create seriously harmful disinfection byproducts (DBPs).
When chlorine is mixed with water that has any type of organic matter, such as leaves or dirt, cancer-causing halocetic acids, MX, and trihalomethanes (THMs) like chloroform are created. THMs are released through hot chlorinated water vapors. This means that time spent taking showers or doing the dishes could technically be hazardous to your health. Harvard researchers are learning that even minute doses of gene mutator MX is 170 more potent and dangerous than chloroform.

Using ammonia to prepare water for drinking is a terrible idea as well. Though recently approved by the EPA, this method creates iodoacids. Michael Plewa, A genetic toxicologist at the University of Illinois’ Urbana campus and fellow scientists have identified iodoacids as the most toxic disinfection byproduct yet discovered in that it destroys DNA!

When combined, these disinfection byproducts contribute to cancer, nervous system disorders, anemia, birth defects, miscarriages, allergies, stimulation of free radicals, interference with blood vessels, cause plaque build-up, and contribute to heart attacks and strokes. To make it crystal clear, here is a chart from the EPA indicating the seriousness of disinfection byproducts. (You can view the entire chart at www.epa.gov/safewater/hfacts.html.)



By adding these dangerous chemicals, our city actually makes the lake’s water worse. Instead of using chlorine and ammonia to clean our water ineffectively and leave harmful chemicals behind, we can employ a method that makes our water perfectly safe. One such method is reverse osmosis coupled with micro-filtration and ultraviolet light.

The Solution
Mayor Daley, I hereby propose that Chicago be the first major American city to invest in this system. In Europe and Asia these methods have proven far more beneficial for the health of people as well as environmental ecosystems. In fact, this system makes water so pure that pilot programs are already underway in the Tampa Bay, Florida area and in Orange County, California. Without question, the idea is well suited for exploration.

If revamping the city’s sanitizing process is not a remedy you deem appropriate, perhaps you’d consider assisting Chicago residents in acquiring reverse-osmosis filtering by making devices affordable for every household. In fact, why not require that every dwelling and business have reverse osmosis systems installed by 2010? For those wealthy enough, installing this type of filtering system is an easy remedy. For most of us, however, spending upwards of five hundred dollars to install such devices at home isn’t an option. While using a filtered pitcher like those found at the supermarket may seem like a safe, inexpensive route to cleaner water, these pitchers do not remove what most needs to be removed.

Think of the possibilities. With one decision, you have the ability to make bottled water truly obsolete while also proving Chicago’s commitment to eliminating pollution and protecting our water resources. If your words are sincere Mayor Daley, and you do indeed want to make Chicago the greenest city in America, then lead the way by making available that which is essential for our health and well being—clean water! In the meantime, please revoke the bottled water tax, which is completely unjust for those of us trying to make healthy choices. Perhaps it makes more sense for the residents of Chicago to refuse paying their water bill until safer sanitation processes are put in place. As shocking as it may be, that is the green reality!