11 Facts About Your Drinking Water

1. The majority of Americans, 286 million people, get their tap water from public water systems. The other 45 million receive water from private water systems not subject to government regulation.
2. Most tap water contains flouride, a salt compound that helps to prevent cavities. (Too much flouride, however, can increase likelihood of bone fractures.)
3. In 2006, 78 waterborne-disease outbreaks occurred in America. 4,412 people were affected, of which 116 were hospitalized and 5 died.
4. The EPA requires all community water systems in America to reporter drinking water quality systems to its customers annually. This includes details on where the water comes from, what contaminants have been found in the water, and the potential health effects.
5. Americans use 346,000 million gallons of fresh water daily.
6. The CDC declared drinking water flouridation as one of the top 10 public health achievements of the 20th century.
7. Some old pipes still contain lead, a poisonous metal. Each year, 480,000 children develop learning disabilities due to lead exposure.
8. The United States uses about 80% of its fresh water for irrigation or electricity.
9. While tap water is readily available to most Americans, the country spent $7 billion on bottled water in 2003.
10. There are over 2,100 known drinking water contaminants that may be present in tap water.
11. Over 300,000 groundwater sites in the U.S. are contaminated and therefore harmful to human and animal health.

Sources:

Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Environmental Protection Agency

All About Water

Blue Planet Network