The experts’ take on tap water safety

(Photo: Getty Images)

 

Many water experts say that tap water in the U.S. is
perfectly safe to drink. Bottled
water, they point out, is not necessarily any safer, and sometimes it’s
just tap water with a much higher price tag.

 

Yet those statements can be hard to believe if the water
that flows from your tap smells funny, tastes bad, or is discolored. It can
also be difficult to ignore reports of pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and other
unwanted substances in water.

 

What do the experts say when you dig a little deeper? “The
fact that it might have an off taste or odor may not appeal to the consumer,
but it doesn’t mean the water is unsafe,” says Philip C. Singer, Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

 

Of course there are exceptions to this. For example, if your
water tastes metallic it could be contaminated with lead from corroded pipes so
it’s worth checking out, says Joan B. Rose, Homer
Nowlin Chair in Water Research, Michigan State University. (In fact, she
recommends reporting any funny smell or taste to your local water utility just
to make sure there isn’t a problem with the pipes.) Iron, which is not
harmful, can also be the cause of a metal-like taste.  

 

If you have hydrogen sulfide in your water, it can smell
like rotten eggs.  Rose says it is
generally not harmful, but it can cause diarrhea for a short amount of time
while you get used to it. Some other common, but harmless tastes and smells: Minerals
might make your water taste a little salty. Algae can give water a musty taste
or smell. Some people are put off by the smell or taste of the chlorine used to
kill any pathogens in water.

 

Particles in water can make it cloudy (know as turbidity) and
water can appear rusty when pipes in your local distribution system are being
maintained or repaired, according to Kellogg J. Schwab, Director,
Johns Hopkins Center for Water and Health