The U.S. Public Health system has done an admirable job tackling the task of providing a safe water supply. There have been few problems with infectious disease originating from the water supply, but because of shear demand on the system, these problems are becoming more common. Our population is growing rapidly. When our country’s water purification plants were built, the population of the U.S. was approximately 120 million, each person using an estimated 10 gallons per day. Now we are a nation bursting at the seams with 270 million citizens, each using an estimated 75 gallons per day.¹ Industries contaminate the water supply with hazardous chemicals, some unheard of ten years ago. Enormous pesticide and herbicide residues from agriculture in addition to the human and animal wastes are also being dumped in to our water supply.² The public water system, in response to the shear waste volume, has added increasingly large amounts of chlorine to our drinking water to avoid problems from cholera, dysentery, and other water borne diseases. Utilization of increasing amounts of chlorine helps avoid the spread of infectious disease through the water supply, but in effort to solve one problem we create another. As large amounts of chlorine and waste materials combine together there is the formation of toxic compounds listing bromoform, chloroform, and others collectively known as the trihalomethanes. These carcinogenic compounds are found in all municipal drinking water supplies. Due to high demands on the water system, violations generally go unreported.³ Recent research has quoted up to 88% of all drinking water violations are unreported.⁴ The Environmental Protection Agency produced a bulletin listing over 100 contaminants found in our drinking water and their toxic affects.⁵ Cancer and neurological problems are the most common.

When confused, look to Mother Nature for clues. First, understand that the bottled water industry is the highly unregulated. Spring water does not necessarily mean that it is pure water. Nature cleans water by distillation. The sun evaporates ground water, the vapors rise into the sky, condense, and fall back to the earth as rain. Buy distilled water or buy a distiller for your household use and you can be assured of purified water. Many may ask if drinking distilled water will leach minerals from the body. "Minerals should be obtained from the food that you eat. One of the most important functions of water is to act as a solvent, taking unwanted minerals out of the body so we do not end up with kidney stones, calcium deposits in the joints, and the like. Water cleanses our tissues of mineral deposits. Water should be as pure as possible."⁶

Distillation is a better purification method than filtration. Properly filtered water has some advantages over most tap water. Filtration removes particles suspended in water, but does nothing for dissolved impurities or microorganisms. Use distilled water for cooking and drinking. Learn from Mother Nature. Take reasonable steps to avoid activities that contribute to the pollution of our water. When we do so, we are really saving ourselves in the long run. Water is the only true drink. Every time you drink another liquid make sure you drink an equal amount of water in addition.