Drinking Water Aging Delivery Systems

Drinking water delivery systems have been quietly aging and go totally unnoticed until one bursts. Then we take note of the water gushing geysers into the air as we pass by, and even then we don’t give it much thought.

Some of these drinking water, or tap water, delivery systems are as old as the light bulb! Hard to imagine. But that’s nothing. There are some drinking or tap water delivery systems as old as the Civil War! Now, that’s somethin’.

Today, the water and sewer pipes are so old and have ignored by all of us for so long, they are rupturing, causing damage to property and compromising our drinking water.

We’re used to paying pretty small price to get water to our homes. We certainly expect water to come out of the tap when we turn it on.

We also want our water to be clean and be able to provide safe drinking water.

Here’s something I often think about as I watch people tending to their lawns. Does drinking water come to mind as a weed, who dares to poke its head between the blades, gets annihilated with one quick spritz from the hose in one hand and the container in the other?

But I digress.

Because drinking water sustains us and it seems the time has come that we are going to have to pay attention to the way it is delivered to us.

At Eco Living Greenstyle, we have been following a series of Toxic Waters by New York Times. You can read more about the age of our delivery systems for drinking and tap water and what it is going to cost to upgrade from 1861 to 2010.

Stopping weeds from invading our lawns isn't the only way we pollute our drinking water.  Textiles that we use in our home and fabric we drape our bodies in carry a hefty price tag on our drinking water.  Click here to find out more about which fabrics are better for our health. 

Safe Drinking Water Facts Reveal Contamination

by Donnalynn Polito

“A glass of safe drinking water, please” in response to the waiter, hardly!  Do you mutter to yourself on a hot, dry day, ‘ah, at last, a glass of safe drinking water to quench my thirst’.  I doubt it.


Or, as a visiting guest at someone’s home, when they offer you a glass of water, do you think, ‘hmmm, is this drinking water safe for me to drink?’

Knowing that our water systems are regulated, we gulp down what comes before us with hardly a thought about its performance in and to our bodies.  We believe our drinking water to be safe drinking water.

On closer look, recent research has revealed our safe drinking water is contaminated.  In fact, after millions of tests by water utilities, 315 pollutants have been identified to be in our tap water. 

Recent studies have shown that an estimated 64 million Americans are exposed to and drink contaminated tap water.  To find out more about what’s in your drinking water, sign up for our DYI Greenstyle Tips.

“Only 91 contaminants are regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act, yet more than 60,000 chemicals are used within the United States, according to Environmental Protection Agency estimates.”  That Tap Water is Legal but May Be Unhealthy by Charles Duhigg, New York Times, published December 16, 2009.

EcolivingGreenstyle has been following Charles Duhigg’s series on Toxic Waters.  You can watch his video on Tainted Tap Water here.

Federal regulations are outdated and do not keep up with the thousands of chemicals added each year to our world and ultimately to our water supply. 

Perhaps some hesitation now comes over you before you gulp down that glass of water whether it comes from the tap or from bottled water.


Purifying your water at home is a start.  Seeing that some of these pollutants don’t reach the water is another step that you can take.  Non toxic household cleaning products is an easy place to start.