Depending on where you are in the world, there could be many things in your drinking water of which you are totally unaware. Some of these could be rather detrimental to your health, especially when imbibed over a long period of time.
One would think that first-world countries would not have a problem with their tap-water, seeing that both the World Health Organisation (WHO) and local authorities set rules and regulations about what is allowable and in which quantities, but does this really ensure that your tap water is pure and healthy?
What is in My Drinking Water?
Various studies have found traces of the drug cocaine in the British drinking water, which is not surprising as cocaine is a recreational drug of choice apparently, but how dangerous is this for you?
According to a study by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) to assess the dangers of pharmaceutical compounds in drinking water, small quantities of Benzoylecgonine, which is the metabolised form of cocaine, were found at four sites in Britain.
Sue Pennison of DWI asserted that Benzoylecgonine is also an ingredient in a popular muscle-rub, so there is no way of knowing whether the amounts found come from the muscle-rub or from cocaine, and the concentrations found in the drinking water were not dangerous as they are below the levels laid down by the Water Resources Act, which introduced the EU Drinking Water Directive into UK law.
According to Public Health England, the drinking water tested also contained trace amounts of five other pharmaceutical compounds apart from the Benzoylecgonine; ibuprofen and naproxen – both painkillers; carbamazapine, used to treat epilepsy, and its metabolised form carbamazapine epoxide; and caffeine.
Personally, I do not care to drink someone else’s medications in my drinking water, so I have taken steps to ensure that I and mine only drink pure water from our water cooler. Living-Water, one of London’s premier water suppliers, has a great range of both bottled water coolers (filled with their own Spring Water sourced and bottled in the Wenworth range) which I have at home, and mains water coolers that can be fitted with their Triple Activated Carbon Filter, which we have at work.
