"Air and Water Conditioning Speacialist"
Documented studies have found that over 63% of the rural population drinks potentially unsafe water; water that contains dangerously high levels of bacteria and/or hazardous chemicals.
In the past, we have assumed that because Iron and Manganese are just ordinary minerals, water containing these substances posed no particular health threat. Medical research now tells us we can no longer assume this to be the case.
(Maximum Acceptable Level - 0.3 mg/L)
Recent investigations by reputable microbiologists working in the field of infectious diseases have shown that excess Iron in our drinking water may present serious health hazards.
Because most disease-causing organisms need Iron to grow and multiply, the body's normal reaction to infection is to prevent Iron from reaching the invading microbes by tying it up chemically in the liver. If our drinking water is contaminated with Iron however, this defense-mechanism does not work, and the microbial infection begins to spread. As a result, our body becomes stressed ... and susceptible to sickness and poor health.
(Maximum Acceptable Level - 0.05 mg/L)
Manganese poisoning is becoming a major health concern, since it has been found that certain people are especially sensitive to Manganese in their drinking water.
Chronic Manganese poisoning is quite insidious and initial symptoms such as apathy, irritability, headaches, insomnia, and weakness of the legs are common. Eventually, bizarre psychological symptoms develop, including impulsive acts, absentmindedness, hallucinations and aggressiveness.
If the poisoning continues, a condition similar to Parkinson's disease will develop. Although it is not genertally fatal, it is extremely disabling. High levels of Manganese in drinking water can also cause blood anemia in humans and animals.
Iron and Manganese are commonly referred to as "sister elements" and often occur together in an untreated water-supply.
"THE WATER YOU DRINK"
5th Edition
"THE SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT"
National Academy of Sciences
"RURAL WATER QUALITY STUDY"
Cornell University
ScienceDaily (April 6, 2010) - An estimated three to four million people - about one in every eight Canadians - drink water from private supplies.
Infrequent testing and maintenance puts consumers of these water supplies at greater risk of contamination than public systems, states an artical in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). It goes on to state that people need to take personal responsibility for their own water quality.
In the United States, 19.5 million water-borne illnesses occur every year and three quarters (76%) of drinking water outbreaks are associated with groundwater sources. Outbreaks of water-borne infectious diseases among people with private water supplies were 35 times greater than among consumers of publicly-supplied water.
While most of Canadians are supplied by regulated public municipal water systems, people who live in Rural areas often rely on private supplies, most of which are groundwater sources such as wells. These may not be well-maintained or regularly tested for water quality. Contamination of wells can occur from bacteria, enteric viruses and protozoa - pathogenic organisms capable of causing water-borne illnesses - as well as chemicals such as herbicides and pesticides. A review of 288 water-related infectious disease outbreaks in Canada over a 27 year period found that 66% were associated with
private supplies. In another survey of 1292 drinking water wells on farmsteads in Ontario, 40% of the wells were found to contain one or more contaminants at levels above maximum acceptable concentrations.
Water quality of Public systems typically rests with the ministries of health of environment, depending on the province or territory. "Issues related to the quality of water from Private wells are clearly not on the radar of most Canadians" writes the author.
"Owners of private systems must take responsibility for their own water quality" concludes Dr. Charrois. "Local, provincial and federal governments must encourage people to take the steps to ensure that their private water systems are safe."
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified over 100 different chemicals that may be found in your drinking water and can be hazardous to your health. Glacier Clear effectively removes each of the following EPA drinking water contaminants.