In 2012, the state of California became the first in the U.S. to formally recognize that access to safe, clean and affordable water is a fundamental human right. Unfortunately, some seven years later, due to poor California water quality, many of its residents are denied that right.
It looks pristine to the naked eye, but contaminants are a fact of life for most of California’s lakes, streams and rivers
A DECADES-OLD PROBLEM
None of this is exactly breaking news. In 1995, the Environmental Protection Agency said California needed $34 billion to clean up its water supply. But not until former governor Jerry Brown floated the idea of a water tax did the state legislature finally act. This week, Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law stipulating that $130 million each year that would have spent on curbing air pollution will now be earmarked toward improving the state’s water quality.
The issues affecting California water quality are not confined to the state, as the well-documented situation in Flint Michigan so dramatically points out. One investigation of EPA investigations led USA Today to estimate that 63 million Americans or one-in-five, are exposed to unsafe drinking water of some kind. And most of California’s most serious water quality issues are in the agricultural hotbeds of the Central and Salinas valleys. With the state grappling drought for much of the 21st Century, the agricultural industry has had to pump more groundwater, which can cause land to sink, creating many water quality issues, including arsenic slipping in to fill the vacuum.
But no part of the state is immune from issues of water quality, primarily because although California is the third largest state in the country, its water is all connected. About 75 percent of the rain and snow that replenishes the state’s water supply falls in watersheds north of Sacramento. But 80 percent of that water is used by the lower two-thirds of the state, and for more than a century, Southern California and the Bay Area’s thirsty cities have relied on water transported from the northern part of its state .
CONTAMINANTS TRAVEL WITH WATER
Because California water moves around so much, harmful chemicals and other substances from one area of the state can wind up in other areas far away. And many contaminants can taint drinking water. Nitrate, which enters water sources from fertilizer use and sewage and septic tank leaks, is particularly dangerous for infants, as any more than 10 micrograms of nitrate per liter of water can deplete their body of oxygen, which can lead to death if left untreated.
There are radioactive compounds in our water as well, particularly uranium and radium. Erosion of natural deposits of the compounds get them into the water, but over time they decay and drinking water with high levels increases the risk of cancer
Heavy metals are also in our water, including arsenic, chromium and lead. Arsenic is naturally occurring in soil and rocks, but it can also enter the water system through electronic equipment manufacture waste and some pesticides.
Lead, which played a major role in the water crisis in Flint, Michigan enters the drinking supply through the distribution system. While lead was phased out of new pipes and plumbing fixtures decades ago, some six million American homes still get water through lead pipes. During childhood, exposure to any level of lead can cause delayed physical or mental development, attention deficits, and learning disabilities.
GET INFORMED AND BE PROACTIVE WITH FOLIUM PX
The most obvious way to avoid contaminated water is to not drink tap water. But contaminants are still in the water whether bathing, doing dishes or cooking with it. Bottled water is an alternative but the reality is that your tap water is tested more frequently than expensive bottled water. There are also water filters, and water filtration systems, but those can also be expensive, and not all filters weed out the same chemicals.
The quality of the water you drink, and how you can protect yourself and your family, is a complicated issue. And in subsequent posts, we will address many of those concerns. But remember two things:
- There is no need to be complacent or alarmist. No, not all drinking water in California is safe, nor is it all potentially lethal. But to know the state of the water coming from your taps, visit the Environmental Work Group’s tap water database. By typing in your zip code, you can find out whether your water provider complies with federal health-based drinking water standards
- Take steps NOW to rid your body of any heavy metals. While avoiding water that has metals such as arsenic, lead and mercury is important, so is cleansing your body of any metals currently inside it. And your best weapon in combatting heavy metals from condensing and growing toxic is Folium pX. Filled with powerful antioxidants that boost the immune system as well as help the body flush out heavy metals, Folium pX can’t prevent heavy metals from entering your system and building to toxic levels, but it can help in flushing them out of your system.
