What’s InYOUR Water?

Facts About Tap Water Quality and Safety

Is the Water You’re Drinking SAFE?

The answer is a two-sided coin. In North America, most of us are fortunate to have water that is free of disease-causing microorgan-isms conveniently flowing from the faucets in our homes, workplaces or communities. We take the safety of our water for granted, grab-bing a glass of water from any faucet that’s handy, or grabbing a bottle of water when out and about. And if we have concerns about the impact on the environment from all that plastic, we fill up a reusable container from the tap. We believe the water is clean, but is it?

For much of the world, just getting water may take hours and miles of walking, and the water is far from clean. So from the standpoint of freedom from water-borne disease, we’re in good shape in most parts of North America. But is the water really pure? What chemicals are lurking in your tap water?

More and more contaminants are showing up in our water every day, and the EPA only monitors and regulates a small percentage of the possible chemicals that are in our water. In fact, the chemicals that are typically added to our tap water are hazardous to your health.

What about bottled water? Given all the advertising messages, you’d think it’s as pure as a mountain stream. According to the Environ-mental Working Group, it’s impossible to know for sure since the industry is not regulated and many manufacturers don’t provide in-formation about where the water comes from and how – or if – it is treated. Bottom line: bottled water could be more contaminated than tap water! See Full Report Here.

This report is designed to give you the information you need to make the best choice about the water you drink and allow you to Take Back Your Tap!

Chemical Contaminants

FluoridePharmaceuticalsAgricultural WasteIndustrial WasteDetergentsVolatile Organic CompoundsPCBs

Disinfection Byproducts

ChlorineChloramineTrihalomethanesHalo-acetic Acids

INSIDE

Heavy Metals

LeadArsenicAluminumAsbestosCopperMercuryChromium-6

Radionuclides

RadiumUraniumAlpha and Beta Particles

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Chloramine Trihalomethanes

Disinfection of Tap Water ... a Two-Edged Sword

Chlorine

Trihalomethanes (THMs) are created when organic matter in your water interact with chlo-rine and chlorine byproducts. Chloroform and bromoform are two of the THMs that are typi-cally present in your tap water. THMs are toxic chemicals, reg-ulated by the EPA. THM is a carcinogen linked to with rectal, bladder and pancreatic cancers and have been shown to in-crease the risk of birth defects in pregnant women.

THMs are notoriously difficult to remove with

standard carbon filtration.

Chlorine is used to disinfect nearly all tap water in North America. While it kills any microorganisms that may be present, it also creates toxic trihalomethane compounds.

Some health experts also be-lieve that chlorine itself is dan-gerous. However, because it is necessary to use some form of disinfectant to protect con-sumers from microorganisms in water and in the pipes that deliver water to us, chlorine is a necessary evil. Luckily, it’s one of the easiest things to remove from the water with filters.

Chloramine is a combination of chlorine and ammonia, and the health effects have not been studied as extensively as chlo-rine. We do know that chlora-mines irritate the respiratory tract, damages the mucosa of the digestive tract, and can cause severe skin reactions. EPA says 1 in 5 Americans now drink water with added chloramine.

Individuals with liver or kid-ney disease or hereditary urea cycle disorders are at increased risk for ammonia toxicity from the consumption of water with chloramines.

Click For More Information

There’s no question that the tap water we drink must be disinfected to kill microorganisms. The reality is that chlo-rine – or the alternative chloramine – both create disinfection byproducts that pose health risks by themselves, and the disinfecting compounds themselves are know to pose health risks.

Take Back Your Tap!The answer? Take action and filter your water at the point of use to remove these chemicals and more. Be sure the filter you choose provides credible test data that shows how well it removes these chemicals, and other contaminants commonly found in your water. UltraWater filtration technology from AlkaViva is a great choice; see test results here.

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What You Should Know About Fluoride

Chemicals Usedto Fluoridate Water

Highly toxic industrial byprod-ucts are added to our drink-ing water in order to provide fluoride. These chemicals are collected in the air pollution control systems of the phos-phate fertilizer industry. They are known to contain elevated levels of contaminants like ar-senic. Among them are:

Sodium Fluorosilicate Hydrofluorosilicic Acid Sodium Fluoride“In point of fact, fluoride causes more human cancer death, and causes it faster than any other chemical.”Dan Burke, PhD, Former Director of the National Cancer Institute

Impact on Human Health

Effect on Dental Health

Fluoride affects many tissues in the body besides the teeth. Re-search has shown that fluoride has negative effects on the fol-lowing:

IQ in children Memory in adults Diminished bone density Dental fluorosis Thyroid function Kidney function

The FDA classifies fluoride as a drug. No other drug is added to our water or given to us without consent. The EPA lists fluoride as a chemical with substantial evi-dence of developmental neuro- toxicity.

The Centers for Disease Con-trol has stated that the benefit of fluoride in dental health is strict-ly topical. Drinking it does not help build strong teeth.

Dental fluorosis is a side effect of over-exposure to fluoride, and 41% of children aged 12 to 15 show signs of this perma-nently disfiguring condition.

“If you want to prevent sunburn, you don’t drink suntan lotion, you put it on your skin. If you want to have the benefits of fluoride and oral health ... you put it on the sur-face of the tooth, not drink it.”Dr. William Hirzy, Former EPA Scientist

Fluoride has been added to many municipal tap water systems for over 50 years in the hopes of reducing dental caries. However, the negative impact on health balanced with the factual effect on dental health has lead to serious questions about fluoridation of municipal water supplies. According to the World Health Organization, there is no statistical difference between countries with and without fluoride in the water in terms of tooth decay, and exces-sive exposure leads to a number of adverse health effects. Today, fluoride is in our toothpaste, our mouthwash, our water, and many foods. Too much is related to many different negative impacts on human health.

Most developed countries do not fluoridate their water. More people drink fluoridated water in the U.S. alone than the rest of the world combined. Most advanced nations do not fluoridate their water. In western Europe, 97% of the population drinks non-fluoridated water, and do not have more tooth decay than the US.

An important report that goes into detail about fluoride and health can be found at http://www.fluoridealert.org/articles/50-reasons/

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Heavy Metals

A variety of heavy metals are found in our drinking water, and come from either the environment or the pipes that carry the water to and through your home.Heavy metals are regulated by the EPA and are typ-ically found in very low concentrations. However, because of the way municipal water is regulated, you may be consuming a lot more than you think you are.*

Chromium-6

It’s the chemical made famous by the movie Erin Brockovitch, and its dangers are well-documented. In 2010, the Environmental Working Group raised the alarm that Chromium-6 [hexavalent chromium} was found frequently in municipal tap water. Accord-ing to the EWG, at least 74 million Americans in 42 states drink tap water polluted with hexavalent chro-mium. The EPA considers it likely to be carcinogenic to humans, but has not set a legal limit and does not require water utilities to test for it. In 25 cities where EWG tested it was found in concentrations higher than the maximum level proposed by California, in one case, more than 200 times higher. [Source.]

The lack of action by the EPA and states to regulate a likely carcinogen is just one of many reasons for consumers to take control of their health by using an effective point-of-use filtration system proven to remove toxic contaminants. This chemical is particu-larly hard to remove – but newer filtration technology has found a way to do so.

Severe toxic effects are linked to heavy metal expo-sure, and the impact can accumulate over a period of years. These include reduced growth and devel-opment, cancer, organ damage, nervous system dam-age, and autoimmune diseases. When children are exposed to heavy metals it can lead to learning dif-ficulties, memory problems, behavioral issues such as hyperactivity and aggression, and damage to the nervous system. Irreversible brain damage has been reported at high levels of exposure.

In an increasingly urban and indus-trial modern world, more and more heavy metals are entering the water cycle. Most common problems for human health come from lead, mer-cury, arsenic, and cadmium. Some heavy metals are also micronutri-ents, like copper, zinc, and chromi-um, but are toxic at high levels.

Industrial pollution is the source of heavy metals in the environment. Coal-burning plants, smelting plants, industrial factories, waste incinerators, min-ing waste, and lead in old plumbing all contribute to the total. Some natural processes can release heavy metals into the water cycle as well; arsenic can dissolve into groundwater, leading to unsafe levels in drinking water. Heavy metals can be removed with filtration, but some are more difficult that others to get rid of. Furthermore, you can’t tell from you local water report if you have a problem since these reports are averages of tests done at different place and do not accurately reflect what may be coming out of your tap.*

* See page 10 to learn about why you can’t trust your local water report.

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What’s THAT Doing in My Water?

Pharmaceuticals

Antibiotics, hormones, contra-ceptives, mood stabilizers, pain killers – not the kind of thing you want to find in your drinking water. But they’re there, and even in tiny amounts they may be doing harm.

While researchers cannot pin-point the exact risk from decades of constant exposure to random combinations of pharmaceuti-cals in water, there’s a growing concern. And there’s no way to prevent them from ending up in the water supply because they get their from the wastewater that reenters the water cycle.

Industrial Chemicals Agri- Chemicals

Industrial and agricultural work involves the use of many differ-ent chemicals that can run-off into water and pollute it.

Metals and solvents from facto-ries and industrial use pollute rivers and lakes and end up in our water supply. Petroleum is another form of chemical pol-lutant that usually contaminates water through oil spill, but can also enter the water cycle from improper disposal of automo-tive fluids and simple run-off from roads.

Most people are living under the illusion that their tap water is clean, safe and free of toxins and chemicals, and are shocked when the read the increasing news reports about chemicals showing up in their tap water. The truth is, the world we live in is far from chemical-free. In fact, society is chemically addicted! Of the 60,000 chemicals in use today, only 104 are regulated by the EPA, and 7 new chemicals are added to the environment daily! Too many for our government regulators to keep up with, for sure, and too many to remove at any cost.

There is no new water – and because water is the most effective solvent, many of the chemicals in our environment end up in the water supply. What does that mean to you? If you want to drink the cleanest, healthiest best-tasting water, you have to Take Back Your Tap and use the best point-of-use filtration possible.

The following is a brief overview of the vast number of other chemicals found in tap water today. Many of them are known or suspected carcinogens, many are known endocrine disrupters, and scientists do not know what happens to human health when these chemicals are consumed in combination over a life time.

Pesticides and herbicides are used in farming to control weeds, insects and fungi. Run-offs of these pesticides can cause water pollution and end up in your municipal or well water supply.

Atrazine is one example of a toxic agricultural pesticide that is commonly found in water throughout the Midwest United States. Even if your local water report does not show high levels of atrazine, certain times of the year can be much higher than others.

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What’s THAT Doing in My Water? (cont.)

PCBs Detergents & Personal Care Products

Volatile Organic Compounds

Most drinking water sources have very low levels of radioactive contaminants (“radionuclides”), most of which are naturally occurring, although contamina-tion of drinking water sources from human-made nuclear materials can also occur. Most radioactive contaminants are at levels that are low enough to not be considered a public health concern. At higher levels, long-term exposure to radionuclides in drinking water may cause cancer. In addition, exposure to uranium in drinking water may cause kidney toxicity.

Radionuclides

PCBs, or polychlorinated bi-phenyls, sometimes get into the water supply. PCBs were for-merly used in the United States as hydraulic fluids, plasticizers, adhesives, fire retardants, way extenders, dust reducing agents, pesticide extenders, inks, lu-bricants, cutting oils, in heat transfer systems, carbonless reproducing paper. They can enter the drinking water sup-ply through run-off from land-fills and discharge of industrial waste. PCBs are monitored by municipal water districts and are regulated by the EPA, but private wells may be contami-nated with dangerous levels.

Chemicals found in detergents and personal care products are more frequently showing up in our drinking water. Some of these chemicals are suspected carcinogens, and phosphates found in detergents contribute to water pollution.

The health effects of these chem-icals varies, but the bottom line is science does not know how they interact with each other and other contaminants found in water. It’s best to make sure your point-of-use filter is capable of significantly reducing the con-centration of these chemicals.

VOCs include a wide variety of chemicals, and many have short- and long-term adverse health effects. VOCs are emit-ted by thousands of common household products, includ-ing paints and lacquers, paint strippers, cleaning supplies, pesticides, cosmetics, degreas-ers, fuels, glues and adhesives, permanent markers, and pho-tographic solutions. All of these products can release organic compounds while you are us-ing them, and, to some degree, when they are stored. These chemicals can enter the water supply when disposed of im-properly.

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Is Bottled Water the Answer?In spite of what advertisers want you to believe, there’s no proof that bottled water is any cleaner than tap water. The problem is, they won’t tell you where it comes from and how it is treated. It could simply be filtered tap water put into plastic bottles with pretty labels. Among the chemicals documented in bottled water are flame retardant, disinfectant by-products, chloroform, and plastic residues.

Is bottled water healthy for the planet? Plastic bottles guzzle resourc-es. It takes 5 liters of water to make just one plastic bottle. It takes 30 million barrels of oil to make enough plastic bottles for the US annual consumption! 1.5 million tons of plastic waste is produced annually just from water bottles – it’s the fastest growing form of municipal waste in the United States. Less than 23% of those bottles are recycled!

Is bottled water healthy for your body? Not necessarily. It’s almost al-ways acidic, and it’s been stripped of naturally occurring healthy alka-line minerals. It’s not really clean, and often is contaminated with plas-tic chemicals that disrupt the endocrine system. A far better choice is CLEAN alkaline ionized water, and that needs to be made at point-of-use with the best possible filtration to remove contaminants.

Bottled water is more costly than gasoline! It can be as high as $16/gallon for “designer” bottled waters. Tap water costs a fraction of a penny per gallon, and if you treat your tap water with the best filters available and then ionize it, you will have the best tasting, cleanest, healthiest water for a lot less than the cost of bottled water.

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If I Have A Filter, Am I Protected?

Faucet Filters

Pitchers

Single-Filter Cannisters

Multi-Stage Under-Sink

Reverse Osmosis

The answer depends on one major factor – does the filter have laboratory testing to prove that it does indeed re-duce the contaminants you are concerned about, how much of a reduction is possible, and how many gallons it lasts. The following is a general guide to what different filters are capable of removing from tap water.

Typically made with granular activated carbon and/or resins, this is the most basic kind of point-of-use filtration available. It reduces chlorine and certain heavy metals, and im-proves taste and odor. It does not significantly reduce most other common contaminants found in tap water. Most filters of this type last for 300 gallons, and are economical to buy and use. However the level of filtration it provides declines over time.

Pitcher filters are also made with granular activated carbon and/or resins. Like the faucet filters, they reduce chlorine and certain heavy metals, and improve taste and odor. It does not significantly reduce most other common contaminants found in tap water. Most fil-ters of this type last for 40 gallons, thus are considerably more expensive than the faucet filters to use. Towards the end of the usage period, the level of filtration is not as good as when it is fresh.

Countertop cannisters vary greatly in price and effectiveness depending on the kind of filtration media used. Some use granular activated carbon, some use carbon block, some use resins or KDF meda, some a combination of several types of filtration media. These filters typically last for 500 gallons.

Multi-stage under-sink filters are much better at removing a wide variety of contami-nants, and can be configured with specialty filters that remove specific water contami-nants. There are many different types using a variety of different filtration media. Filters typically must be changed once or twice a year.

Reverse Osmosis systems are much more of an investment than any other type of point-of-use filtration system. They remove nearly all contaminants from the water as well as all healthy minerals, and waste from 4 to 8 gallons of water for every gallon made. R.O. water is known as “dead water” because it has no life energy or conductive minerals. It is acidic, and is considered to be aggressive water that leaches metals from pipes. Filters and membrane replacement is expensive.

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Take Back Your Tap!Alkaline, Ionized UltraWater from AlkaVivaConsumers have many choices in the marketplace today for point-of-use filtration to keep your family safe from chemical contaminants. But few of these choices include the proven benefits of a home water ionizer.

•99.9%free of chemical contaminants, including fluoride! •Healthy alkaline minerals help the body balance pH. •Freeelectronsprovideantioxidant potential. •Smallermolecularclustersimprove hydration.

While the initial investment is more than the most basic water filters, the benefits are far greater. Having the cleanest, healthiest, best-tasting water always available from your tap is priceless!

Good for Your Body, Good for Your WalletWhen you add up all the benefits of making your own alkaline, ionized water, it’s clear that both your body and your wallet will benefit. It’s impossible to estimate the savings you may realize from staying healthy, activate and vital as you get older, but the immediate cost savings are easy to calculate.

For a family of four drinking the cheapest brand of bottled water would cost at least $2715/year, or $226/month.* Our ionizers can be financed for less than $100/month, and come with a lifetime warranty. Filters need to be changed once a year for most families, and the cost of filters is $200/year.

How can you get any better than a total cost of less than $120/month for water for your whole family?* 7.49/case of 24 1/2 liter bottles. Based on 3 liters per day consumption.

Backed by Independent Lab Test ResultsAlkaViva is the only source of home water ionizers with internal filters that remove 99.9% of most hard-to-remove contaminants – and we have the independent EPA-certified lab results to prove it. We also offer pre-filtration solutions that address many other issues, including extremely hard water that can affect ionizer performance and durability.

With unequaled ionizing performance, as proven by EPA Certified Silver State Labs, the AlkaViva range of home water ionizers with UltraWater inside is your best choice to address any concern about tap water quality and safety.

Water Quality Determines Ionizer PerformanceAn often overlooked factor in whether you are getting the best ionized water possible is the quality of the source water. Conductive minerals are important, but too high a concentration can cause problems. What about the presence of chemicals? It’s important to only ionize the cleanest water, otherwise you will probably be drinking and absorbing even more contaminants than you would from normal tap water.

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