Drinking water

Pippen33

I've been working for a water company, United Utilities for the past 9 months, but I've only just realised what the water goes through before you actually drink it...

" Water treatment technology must deal with a number of potential perils resulting from the movement of water from its source to our tap. Mountain springs might flow through sulfur, zinc or arsenic-laden formations. Groundwater can pick up contamination from fertilizers, septic tanks, mine drainage, naturally occurring minerals, industrial chemicals and metals such as arsenic and chromium. Rivers and streams sometimes carry harmful microorganisms from animals or humans, presenting a risk of disease. Storm drains can carry polluted runoff from cities into rivers and streams."... and from the website from which this is coped, this is just the beginning.

This is from a city reservoir. Though, luckily, mine comes directly from the lake district, Ennerdale Lake, to be precise.

And

Will Snow

cant say i really care. been drinking it all me life, and im not dead yet...

ride_whenever

I'm a rower, the water coming out of my tap is the least of my worries...

Vaudevillevillain

Good old water eh..

Luckily its treated after all that, otherwise it wouldnt be fit for consumption.

Shadowduck

Vaudevillevillain wrote:

Luckily its treated after all that, otherwise it wouldnt be fit for consumption.

Ours isn't, until it's been through a Brita filter to get rid of the metallic taste...

Will Snow

i think the meattalic taste probably comes from your tap

strodey

I'm sure the ammount of money i pay thames water means its safe!
All that chlorine left making that funny taste must mean my camelbak is less likely to start smelling too

Will Snow

lol how many people do you know who have died from drinking water??? well... sensible amounts of water, am sure someone actually managed to drown themselves by drinking pints and pints of water... but that doesnt count.

hastings

well if you drink like 14 liters of water in a short time (i.e. a day) you will die. This is because your cells absorb water and when they absorb too much, when they enter your brain they will compress your brain in your head and it'll 'explode'

Will Snow

your brain... will explode??? awesome...

hastings

well not explode but all of the major parts will become so compressed they will rupture or cease to work although if you have a weak skull it could explode :roll:

Shadowduck

Hmmm... I always thought the main problem with excessive hydration was electrolyte balance or some such. Too much water can definitely be dangerous but the "exploding brain" sounds a bit like an urban legend to me.

ride_whenever

THat isn't true, your kidneys can remove water faster than your gut can take it up. You have to take something that will impair your kidney function first, like ecstacy.

schmako

Living in Scotland is awesome for the water. Especially seeing as the reserviour is up the hills, so I guess all we've got to worry about is a dead sheep upstream..

ride_whenever

With exercise you can effectively dilute yourself too much and not be able to maintain ion gradients, it killed that marathon runner a while ago. But that is due to sweating out electrolytes and not replacing them.

baccaman21

what are electrolytes? are they like midichlorions?

Sikora

Vaudevillevillain wrote:

Good old water eh..

Luckily its treated after all that, otherwise it wouldnt be fit for consumption.

I live halfway up a mountain in North Wales and my water comes straight from a spring at the top of the mountain. No artificial filtration. Its gets tested regulary and its perfectly fine for drinking. None of those nasty chemicals that the water companies put in their water.