Drinking Water, General Information

A person properly cleaning fresh, uncooked produce, By: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Introduction

Nine out of ten people in the United States derive their tap water from public water systems

(Centers of Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2025, Overview, para. 2). Roughly 150,000 public water systems supply drinking water to the majority of Americans (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2025, Basic Information about Your Drinking Water, para. 3).

Tap water in the United States mainly is attained from lakes, reservoirs, water under the ground, or rivers (CDC, 2025, Where tap water comes from, para.1). Furthermore, water typically gets to your tap via a private well or a local water utility (CDC, 2025, Where tap water comes from, para. 3).

Contaminants & Health Issues

"Surface waters and aquifers can be contaminated by various chemicals, microbes, and radionuclides." (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [EPA], 2025, Drinking Water Quality, para. 1). The main categories of drinking water contaminants are: physical contaminants that mainly affect the physical properties or physical appearance of water such as: organic or sediment material suspended in water of lakes, rivers or streams from soil erosion; chemical contaminants which are compounds or elements such as: bleach, nitrogen, salts, pesticides, metals, animal or human drugs, and toxins made by bacteria; biological contaminants which are organisms in water such as protozoa, bacteria, parasites, and viruses; and radiological contaminants which are chemical elements with an uneven number neutrons and protons which lead to unsteady atoms that can release ionizing radiation such as uranium, plutonium and cesium (EPA, 2025, Types of Drinking Water Contaminants, paras. 4-7).

If there are unsafe levels of contaminants in drinking water, it may result in health outcomes, like nervous system or reproductive effects, gastrointestinal illnesses, and chronic diseases like cancer (EPA, 2025, Effects on Human Health, para.1).

Water Consumption & Benefits

The consumption of water can avert dehydration, which may result in mood change, fuzzy thinking, constipation, kidney stones, and overheating (CDC, 2024, Plain water consumption variers, para. 1). Furthermore, water assists your body to do the following: smooth and cushion joints, maintain a normal temperature, get rid of waste by perspiration, bowel movements, and urination, and safeguards your spinal chord and other sensitive tissues (CDC, 2024, Benefits of drinking water, para. 2).

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025, January, 30). About Drinking Water.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/drinking-water/about/index.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). [A person properly cleaning fresh, uncooked produce].

Unsplash. Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@cdc utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">CDC</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/woman-in-purple-and-white-floral-shirt-sitting-on-white-bed-UrcuFgKfSS4?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>

Centers For Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, January 19). Fast Facts: Data on Water

Consumption. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/php/data-research/fast-facts-water-consumption.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, January 2). Healthy Weight and Growth.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/healthy-weight-growth/water-healthy-drinks/index.html

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2025, June 17). Drinking Water. U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency. https://www.epa.gov/report-environment/drinking-water#effects

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2025, October 28). Ground Water and Drinking

Water. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/basic-information-about-your-drinking-water#:~:text=Infographic:%20How%20does%20your%20water,not%20regulated%20under%20the%20SDWA.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2025, July 29). Types of Drinking Water

Contaminants. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. https://www.epa.gov/ccl/types-drinking-water-contaminants

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