Water is critical to sustaining life, and an accessible, safe and adequate supply must be availed to all humanity. Clean water is the single most vital building block of ecosystems globally. Continuous improvement of safe drinking water yields tangible health benefits. Undoubtedly, each effort should be made to attain safe drinking water. When water is polluted or contaminated, it destroys nature as well as human health.

Filtering water at home offers defense against impurities that made their way through the local utility. Therefore, if you are using well water in your home, it is important to filter it with the aim of making it safe for you and your family. To further improve the quality of drinking water, experts recommend filtering water at all times.

It is worth noting that well water is harder to filter than regular water; thus, homeowners should invest in extra string filters. There is no sure way of ensuring the water getting into homes is 100% fit for consumption without filtering it.

Fortunately, there are ways of protecting the quality of water for use in households. Read on!

1. Test it

When households drink water from a well, they should have it tested regularly by a licensed testing laboratory. Even though your neighbors well water is found safe after testing, this does not mean that yours is safe. Experts advise that testing should be done annually. Specific testing for contaminants like lead should also be done. Frequent testing for private wells should be done if;

♦ A change in water quality is detected such as taste, colour or odour

♦ Any part of your well system is repaired or replaced

♦ There is a significant change in conditions near your well, for instance, a new construction and flooding

♦ There are known problems with drinking water or groundwater in your area.

2. Treatment

Treating water often is a practice that assures safe drinking water in your home. It is a safety measure for removal or reduction of any impurities that could be present in drinking water. The most common sources of contaminants are:

♦ Overflows of sewer

♦ Manufacturing processes

♦ Faulty wastewater treatment systems

♦ Minerals and chemicals that occur naturally

♦ Land use practices in the locality

3. Drink boiled water

As directed by health authorities and local government, water should be taken bottled or boiled. Boiled water is good for the overall health as it removes bacteria and viruses present in water. This preventive measure treats the unseen impurities that cause waterborne infections such as flu, fever, cough and cold. Most households substitute filtration with boiling water as some filters are relatively expensive. Additionally, it is almost impossible to filter out other pollutants such as lead, making boiled water safer to drink.

4. Proper distribution, storage and handling of drinking water

It is inevitable to store, handle and distribute the drinking water supplied to our homes. The water gets to our homes through pipes, is stored in tanks and is handled while cooking. Improper handling of it may affect sanitation and hygiene. For this reason, the following preventive measures can be adopted to ensure its overall quality are adopted:

Keep plumbing up to date

Besides paint flecks, lead pipes are carriers of toxic metals in homes. Lead from these pipes also pollutes water and cause developmental issues among children and kidney dysfunction among adults. In significant consideration is that corroded copper pipes are replaced as long term exposure to copper can lead to kidney and liver damage.

Avoid poisoning the reservoir

The safety of drinking water cannot be stressed enough. We all enjoy the beauty of well-manicured lawns and maintained flower beds, and thus, proper disposal of these chemicals should be sought.

Thorough cleaning of drinking water cups, bottles and storage containers

Once the water is purified or filtered and rendered safe for drinking, proper storage should ensue. It is invaluable for removing impurities in water and drinking the same in dirty bottles and cups. For this reason, thorough cleaning of the same should be embraced at all time as piped water in many households is not a guarantee.

Water is life for humanity and all living things. There is no guarantee of clean water from all its sources. For this reason, it is paramount that its cleanliness and fitness for consumption is embraced. Failure to do this leads to the contamination that, in turn, causes illness among adults and children. Globally, continuous improvement of the quality of water is sought.

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