How Safe Is West Alabama Drinking Water?

That seems like an important question to me.

Get our free mobile app

I drink lots and lots of water every single day.

I've never been much of a fan of soda and coffee as a beverage.

Water is the source of all life.

We drink it. We cook with it and we bathe in the water from our local communities.

Yes, bottled water or a good water filter can handle most of these issues.

However, I don't always remember to get a huge, heavy pack of bottled water and lug it up my stairs.

I want the water to be clean. Is that so much to ask?

I recently read a story on 15 Gross Thinks Lurking In Our Water on eatthis.com.

Arsenic is one of them. It might occur naturally but it still can kill you in larger doses.

Salmonella is another one that has been found in drinking water.

How about Rocket Fuel?

Yes, that has also been found in drinking water in the USA.

Let's take a look at the water quality in Tuscaloosa and Northport for our main course.

I could only find the 2022 water report for Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Have you ever seen the program "Monsters Inside Me"?

You can catch episodes on Netflix at the moment. The show examines cases of individuals who have unwillingly ingested awful things.

Some of them die. Most of the time they figure out the cause and the cure.

I have watched episodes with a focus on an individual who drinks tap water (or takes a shower) and ends up fighting for their life.

In the Tuscaloosa report, they mention "Coliform Bacteria" being detected.

Yes, it is at a very low level.

However, this is an organism present in the feces of all warm-blooded animals.

I don't want any of it in my local water!

Are you ok with feces in your drink if it's just a small amount?

That's what I thought.

My other favorite "detected contaminant" in our water is "nitrate No3".

This is defined in the Tuscaloosa water quality report as: Runoff from fertilizer use; Leaching from septic tanks, sewage; 

Well, there's nothing better with my chicken wings than a beverage with fertilizer runoff, leaching from septic tanks/sewage.

Again, does it matter if it's only a little sewage in your ice water?

I don't think most of us check into what is actually in our water.

That's why I'm trying to shed some light on the topic.

Here's the Northport water report.

Most of it is a duplicate of the Tuscaloosa water report.

Except for a section on Cryptosporidium.

This is a really interesting item. What is Cryptosporidium?

It's a microscopic parasite.

Suddenly, I'm not thirsty.