The National Post in Canada published an article today about what has happened, or more precisely, what has not happened since a deadly E.Coli outbreak in the town of Walkerton, Ontario in 2000.  You can read the article at: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/story.html?id=3035272#ixzz0oFLcQ4gY Photo courtesy of: Carlo Allegri/National Post

The article serves as a good reminder that our water is not nearly as safe as your government would have you think.  For example, most of us believe that we are fortunate in North America to have great water.  However, you might want to reconsider. 

The article points out that we have voluntary national guidelines when it comes to water supply.  That means that our provinces (equivalent to States in the USA) can and do set their own standards of what they consider to be safe. 

People living in smaller rural communities and First Nations, who don’t have the significant tax base of municipalities to build sophisticated filtration systems, are often left to fend for themselves.  In many cases, these citizens are subject to water boiling advisories on a regular or even full time basis.  Boiling your drinking water is not fun!

The Canadian federal government regulates health care, food quality, and even bottled-water, but it doesn’t regulate our drinking water!  How can that be?  There is nothing more basic to human health than the air that we breathe and the water that we drink.     

The article points out that the Canadian guidelines for drinking water safety standards are up 1,000 weaker than the standards in the EU and Australia. Surely this can’t be true.  But it is, and it gets worse! 

The Canadian guidelines for the concentration of contaminants in our drinking water are weaker than the guidelines set by the World Health Organization for 53 out of 67 contaminants that were reviewed.  So we live in a wealthy country where you can visit a doctor every day of your life for free, and we have sub-standard drinking water regulations. Talk about putting the cart in front of the horse. 

Our governments in both Canada and the States swear that our water is safe.  Too bad the World Health Organization doesn’t think so.  

Find out what is in your water.  It is easy to do be contacting your municipality or having your water tested at a water store.  Learn if you are at risk, and take the necessary steps to protect you and your family.  Simple and cost effective filter systems can easily be customized for your needs. Think about all the things you do to protect your family, from housing to insurance and so on.  Nothing is more important to your health and safety than your drinking water.  Take an hour of your time to find out if you are at risk.  It’s free.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and those quoted in the article.