# U.S. Cities with best and worst tap water



## mr.greengenes (Dec 12, 2009)

Cities with best and worst tap water
By Lori Bongiorno 
Posted Sat Dec 12, 2009 10:55am PST 
Related topics: Health, Tips, Pollution, Tools, Water 
More from The Conscious Consumer blog 





How safe is the water that flows out of your tap? The answer very much depends on where you live. 

It's now easier than ever for consumers to find out what's in their tap water. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) today released the results of a three-year investigation of municipal water supplies across the U.S. 

The research and advocacy group looked at water quality tests performed by water utilities since 2004 and created an extensive database that contains info on the contaminants found in 48,000 communities in 45 states.  

EWG also rated 100 big city (population over 250,000) water utilities. Below are the top and bottom results.



Cities with the best water:
Arlington, TX
Providence, RI
Fort Worth, TX
Charleston, SC
Boston, MA
Honolulu, HI
Austin, TX
Fairfax County, VA
St. Louis, MO
Minneapolis, MN



Cities with the worst water: 
Pensacola, FL
Riverside, CA
Las Vegas, NV
Riverside County, CA
Reno, NV
Houston, TX
Omaha, NE
North Las Vegas, NV
San Diego, CA
Jacksonville, FL



If you live in one of the few areas that weren't investigated, you can get an annual report of what's in your public drinking water. If your water comes from a well, then see the EPA's guidelines for those who use private wells.

The results of the investigation raise some concerns about municipal water supplies in the U.S. EWG says 316 different contaminants were found in the nation's tap water. The group also points out that more than half of those contaminants aren't regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency. 

Establishing more effective source water protection programs and developing enforceable government standards for contaminants would go a long way toward improving the nation's water supply, according to the EWG.

In the meantime, no one is suggesting that you go out and start drinking bottled water (although, of course, in emergency situations it can be necessary). Experts still agree  that drinking tap is preferable to drinking bottled water. Bottled water is much more expensive than tap, it takes a huge toll on the planet, and it's not necessarily any safer than tap. "Bottled water is not regulated in the same way as tap water," says Olga Naidenko, a senior scientist at EWG. "With bottled water, consumers often do not know what they are getting, and 25 to 40 percent of bottled water on the market is simply tap poured into a bottle." 

Knowing what's in your water is the key. Once you know which contaminants are present, you can find the best filter to get rid of them.


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## the chef (Dec 12, 2009)

Thnx fer the scoop. live in one of the best, home is one of the worst.


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## Tact (Dec 14, 2009)

I am in St. Louis, in a suburb to the West of the city interior. The native pH is 9.9 and the ppm is 265 in my tap (several faucets), and the same at my parents house, it is treated with chrlomine and has arsenic in small amounts due to agriculture runoff. They take the water straight from teh Mississippi, Missouri, and Meramec rivers, then treat them heavily.

Not sure how we are in the best water category.


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## someguy (Dec 18, 2009)

nice, i was born in NV, live in CA, the 2 worst states. but where im at the water is good for city. most places in the states are better than bottled water when it comes to purity. a lot goes into treating raw water


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## godspeedsuckah (Dec 31, 2009)

Add all of NY to that list LOL. My tap water has a ph of 9 - 11 depending on the season. I don't understand why there is such a fluctuation but during the summer months it can hit 11 and in the winter it ranges from 8.5 - 9.


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