Troubled Water What's Wrong With What We Drink

Teflon In The Drinking Water, No Regulations, Toilet to Tap, Where's The Grey Water?

Troubled Water: What's Wrong With What We Drink by Seth M. Siegel

This was an interesting, disturbing, & at times boring read. I run my own small organic farm, with my own well water. Fracking moved in (of course, where else would one frack but in low populated areas with people who have no voice?). Naturally I am concerned about my well water. I do not use chemicals (not even the organic approved types). That doesn't necessarily mean my water is safe to drink. My water runs through four filters before I drink it.

The author suggests federal regulations/rules on well water. As of now, there are zero. I kind of like it that way. It's my water. Personally, I don't want the government sticking their nose into my well. There is enough government in our lives as it is & I hardly see the government doing the citizens a whole heck of a lot of good. Let the chemical companies be responsible for keeping our water clean & hold them to it. In regards to water companies, oh my, this book says a lot. What a mess. Knowing I'm an Eco Farmer, folks are always shocked when I say we need to get rid of the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). They are worthless. This book shows just how worthless they are in protecting (not!) our water. Never mind all the other environmental things they are supposed to be protecting. Ban the EPA. The sooner the better.

This book mostly shows just how totally F'd our public water sources/systems are. The author provides several examples of death or sickness by drinking water. Ironically, one of our favorite polluters, DuPont, provides a water filter. Oh the irony.

Sadly, I am so glad to finally be done reading this book. It is full of very important, eye-opening information, but man oh man, it just became too much by the last quarter. By then it just felt repetitive. I'm not in anyway suggesting not to read this. Everyone should. We are all dead without water. It would have received a full 5 star rating for me if the author did a better job at holding my attention on the topic like other authors have managed in similar types of books.

How about "Toilet To Tap"? That is fun. Orange County CA recycles sewage for drinking water. Apparently it's the cleanest water in the world. Fuji & S. Pellegrino are two companies with the only naturally sourced bottled water available. The others are likely no better & possibly worse than what comes out of ones tap & in case you've been living under a rock for the past decade, are adding mountains of plastic waste to our already overburdened ecosystem. S. Pellegrino used to be bottled in green glass (anyone remember that? I do!) now it's often in plastic. Sigh.

When reading about Toilet to Tap, I realized that there was no mention of using Grey Water. I find this very disappointing. For those who don't know, Grey Water is when you utilize your kitchen & bathroom water to flush your toilet. Basically you are reusing your water. I've never really understood urinating & defecating in perfectly clean drinkable water myself. Grey Water makes so much more sense.

There is so much in this book. I simply cannot recall it all. It's worth reading. Take it in wee doses so you don't nod off.