Water?

I do think a lot of water can be trusted. But we do use our own water filters and UV filtration system no matter where we go just to be safe. We do know there are places in Mexico where the water is fine. We also know there are places in the US where the water is not OK. To be safe we do our own filtering and UV purification (1 gallon per minute UV costs about $100 plus installation). I mentioned some websites earlier in this thread. Based on test results by experts we do not trust bottled water. We have read NY City tap water is the best water you can drink. Who knew?

I just wonder how many people here actually trust their local water system in the U.S. or Canada?

We drink well water here at home in Mexico and we only purchase filtered water (from a filter machine in our small town of Allende) for making coffee as the well water has a lot of minerals. The filtered water costs 10 pesos for five gallons.

I despise buying water in plastic bottles. Even with recycling, I have little faith that much of it is actually recycled but sold off to foreign countries who dump most of it. You know, out of sight out of mind.

I just returned from a week in Colombia; Cali and Bogota. No bottled water in the hotels, ask for water in a restaurant and you get water from the tap and my coworkers laughed when I asked if people drank bottled water. By that, and I explained, buying carts full of those nasty little plastic bottles from Costco and Sams.

They all seem to believe they have good water systems and drink freely from the tap. I did too and no rumblings. Going on 33 years here full time and no issues. But then again, it smoke and mirrors. Nobody really knows the truth and who do you trust.

Sad that municipal water works don't take pride in providing a necessity that all of nature needs to survive. I have to say though, most of the people I know and work with in Monterrey and surrounding areas that have service from AyD de Monterrey, drink from the tap. Monterrey has prize winning water, actual awards, and attempts to maintain a good network and infrastructure.

JMTC

In case it hasn't been mentioned elsewhere in this lengthy thread, a water FILTER is NOT a water PURIFIER. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) makes a clear distinction between the two. A filter may remove sediment and a few minerals, but filters geenrally do NOT remove the dangerous bacteria that will make you ill.

If water is not already safe to drink, it has to be PURIFIED to make it safe to drink. Look on Amazon and Ebay for water purifiers and you will see that most are made up of filtration to remove solids plus a bacteria killing stage such as ultra-violet exposure.

Purifiers, unfortunately, tend to be affordable only in low volume capacity. We use a purifier that meets FDA requirements but because it delivers only 1/2 gallon per minute we use it only for ice making and drinking water. Luckily, monthly testing of the municipal water supply here in Los Barriles always indicates that it meets all of the FDA requirements for drinking water. As a result, we use it for brushing our teeth and washing dishes, etc.

Well water test kits are available on line that can be used to take a "snapshot" of water safety if you plan to stay in one place for a while.

I don't visit this site much, but whole house filters,with silver in the charcoal and a prefilter, both 4x10 in cannisters, will take metals and the nasties and most chemicals out of the water. On line like the water store has many filters as do other sites down to .5 micron carbon block. Usually only one filter here in most places in the states except RV parks using wells with a lot of sediment.
A prefilter of .25 filter carbon block will get most things before it eve gets to the primary filter. May have to change pre filter more often than the primary.
filter. It's no joke about the water south of the border

Garafons bombos. Now what did I do with that dictionary?

They are approximately 5 gallon round clear plastic jugs of assumed to be purified water sort of like the ones they put on water coolers turned upside down.

Garafons bombos. Now what did I do with that dictionary?

It is possible to find tight fitting caps that are not screwed on to garafons without threads that are very nearly drip free. If you find one, keep it and cherish it. We never found threads needed, besides, in many situations you are exchanging the garafons themselves (so you can keep that cap) and would lose your threaded one doing this. As well, the threaded ones that I have seen (and I have one) have a narrower neck. If you are using the Mexican bombos to pump your water, you will need one that fits the narrower neck. We have both, big deal, they cost about 3 dollars, so whichever garafon comes along, we are happy. It serves our drinking and food prepartion requirements, cheap insurance for staying healthy in Mexico. And anywhere else! The main water tank is for showers unless we can place our shower tent out in the sun, with a garafon warming up.

More about water shows up from time to time. More web addresses below where more can be learned. Some of these are trying to sell us something but they may have useful info. This has to do with water quality in the US – I can’t find much about water in Mexico but would guess if there are problems in the US there are probably problems in Mexico. Lots of tap water in bottles in the US – why would Mexico’s bottled water not be tap water?

Lead Poisoning Higher in Parts of Calif. Than Flint

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/lead-poisoning-higher-in-parts-of-calif-than-flint/ar-BByBful?li=BBnbcA1

Dozens of California communities have experienced recent rates of childhood lead poisoning that surpass those of Flint, Michigan, with one Fresno locale showing rates nearly three times higher, blood testing data obtained by Reuters shows.

In all, Reuters found at least 29 Golden State neighborhoods where children had elevated lead tests at rates at least as high as in Flint.

No level of lead exposure is safe, but children who test that high warrant a public health response, the CDC says.

OCTOBER 15, 2008
BOTTLED WATER QUALITY INVESTIGATION : TEST RESULTS: CHEMICALS IN BOTTLED WATER

http://www.ewg.org/research/bottled-water-quality-investigation/test-results-chemicals-bottled-water

Disinfection byproducts were found in 4 brands

Chemical Number
of Brands Range of Detections, ppb* Average of Detected Values, ppb*
Total Trihalomethanes 4 4.4 - 37 21
Chloroform 4 3.8 - 31 15
Bromodichloromethane 4 0.6-13 4.5
Bromoform 1 0.8 0.8
Chlorodibromomethane 1 3.7 - 8.2 5.4
Haloacetic Acids
Dichloroacetic acid 2 2 2
Trichloroacetic acid 1 2 2

Synthetic chemicals were found in 9 brands

Chemical Number
of Brands Range of Detections, ppb* Average of Detected Values, ppb*
Acetaldehyde 4 0.6 - 36 9.7
Hexane 4 0.2 - 0.8 0.55
Toluene 4 0.5 - 2.9 1.5
2-Methyl-1-propene 3 0.3 - 0.6 0.47
3-Methyl pentane 3 0.3 - 0.8 0.47
Isobutane 3 2.3 - 13.3 7
Methylcyclopentane 3 0.7 - 1.3 0.9
Octane 3 0.2 - 4 1.7
3-Methyl heptane 2 0.4 - 0.6 0.5
Cyclohexane 2 0.4 - 1.3 0.73
Decane 2 0.6 - 1.5 0.93
Heptadecane 2 0.3 - 1.2 0.75
(Z)-13-Docosenamide 1 1.2 1.2
1-Hexene 1 0.2 0.2
Hexadecanamide 1 0.7 0.7
Hexadecane 1 0.5 0.5
Methyl cyclopentane 1 1.3 1.3
Naphthalene 1 0.3 0.3
Nonadecane 1 0.4 0.4
Nonanoic acid 1 0.4 0.4
o-Hydroxybiphenyl 1 1.0 1.0
Tetrachloroethene 1 0.5 0.5


https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/crypto/gen_info/filters.html


How safe is bottled water?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/health/sc-bottled-water-health-0127-20160127-story.html

A report by the NRDC about 15 years ago — the latest large-scale study performed — tested more than 1,000 bottles from 103 brands of water by three independent labs. They found that about one-third of the bottles contained significant contamination with levels of chemical or bacterial contaminants exceeding those allowed under a state or industry standard or guideline in at least one test.


ANALYZING & COMPARING BRANDS OF BOTTLED WATER

https://www.alkalinewaterplus.com/analyzing-comparing-brands-of-bottled-w

If one does not want to bother with filters the simplest method is to fill the tank with Mexican water. Use it for showers and dish washing. Use garafons for drinking and cooking water. We keep a gollon jug in the fridge and refill as required When in area with known bad water we do not use it for any purpose. We have been sick many times from food. Never from water. No big deal to sanitize the tank when you return NOB. Reed; @ 2.5 gallons a day you must not have been showering in your unit. I would be worried about getting a skin disease from some of the CG showers. In some CG's they are NEVER cleaned.

Moisheh

My wife does not want anything but purified water in the tanks. Water in Yucatán was salty so we just filled 81 gallon tank on Fifth Wheel with garrafons. The Open Range pump will pull in about 2.5 gallons a minute.It took a while and did not cost much. Did the same on just finished 14 week trip through Mexico in Roadtrek. Carry an extra water pump and filled using this: Yucatán, San Cristobal, Patzcuaro, Rincon, San Carlos. We can last about 10 days on 24 gallons.