Hi,
My parents have decided to buy bottled water.
But I'm not too sure if its worth it, I saw in a T.V.
show one day that tap water is just as good as bottled water
(i'm in Canada).
Also whats the diff between the different bottled water,
i.e. spring-water, natural-source water etc etc

cheers
mike

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In Galveston (where I hear they've updated the public supply system
since) we had high quantities of sulphur.

In Humboldt Co. we had a lot of ag and dairy waste going into the water,
so..

Check out what's happening in your area.

Often you can taste the difference.  In the East Bay (San
Francisco Bay, that is) everyone noticed how much better their water
tasted after a dam on the Sacramento developed a stuck "door" problem -
the water the dam lost washed a lot of the San Francisco Bay clean,
bringing health to fish, crabs and people. A lot of people are realizing
the quality of life would be a lot higher around there if the dam weren't
holding the fresh water back.

DN

If you are in the Ottawa area ( I assume you are from your NCF email
address ), you probably have come across an article in the Ottawa Citizen
which appeared not too long ago.  It was about a study showing that people
who bathe, drink and shower in water treated with Chlorine have a higher
rate of bladder and another form of cancers.  The actual cause is the
byproducts of chlorine reaction with organic matters such as algae and
other plant materials.  The recommendation is to drink a reputable
brand of bottled water or water kept for at least overnight in the frig.

I have been drinking distilled water for the last 8 years.  I carry my
water bottles around.

The best water is plain ole' H2O.  No minerals, no organic compounds.
But, plain water is tasteless and most people do not like it.  On the
other hand, I can taste (and  reject) anything but distilled or
de-ionized water.  Let me(briefly) explain what the terms mean.

distilled water is boiled into steam and condensed back to liquid
water.  All the minerals (like, dirt) are supposed to remain in the
boiler but some traces may be carried over by the steam.  This,
however is minimal and perhaps negligible.  
Distillation will not remove organics from the water because some have
a lower boiling point than water.  Activated carbon filtration will
remove the organics.  This is the process I use in my home with my
Sears Home Distiller.

At work, we need very pure water so we have deionizer beds followed by
activated carborn filtration.  This produces a better water than with
distillation because all mineral ions are removed by the filters and
the organics by the activated carbon.

I cannot taste the difference between distilled and de-ionized water.

Don't believe the common myths that

"distilled water will leach the minerals out of your body"

OR

"you need those minerals"

Baloney,  a balance diet (and occasional vitamin supplements) has kept
me alive and well for all this time.  Sure, you need those minerals,
you just don't need them in your water supply!

There are a couple more purification processes that I am aware of.
Ozonation and UV light sterilization.  I believe these kill bacteria
in the water but I am not sure.

greetings and good tastibg water!

LuisD

In US and Canada, there is rarely a need to do anything to tap water. If you
are looking for 100% safety, it doesn't exist.

IMO,

Mark Shelly

So, what do I do?  Buy Spring water.  You can ask the companies for a Lab
content test of their water.  I'ld boil the water for a couple of minutes
before giving it to someone with weakened immune functions...

Good luck.

Ideas anyone?

DN

I strongly suspect the boiling has more to do with the safety of coffee
than the acidity of the grounds.
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 * DeLuxe2/386 1.25 #10827 * I tried the rest but bought the best!!!!