HOW SAFE IS YOUR WATER?

DENVER TEENS CLEAN UP LEAD IN WATER

THE WATER IS NASTY--FIX IT! Searching 4-Real [H.sub.2]O." That's what students at Cole Middle School in Denver, Colorado, named their environmental project. "When kids in class wondered why their water at home tasted so nasty, it gave us a brainstorm," says Jamila Ealy, 13.

The students collected neighborhood water samples in bottles, then tested them in the school science lab. "What we found shocked us," says Brian Bell, 13. Of 30 homes tested, 27 contained water with unsafe levels of lead, a metal that can harm children.

Drinking water is safe for more than 9 out of 10 Americans, claims the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Federal standards limit the amount of lead in water to 0.015 milligrams per liter of water. But the older homes in Denver contained 0.02 milligrams. "You never think your water might actually be harmful," Jamila says.

While most Denver public water is safe, old lead plumbing pipes can cause contamination. Lead reacts with water to corrode, or break down the metal. Lead dissolves and turns tap water toxic, or poisonous. "We knew we had to do something," Brian says.

The students went to work writing grants--and raised nearly $10,000 from organizations such as the National 4-H Council. Their future goal: to identify 200 water-contaminated homes in which pregnant women and children live. They plan to install filters that eliminate 99 percent of lead. Talk about testing the water! How safe is your own water? Read on.

Q. What can pollute drinking water?

A. Chemicals like lead used in old plumbing pipes or nitrates from fertilizer contaminate water. Rain runoff can carry bacteria from animal wastes to reservoirs.

Q. Just how safe is your water?

A. "Most tap water is entirely safe to drink," says EPA spokeswoman Robin Woods. "But local problems do happen." Of the more than 55,000 Community Water Systems in the U.S., 4,769 or 8.6 percent reported a violation of federal water standards in 1996. This means that one or more pollutants were found in their drinking water (see chart, p. 18).

Q. Why is lead harmful?

A. Lead is a poisonous metal permanently absorbed by body tissue, especially by brain tissue. In infants and young children, lead can stunt mental and physical development. For older adults, an excess of lead can raise blood pressure and increase the risk of stroke and kidney disease.

Q. Can water filters help remove lead from water?

A. You can't taste or smell lead dissolved in water--but rusty water offers a clue. A wide variety of water-filter systems eliminate from 65 (not enough!) to 99 percent of lead in water.

WATER WRECKERS

More common pollutants

                         Federal
CONTAMINANT             Standards                Sources

ASBESTOS                7 million          Asbestos cement can
                         fibers           decay in water mains,
                       (fiber > 10
                       micrometers
                       per liter)

COPPER                     1.3            Copper can corrode in
                       milligrams            plumbing systems
                        per liter           or erode naturally
                                               in aquifers.

CYANIDE                    0.2            Cyanide can discharge
                       milligrams           into water sources
                        per liter            from steel/metal
                                                factories.

FLUORIDE                   4.0             Too much fluoride is
                       milligrams              harmful when
                        per liter            discharged from
                                         fertilizer and factories.

NITRATE(*)                 10              Nitrate can run off
                       milligrams         from fertilizer use or
                        per liter         leach from sewage into
                                              water sources.

CONTAMINANT          Health Hazards

ASBESTOS                 Risk of
                   intestinal problems

COPPER              Gastrointestinal
                  problems; kidney and
                      liver damage

CYANIDE              Nerve damage or
                    thyroid problems

FLUORIDE            Bone disease and
                    mottled teeth in
                        children

NITRATE(*)         Baby Blue Syndrome:
                   Blue skin tone and
                   shortness of breath
                       in infants

(*) measured as nitrogen

Take Action

You can help reduce lead in drinking water:

[check] If a faucet connected to a lead pipe hasn't been used for more than six hours, "flush" your water before you take a gulp. Let water run until it's cold. The longer the water sits in pipes, the more lead it collects.

[check] If you suspect too much lead in your tap water, arrange for testing by a local EPA-approved lab. Call the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791. Or call your local water company.

[check] For more information, check out these Web sites: www.epa.gov/watrhome/pubs /lead1.html www.wqa.org/Consumer