Rust is a large threat to U.S. drinking water supply

Posted on Jan 24th 2007 5:01PM by Brian White

Filed Under: Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements

Take a wild guess about some of the most critical threats to American citizens -- from terrorist attacks to global warming -- and "drinking water quality" is generally not among them. But, the concern in that area is growing from the public's perspective.

Would you believe (sorry, Don Adams) that rust would be the culprit here? A great quote from this story is this: "If you clean up water and then put it into a dirty pipe, there's not much point." Right on.

With towns and cities all over the nation spending $50 billion annually to "clean water" from many sources, the distribution system may just put that risk right back there. Darn it. Time to drill my own well.

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Tags: drinking, drinking water, DrinkingWater, U.S. water supply, U.s.WaterSupply

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

F M Richbourg III 1-31-2007 @ 9:56PM

Knowing the water supply to be defiled by many kinds of awful pollutants (including some deadly poisons added by the water department--flouride and chlorine), thirty years ago I started filtering and distilling my drinking water. Now, at age 72, I enjoy robust health in no small part as a result of drinking large amounts of clean, pure distilled water. I look and feel 25 years younger than my calander age, and take no prescription drugs. I have no degenerative diseases or pains of any kind--not even headaches. I work out to excellent effect using heavy weights at the YMCA, and I sprint like a rabbit being chased by a bobcat. If you've never seen a rabbit being chased by a bobcat, let me assure you that is some very serious speed indeed. All my good friends now use water distillers in their homes because they want to be as healthy as I am and live as long as I reasonably expect to...about 120 or even beyond.

Webguyster 1-31-2007 @ 7:54AM

Isn't iron better than flouride?

melanie 1-31-2007 @ 10:09AM

wow rust in drinking water... thats definitly not healthy? lmao....

Melissa 1-31-2007 @ 9:14AM

considering you can die from much lower levels iron poisoning, and many water treatment plants have begun to eliminate the process of floridating the water... doubtful. the problem will only get worse, because consider the time and expense involved with relaplacing thousands of miles of iron pipes, not only the ones that bring the water to your home, but the ones in your home, that bring the water to your sink!

MARCI 1-31-2007 @ 12:40PM

We used to live in the thumb of Michigan,we had well water, When we first moved there it took 2 filters and 3 days to get the well water clear in the fish tank!!! Every item of white clothing turned yellow/orange after only several washings! I won't even begin to tell you how hard it was to clean tub, sink, toilet etc!!!! Sno bowl made a fortune off of us! The threat of rust can't always be taken care of. (we also had a filter under house, still didn't get all of the rust!) I now live in Fla., it's so nice to have "city" water!!

Chris 1-31-2007 @ 11:06AM

Iron and fluoride will kill you huh? Maybe you should prove this! The CDC recognizes fluoride as one of the greatest US public health achievements. Chicago, with 5 million people on it's water, has been fluoridating for over 40 years - are cancer rates in Chicago any higher than cities with similar urban conditions that don't fluoridate their water? Lets see, life expectancies are longer than ever, but fluoride and iron are killing us. You better never drive or ride in a car again - check the risk of dying from a car accident versus tap water! By the way - the greatest cause of death, is BIRTH!

Diane 1-31-2007 @ 10:36AM

I often thought about that. I also believe that rust is not the only thing that can invade our water supply. But, what can we do? If we buy bottled water, we really have no idea where it comes from.

david wakefield 1-31-2007 @ 10:38AM

My water in my condonis a dingy yellow, from rust. Seattle WA

david wakefield 1-31-2007 @ 10:43AM

My water in my condo is a dingy yellow, from rust. Seattle WA

William Lindblad 1-31-2007 @ 11:52AM

Great story, but it does not seem to "hold water". I was born and lived in a small city in N.J. for 40 years in which the water supply had a very heavy iron content. So much so that the iron particulate would build up in the water pipes to an extent that would have to be replaced. I am 65 and suffer no ill effects, nor was there ever anything to indicate water related problems other than a low rate of anemia, which I presume would be considered beneficial and the foul taste of iron, which was not.
This is not my imagination or ignorance as I have had comprehensive blood work for other ailments and there is nothing there related to iron.

Carl Tapp 1-31-2007 @ 10:54AM

AN ARTICLE WAS PRINTED IN THE MIAMI HERALD SEVERAL YEARS AGO , INFORMING THE PUBLIC ABOUT TAP WATER AND BOTTLED WATER .THE CONCLUSION WAS THAT TAP WATER IS GENERALLY UNSAFE IN MANY AREAS AND SOME BOTTLED WATER IS EVEN WORSE . WE HAVE USED DISTILLED WATER FOR YEARS AND NOW WE BUY WATER FROM A COMPANY NAMED -WATER TO GO . THEY HAVE AN ELABORATE SYSTEM OF FILTERS AND REVERSE OSMOSIS WHICH REMOVES ALL THE BAD
AND UNDESIRABLE THINGS . THE SYSTEM EVEN REMOVES ELEMENTS THAT ARE NOT REMOVED BY DISTILLATION . LOOK FOR A "WATER TO GO STORE".

david wakefield 1-31-2007 @ 10:47AM

The only way to know you are getting really clean water is either with a good filter, or buy distilled water and get your minerals from good vitamins, preferably liquid vitamins. Vitamins and minerals from pills are very hard to digest and can really clog up the intestines with undigested matter. My tap water has alot of rust in it.

Angel 1-31-2007 @ 10:59AM

We have a well..our water has been tested for Nitrates etc..we have exceptionally clean water..but as this article states..the pipe that delivers it to our home has bits of rust chunks falling into the water. We have a filter on the incoming water and that takes care of most of the problem. I feel fortunate to not have to drink the "city water" in our areas. When I go to town, or to the larger cities around here, the water tastes like pool water. Mine is fresh..clear..and with the filter..is now rust free. Sadly, there are folks within 5 miles of my house who's well water smells like rotten eggs, looks awful, stains their tub, faucets and toilets. It's disguisting, and sadly without investing in a reverse osmosis system, there is nothing they can do. I pray we never have to rely on "city water". I hope I live far enough away from the big city to never have to see that. Even my kids notice the difference between "city water" and well water.

Lisa 1-31-2007 @ 11:04AM

I actually work in water treatment and we take great pains to go out and take distribution samples from over 100 sites a month to ensure that the water quality is up to state edicts. We have three different lists of 100+ sites that cycle through every three months, and as our distrubution increases, so do the lists and the scope of our testing. I feel that the water we have in our community is the best we can produce and protect.

B Lester 1-31-2007 @ 11:49AM

I agree that rust and other chemicals flowing through our water pipes are not good for the body and have seen several cities encourage buying bottled water, but most of the places I have lived I had to pay a water bill which is part of the 50 billion dollars these cities and towns pay to clean up the water. So one would assume the people are paying for the clean up. The towns are not out any money for running these water plants.

Greg 1-31-2007 @ 11:51AM

Fluoride seems to do more harm than good. Read the scientific evidence. Also, you may want to read the back of a fluoride toothpaste tube. You'll be suprised what it says. If you really want fluoride for your teeth, get it from your dentist once or twice a year. There is no need to drink it in your water. It is a poison.

libby 1-31-2007 @ 12:21PM

William missed one point in his comment he may not have problems from iron but others in his area may have, it all depends on your metabolic type. I find it telling that many municipalities recomend buying bottled water. It's sad that the customer pays for what may not be all that healthy. Chlorine is the biggest threat, even Europe has found other ways to safeguard water health.

Cheryl 1-31-2007 @ 7:35PM

I live in Rhode Island and we seem to have pretty good water here. On occasion there have been some areas of the state that have had some problems but usually it is resolved quickly. I do drink mostly from the water on my refrigerator which has a filter on it but even the tap water tastes and smells good here. I've been to a few other states where the water is just horrible.

HtwoO 1-31-2007 @ 12:21PM

Mr. White is right on. According to US News & World Report of a three years ago, there is over 700,000 miles of water piping infrastructure in the U.S. Unfortunately the average age of that infrastructure ranges between 50 and 100 years old. Last year alone, there were over 238,000 main breaks due to deterioration of piping. Goverment estimates to fix this dilemma exceed over One Trillion Dollars. Forget the argument of iron or fluoride for minute, how do we address this more pressing issue? HtwoO