How to Check for Contaminants in Your Tap Water: Simple Guide

Have you ever wondered what's actually in your tap water?

Sure, we cook with it. Some people drink it straight from the tap. Others use it, but run it through some sort of additional filter. I row that particular boat.

But what the heck's actually in that tap water? What exactly are you drinking/consuming? There's a website- from the Environmental Working Group- that will you. However, be warned. It will likely surprise and concern you.

I learned about the site through a former Owensboro resident. Elissa Payne now lives in Delaware, Ohio, which is the site of a recent train derailment. It's also within a couple of hundred miles of the East Palestine derailment where, according to ABC News, officials had to remove 1.5 million gallons of contaminated water from the site. That stat caught Elissa's attention and she has been on a 'life-saving' mission since. On TikTok, she is routinely heard "advocating that our water is just as processed as our food."

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So, what exactly does she mean?

I live in Daviess County, Kentucky. Actually, I live in the city limits of Owensboro. I'll be honest. I've never been a tap water fan. I either drink water from bottles or I use the water from refrigerator that is run through another filter. I've never been too sure of what it is I'm trying to filter out, it just seemed important to me to filter it. Elissa reminded me that a spill into the waterways of Ohio affects folks "way down the line" too.

So, out of curiosity, I searched my zip code (42301) and read through the list of contaminants detected in the most recent water quality report. According to that report, there were seven contaminants that exceed guidelines. And get this, the EWG says, "The Environmental Protection Agency hasn’t updated most of its drinking water standards in decades. When it comes to drinking water, a passing grade from the government does not necessarily mean the water is safe."

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What are the contaminants making our water unsafe?

Brace yourself. A couple of them detected in Daviess County will immediately ring a bell. The report detected arsenic, radium and chromium (hexavalent). You likely remember hexavalent chromium from the Erik Brockovich story.

What does Daviess County, KY's report say?

According to the stats from Daviess County's water report, the amount of hexavalent chromium in our water is 59x greater than the recommended limit. The amount of arsenic detected is 265x greater than the suggested limits.