The Safe Drinking Water Act was enacted ages ago to ensure that the quality of tap water was of an acceptable standard and not a health risk to consumers. However what Congress intended to happen and what is actually happening are not always one and the same.

This act regulates about 91chemicals that could potential be found in your tap water and could prove harmful. However, this coverage may not necessarily be enough to give you adequate protect from potentially harmful contaminants.

For one thing, there are a lot more than 91 potentially harmful substances that can get into your tap water. The Ralph Nader Institute estimates that there are about 2100 toxic substances that be harmful when found in our water supply. It would be a wise decision to have a mechanism in place that could give you some protection against the other 2000 or so contaminants.

But what is even more disturbing that than the sheer volume of drinking water contaminants is that in some areas, the Safe Drinking Water Act is being ignored.

There was the case of residents in West Virginia who after having a shower, experienced scabs and skin burns. These burns were unfortunately caused by their tap water containing harmful chemicals.

It was since discovered that the water contain contaminants such as arsenic, lead and nickel, substances which can cause damage to liver and kidneys. These contaminants got into the water supply as a result of the mining operations in the area. Those companies were pumping those substances into the ground.

Residents eventually sued those companies but it is scary to think that municipal water authorities did not initially detect the contamination.

This is not just a one time evident either, there have been cases of water contamination in other areas of the country.

This should tell you one thing, you cannot totally depend on the Safe Drinking Water Act or any body to maintain water quality. Accidents do happen, you need to be proactive.

The best way to be proactive is to acquire a home water filtration system that can remove the contaminants that remain in your water supply. But before you acquire such a filter, make sure you do your research to find out which filter systems are of high quality.