This question is obviously intended for those that live in places where tap water is “safe to drink.”

I live in Southern California, where I’m at the end of a long chain of cities. Occasionally, the tap smells of sulfur, hardness changes, or it tastes… odd. I’m curious about the perspective of people that are directly involved and their reasoning.

  • GreyShuck@feddit.uk
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    6 months ago

    I manage utility services - among other things - for a group of properties - and have had the mains water analysed for chemical and biological contamination at various times. The results have always been absolutely fine. Not just with EU limits, but far, far, far within them for almost everything and definitely well within them for all measures.

    I’ve got no issues at all with drinking tap water in the UK, even given the state of the rivers etc.

  • splitz@lemm.ee
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    6 months ago

    The fda tests bottle water. The epa tests tap water. The standards for the fda are lower than the epa. You’re being bambozzled.

  • jaschen@lemm.ee
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    6 months ago

    I used to live in Los Angeles and lived in Charlie Chaplin’s house that was on the old lot(the current Broadway shoes).

    The water coming into the house was probably clean, but the home’s pipes were all lead. I did one of those lead tests and it failed.

    So your sulfur taste could be from the home and not from the municipal water.

  • andrewta@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    I live in Minnesota. Close to Minneapolis. My brother does testing for swimming pools. He tested the city water for contaminates. He says do not drink it. If the level of chlorine in the city water was in pool water the pool would be shut down. It would not be safe to even swim in it. Yet the city claims it’s safe to drink.

    • Scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech
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      6 months ago

      Not that I don’t trust your brother who… works for the pools, but is there any data to back up this claim? The claim that, if I read right, that there’s more chlorine in tap water than in the pools? Sounds like something we could easily have tested.

  • elbowgrease@lemm.ee
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    6 months ago

    North East, US here. probably fine but I don’t trust it. we use a water filter for drinking

    • MrVilliam@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Same. I can take tap water fine but my wife hates it. But even so, we both can tell by taste when the filter is toast. We can also tell from the way our bathroom counters get white buildup just by incidental water droplets during handwashing that we have excessively hard water. Not dangerous but not pleasant.