Talk about an eye opener! I recently had the opportunity to read an actual drinking water system report, prepared by the company that provides water to my mother's suburban community. I have to admit that I was disturbed by what I read. These water evaluations study what is in our drinking water. They measure and report the presence and concentration of specific contaminants and where the contaminants come from.

The ironic thing about this scary document was that it was subtitled, "2007 Consumer Confidence Report."

And just what is in our drinking water...according to this report?

This drinking water system reported that the following contaminants may be present in source water:

"Microbial contaminants such as viruses and bacteria that may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems agricultural livestock operations and wildlife"

"Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, that can be naturally-occuring or result from urban storm water runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining, or farming"

"Pesticides and herbicides, that may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban storm water runoff and residential sues.

"Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) that are byproducts of industrial processes and petroleum production and can also come from gas stations, urban storm water runoff and septic systems"

"Radioactive contaminants, that can be naturally-occuring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities"

Despite this information, the overall conclusion of this drinking water system report was that my mom's water is safe. This was based on standards set by the EPA and the state in accordance with the Safe Drinking Act.

However, this report included a warning that some people may be more vulnerable than the general population to what is in our drinking water. Persons undergoing chemotherapy, persons who have received organ transplants, persons with HIV/AIDS, elderly and infants may be at risk from drinking this water. This report advised these persons to consult with their health care providers about drinking water.

I don't know about you, but I imagine that this information doesn't inspire too much "consumer confidence" in the people tapped into this drinking water system. Its hard to imagine that the presence of these contaminants at ANY level would make people confident about drinking water from their tap.

So is there an alternative to this "iffy" drinking water that can truly inspire "consumer confidence?" Absolutely! Several alternatives, in fact.

There is a wide range of products and services can meet the needs of you and your family. But you should definitely do some comparison shopping. Not all water filtrations systems are created equally. If you're not sure how to start, you can immediately narrow your search by looking for products that are based on multi-stage filtration systems. These are the best filters for effectively removing chlorine, lead and VOCs.

If you take a little time to do some simple research, you will find, like I did, that drinking water filters are a safe, convenient and inexpensive way to greatly improve your drinking water system.

So instead of relying on an annual report to answer the question, "what is in our drinking water?" you can confidently take a drink and know what ISN'T in your water.