In a television special, "The Poisoning of America," the danger that our water is now in, both in the earth and at the tap, was made very clear. Though some countries have concerns about infectious water, that problem is minimal for us in America. Our woes are problems of modern technology—toxic chemical wastes, farming wastes, and heavy metals. Yet, technology can also help us correct these difficulties. We have made some progress with filtration, purification, and distillation through more chemicals and water units, but we still have a ways to go. I believe we can do better. I also believe it is going to take a half century or more to clean up our waters and counteract the destruction we’ve done to our planet. The generation born now through the end of this century will need to be the "dismantlers," the "cleanup" generation. Let us hope this process is successful.

Well Water
Well water comes primarily from groundwater supplies and can vary greatly in its mineral content. Some is very low in most minerals while other well water is a rich source of beneficial nutritional minerals such as iron, zinc, selenium, magnesium, or calcium. Unfortunately, groundwater may also contain toxic heavy metals or agricultural and industrial chemical pollutants such as pesticides, herbicides, radon, asbestos, or hydrocarbons (gasoline by-products).

If your water source is a well, have the water analyzed for bacteria, mineral content, and organic chemical pollutants. With a clean bill of health, go ahead and use this potentially nutritious water freely.

Spring Water
This is the "natural" water found in surface or underground springs. Some companies retrieve and bottle this water. Other than being disinfected (chlorine may be used), this water is not processed. The water tastes very different from tap water and, to me, is a refreshing drink. The mineral content depends upon the region from which the water is taken and upon whether it is surface or underground water (surface spring water is relatively low in minerals). For example, the lakes, streams, and spring water from the southeastern and northwestern regions of our country are relatively low in minerals, and this "soft" water may increase the incidence of cardiovascular disease. The Midwest, in contrast, has high-mineral underground waters, and the farm people who drink this unchlorinated well water have a lower cardiovascular disease rate. Of course, there may be other lifestyle factors that contribute to this finding.

Just as groundwater can be polluted, spring water can also be contaminated. It is a good idea to have spring water checked out or to get full reports or summaries of tests from the company selling spring water. Ideally, these are independent lab reports performed yearly. Also, find out if the water is bottled at the source or transported and then treated and bottled. (Water bottled at the source is preferable.) Though spring water can be costly, it is high on the list of drinkable waters.

Martin Fox, in his book Healthy Water for a Longer Life, suggests that three ideal characteristics of drinking water are: (1) total dissolved solids of about 300 ppm. (parts per million), (2) hardness (containing at least 170 mg./l. of calcium carbonate), and (3) an alkaline pH (over 7.0), to reduce leeching of metals from pipes. Spring and well waters may fit into these categories.

Mineral Water
Really, most waters are mineral waters—that is, they contain minerals. In California, the standard for bottled mineral water is more than 500 ppm. of dissolved minerals. Underground bubbly water, called "natural sparkling water," usually contains lots of minerals, as well as carbon dioxide (CO2). Many companies bottling this "mineral" water must inject CO2 back into the water, since it is easily lost between the ground and bottle. Seltzer is any water that is carbonated with carbon dioxide; it is usually filtered tap water. Club soda is essentially the same, though it usually has more minerals added.