Losing Weight by Drinking Water - 7-Ways Water Helps You Lose Weight Just by Drinking It

Everyone knows that a human cannot live without water; but is water a miracle drug? Many health care professionals would say that it is. Dr. Masaru Emoto, author of The Messages From Water series of books, would certainly support the age-old practices of priests in many religions of imparting blessings and "miraculous" healing properties to water using nothing more than prayer, or intention. Some might say that Holy water, or healing waters, may only have power in our minds; but remember - our minds have power over our bodies, our health, and our lives.

Dr. Batmanghelidj, in his book, Your Not Sick, You're Thirsty: Your Body's Many Cries For Water, lists many healing benefits of water - including implications for weight-loss. And common sense tells us that we are made of mostly water and that we should replenish our essence. Though there is no hard-and-fast rule; the amount of water you should drink depends on your circumstances, your body, and other individual factors and characteristics. Even if you know how much water you need to drink each day, that amount would probably change if you were in a drier climate, or if you were working and sweating more, or if your diet changed or became more "toxic" or "polluted."

Common sense tells us we need water; but what do we "need" it for? The fact is that you are mostly water; and you need water to function properly. If you do not replace the water you use, you will become toxic and dehydrated; you will not get that fabulously fit body you're after if you are chronically dehydrated and your body isn't functioning as it should. You don't simply need water to quench your thirst; thirst is simply a signal letting you know that your body needs more water in order to keep functioning properly.

The thought that thirst can be quenched with any beverage has led to a nation that is mostly overweight (66% of Americans are overweight); and soft drinks, beer, kool-aid, and milkshakes - though delightful - are just a few of the tools we've used to create this reality. If nothing else, drinking water will help you avoid the hazards of dehydration, and the harmful effects of drinking so many chemicals, sugars, and artificial colors; but there is much more to the water story. Water helps you maintain a healthy functioning body; and it does many things that support and sustain healthy, natural weight loss.

Here are seven of the simpler ways water can help you lose weight:

1. Water helps you lose weight by making you feel full. We all stop eating when we're full - even if someone offers us one of our favorite foods. If your stomach is full, you don't eat; and, if your stomach is full of something that has no calories, then you aren't gaining weight. Unless you're dead, you are losing weight if you aren't gaining it. Of course, there are some people who do keep eating well past the point where they feel full; if you have clinical disorders, water can still help you in all of these ways, but consider trying one of the new Energy Psychology techniques (like EFT and Z-Point, for example) to possibly eliminate your disorder - quickly, safely, effectively, inexpensively, and completely.

2. Water helps curb food cravings. Most people can't tell the difference between their "thirst-signals," and their "hunger-signals;" so, most people eat when they are actually thirsty. Unneeded calories adds unwanted weight; changing the way you address your cravings changes the amount of calories you put into your body. Eating when you are actually thirsty will help you gain weight; so, it naturally follows that, if you drank water when you were thirsty - instead of eating a snack - your body isn't receiving something it can store or burn, so it has to use fuel it already has onboard.

3. Water quenches your thirst. Besides the fact that people eat when they are thirsty, and water turns-off that impulse; people also drink sodas, and other fattening beverages when they are thirsty. If you are drinking enough water, it will be difficult to continue guzzling those sugar-and-chemical-laden beverages. And, if you stop drinking sugar, you will probably lose some weight.

4. Water flushes toxins from your system. This is a simple matter of common sense; if you don't pee, stuff stays inside you. If you don't drink water, you don't pee. Not all scientists and doctors say the same thing; so you really need to follow your own intuition on all things medical. Water is a fluid; but your body isn't simply made of "mostly fluid." Your body is made of mostly water - Hydrogen and Oxygen. You are an electric entity; you need Hydrogen and Oxygen - not simply random liquids. People who don't drink enough water often think they are supposed to feel sluggish, and that their urine is supposed to have that color and odor... You're not, and it's not; those are actually signs of dehydration you just aren't reading properly.

5. Water increases metabolism. There is a significant thermogenic effect from drinking at least 500ml of water. With no caloric value to "pay for" the energy created as a direct result of drinking water, the body must use it's own fuel stores to heat and process the water you consume.

6. Water Hydrates you. Being hydrated improves digestive function, and every part of your overall health picture. Being dehydrated can put your body in the stress response - which causes your body to produce stress hormones such as cortisol (the hormone responsible for helping your body convert and store undigested food as fat). Hydrated cells are healthy cells; a healthy body is made of healthy cells.

7. Water can be used as a Placebo. Drinking water for any of the reasons listed above could be effective at helping you lose weight for no other reason than you (1.) Think or Believe that drinking water could produce a certain effect; and, (2.) You actually drink water as directed for the prescribed purpose. In other words, placebo studies have shown that people who are given a "remedy" with no known curative properties often benefit simply because they believe they should. So, if you drink water because you believe it has weight-loss benefits, you have increased your chances of experiencing the benefit you seek. Sterile water is often used as a placebo in medical trials; and water has actually cured "incurable" and potentially fatal conditions when used as a remedy in a clinical or therapeutic setting. Placebos show us that it really is "the thought that counts."

No matter what your reasons for drinking water, you need to drink it; this is simply a matter of common-sense if you want to maintain a healthy body and live a healthy, happy life. But, if you seriously consider water as a weight-loss tool, implement, or technique for losing weight, then you are going to find at least the same results you'd achieve with any other weight-loss plan - without harmful side effects. But, most likely, you'll notice profound changes in your health, life, and body within a few days of simply drinking an adequate amount of water for your body and your level of activity. You don't have to do anything crazy or extreme; just drink enough water to keep yourself properly hydrated and see what happens.

*To download your FREE, Illustrated Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) Manual, go to: http://www.ExploreExpandEvolve.com/free_download/ (It only takes about 10-seconds to get your Free EFT manual and start erasing fears and limiting beliefs!)

Pete Koerner is the author of The Belief Formula: The Secret to Unlocking the Power of Prayer. The Belief Formula is a look at how you can use ancient wisdom and modern scientific awareness to learn how to use your mind to reclaim your health and create the life of your dreams.

For a Free Report on Making The Belief Formula Work for You, visit: http://www.TheBeliefFormula.com/

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Best Drinking Water Filters For Your Home

Tap water isn't the purest water; we all know that. If you're tired of the chlorinated taste and want something better, but don't want to pay the price of store bottled water, why not pick up a drinking water filter? You can find many different types on the market today, from very simple systems that do a good basic job to complex systems that deliver bottled-water quality water to your kitchen sink.

Basic activated carbon filters are the cheapest drinking water filter solution you'll find. These filters are sold at your local grocery store for less than $50 for the faucet connection and initial filters, and replacement filters are very inexpensive. The water from these filters is very good; they work by forcing ordinary tap water through layers of activated carbon. The carbon pulls impurities from the water as it passes through, retaining chlorine and bacteria while allowing purified, better-tasting water through. Your water comes out cleaner, and retains most of the healthful minerals like calcium that make drinking water so good for you.

To eliminate serious contaminants such as lead or high chlorine levels, a reverse osmosis drinking water filter is probably your best bet. These complex but ingenious devices can be installed right under your kitchen counter. Working with a filter that allows only pure water to pass, they slowly eliminate toxins from your tap water, holding purified water in a reservoir that you access through a separate tap on your sink. Though these filters work slowly, they can provide plenty of drinking water for your family each day, even filtering salt from ocean water and eliminating most biological contaminants as well. These filtration devices use as much as ten gallons of water for every single gallon of drinking water they provide, so they aren't ideal for every household.

A reverse osmosis drinking water filter gives you very pure water, often better than store-bought water, for about five cents a gallon in most places. While the rejected water is as much as ten gallons for every gallon of pure water created, it's pure enough that it can go into your gray water storage and be used to water your garden, ensuring there is no wasted water.

Ultraviolet drinking water filter systems are often added at the end of reverse osmosis filters and other types of water filters to eliminate living contaminants like bacteria from your water. These work by shining powerful UV light into your water, killing everything in the water before it reaches your faucet. These are particularly good additions to reverse osmosis water filters; biological contaminants are one of the few things that can get through these filters, and a single plasmodium can contaminate your entire reservoir.

Ceramic filters are a type of drinking water filter that use diatomaceous earth, a natural silicon filter commonly used in commercial water treatment. This filter works similarly to an activated carbon filter, capturing your contaminants before they reach your faucet, and the resulting water is at least as good as that from an activated carbon filter.

Use your own needs and budget to determine which type of drinking water filter is the best choice for you. Osmotic filters are perfect for people who spend a lot of money on grocery-store bottled water, while those seeking just a little more filtration in their tap water will do well with ceramic and carbon drinking water filters.

Trent Barrett is a consultant who writes for Home water purifiers You can visit their homepage to learn more about home water purification systems

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The Importance Of Fluoridated Bottled Drinking Water

Because it is extremely important to stay well hydrated all year long, carrying bottled drinking water with you or having bottled water delivered to your home or office can be of great benefit to you, your family, and your colleagues. You may have noticed that your favorite bottled drinking water also has added fluoride, or that your local community water utility offers fluoridated water. Your dentist may have spoken to you about the benefits of fluoride for preventing cavities as well. Drinking fluoridated water maybe a good way to increase your fluoride intake while you go about your daily routine.

Making Sure You Get Just Enough Fluoride

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), "community water fluoridation is safe and effective in preventing tooth decay (1)." However, not everyone drinks tap water on a regular basis, and not every local community currently provides fluoridated water for its residents. Plus, many people have found that they prefer bottled drinking water to stay properly hydrated because they prefer its taste and purity. Therefore, it maybe important for someone choosing bottled drinking water to be aware of brands that state that they have added fluoride.

There are many fluoridated water products that are available on the market and that can be either bought in a store or delivered to your home or office. According to the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA), "there are over 20 companies that produce fluoridated brands of bottled water currently available to consumers today (2)." The IBWA adds that many of these brands of bottled drinking water with added fluoride are easily and readily available at major chain and department stores across the United States (3).

Consumers should always consult with their dentist before changing their fluoride intake in any way, whether by adding bottled drinking water with added fluoride to their diet or by adding fluoride supplements to their dental care routine. And it is important to remember that a good, balanced dental care routine goes beyond fluoride intake and also includes brushing and flossing every day, eating a wide range of healthy foods, and visiting a dentist regularly.

Staying Hydrated at Home and On the Go

Whether you choose to drink fluoridated water from the tap or bottled drinking water with added fluoride, proper hydration is also important in order to stay healthy. There are many ways that you can increase your water intake without interrupting your daily routine.

Carry bottled drinking water in single serve sizes with you wherever you go. If your dentist approves of the practice, add a bottle of fluoridated drinking water on occasion.

When you are at work, make sure that you always have water at your desk. You can either keep a bottle of water with you at all times, or you can make sure that your personal cup or mug is always full of water from the water cooler. Every time you walk by the water cooler, fill up your cup so that you are sure to stay hydrated.

Sign up for water delivery service for your home (which can include fluoridated water). Keep the area near your water cooler stocked with cups and glasses to make it easy to get a drink at any time of day or night.

Instead of having a soda with a meal, you can choose to drink plain water to stay properly hydrated.

Remember that other liquids, including soups and juices, also count toward your daily water intake. Keep track of these as well.

If you do not like the taste of plain bottled drinking water, try adding lime, lemon, or cucumber to your water for a natural burst of flavor. In addition, many companies offer powders or liquids to add other flavors to your water to make it more enjoyable.

Be vigilant about watching for the signs of dehydration, which can be as minor as a feeling of thirst and as significant as muscle spasms, vomiting, and difficulty breathing. As soon as you feel thirsty, make sure you have a drink of water to ensure that you are staying properly hydrated. Also make sure that children and elderly people around you are drinking enough water, as they are more likely to become dehydrated.

Conclusion

Keeping bottled drinking water with you at all times maybe a great way to make sure that you stay properly hydrated and healthy throughout the year. Adding fluoridated water to your diet may keep your teeth healthy as well, but remember to check with your dentist or dental care professional first. If you have approval, you can add bottles of fluoridated water to your water delivery service or choose single-serve bottles of fluoridated water when you are on the go. But always make sure that you are drinking adequate water to fight dehydration every day.

Sources



http://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/

[http://www.bottledwater.org/public/fluoride_QA.htm]

Ibid

Joseph Silva is the Director of Marketing for DS Waters DS Waters is a bottled water manufacturer and distributor of Alhambra(R), Belmont Springs(R), Crystal Springs(R), Hinckley Springs(R), Kentwood Springs(R), Nursery(R) Water, Sierra Springs(R) and Sparkletts(R), and Roast2Coast(R), a coffee delivery service. For more information on home or office water delivery, visit www.water.com

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Are You Drinking Dead Water or Living Water?

Living Energized Water

The Earth is made up of mostly water and so are our bodies. In this lies a crucial key that we should be paying attention to.

There is dead water and living water, also known as energized water. Not all water is the same and not all water is good for you.

Living water is considered water that carries life force energy.


It is believed to have five important characteristics.


A strong life force charge


An abundance of vital minerals, like calcium, magnesium and other trace minerals


Clean and pure, not polluted with chemicals, harmful bacteria or other biological contaminants


Small clustered water molecules


High antioxidant properties from high electron availability

Dead water on the other hand, is over filtered or contaminated water. It is depleted of all of the above properties.

Living Water Pioneers

There is much to be learned about water. Study Viktor Schauberger and the recent work of Masaru Emoto and you will learn some fascinating mysteries about water.

Schauberger (1885-1958) was a man of nature and his close relationship to the forests he loved led him to observe the intriguing nature of water. He studied its movement and other phenomena and learned that water held great life giving properties not acknowledged by the scientific community.

His studies and knowledge of water are still revolutionary today. He created technology whereby lifeless water can be revitalized to "living water".

"They called me crazy. I hope that they are right. It is of no greater import if another fool wanders this earth. But if I am right and science is wrong - then may the Lord God have mercy on mankind." Viktor Schauberger.

Masaru Emoto (1943-present)is presently well known for his experiments with glasses of water that he exposed to emotions, prayer, pictures and written words. The water was then frozen and the crystaline structure was studied and photographed.

His amazing photos show how the crystal structure of the water varied remarkably with each different exposure. For example, a positive exposure like taping the word "love" to a glass of water led to beautiful, symmetrical crystals and a negative exposure like the word "hate" created chaotic and unbalanced crystals.

Mr. Emoto believes the water crystals show "true nature" and are an important look into the mysteries of water.

You can also look to the Bible and learn what is written there about living water.

As in the Book of John, "When the Living Water entered the turbid water, the Living Water lamented and wept."

Water was laid on this earth to bring forth life, and we are tainting it and making it that which takes life away.

Dead Tainted Water

When my daughter was a baby, I learned about the chemicals put in municipal water supplies, such as chlorine and fluoride and the imbalances this creates in our bodies.

According to the Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products, fluoride is more poisonous than lead, and just slightly less poisonous than arsenic. Fluoride is used as rat poison.

In the human body, it destroys enzymes. When enzymes are damaged it affects the immune system, digestive system, respiratory system, blood circulation, kidney function, liver function, brain function and thyroid function.

If you start investigating the harms of fluoride, you'll quickly learn that it does not have the benefits it is touted to have but quite the opposite.

Chlorine in our drinking water is a bad story too.

It is a labeled a pesticide by the EPA. We know chlorine kills living organisms, like when you put fish in chlorinated water. If chlorine kills animals, what is it doing to you?

In studies, chlorine has shown to be carcinogenic. Increased rates of rectal and bladder cancer are linked to long term drinking of chlorinated water. Chlorine is also a hormone disruptor, harms the thyroid, upsets the flora of the digestive system and is linked to miscarriages.

Since our skin is the largest organ of our body, and because it is very absorbent, it is important not to allow these chemicals on our skin either.

As you can see, it is very crucial to pay attention to the water you are using.

Which Water Source is Best?

Trying to figure out which source of water to drink can get quite complicated. There are many types of water filters, purifiers and other water products for sale.

Finding a water system that removes chemicals from the water without stripping out the minerals and one that creates living energy in the water is important and the most beneficial to health. (Visit my site at http://www.natural-health-girl.com/livingwater.html for more information on water systems.)

In addition to avoiding tap water with chemicals, one must also be careful of softened, distilled, reverse osmosis or other over filtered water. These systems remove too many of the minerals. In turn, this water will leach minerals from your body and possibly leave you in a depleted condition.

As Viktor Schauberger warned, if we don't pay attention to our living water and protect it, then mankind is in great danger.

STOP shooting in the dark with your health! Interested in learning how to improve your health naturally? Download my free special report, Great Awakening Natural Health Tips

Kelly Parks-Hoffman has studied natural health for over 10 years and loves to mentor others in achieving improved health naturally. (Articles by Kelly may be copied for non-monetary use as long as author information and live link are present.)

"I think it is so important to share experiences. It might just be that one friend, relative or testimonial that helps, teaches or supports someone to better health without drugs or surgery." Kelly Parks-Hoffman

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Without Countertop Water Filters - Are You Drinking Clean Water?

Hold it! Is that tap water as pure as you expect? You should be genuinely concerned about the quality and cleanliness of the water you and your children drink daily. This concern is justified as water-borne diseases in this day and age are still threats to health.

Is Tap Water Safe to Drink?

Water consumers are not always fully aware of the risks from water-borne contaminants. Water sources vary; thus, doubts over the 100% pureness about the tap water you're drinking are justified. The installation of countertop water filters can ease your mind and assure you that your family is not drinking all the unseen impurities that come from tap water.

You should be receiving the annual water quality report from your water supplier, but make sure that the report includes information as to water source and the presence and type of contaminants in the water. The chlorine level should also be indicated to alert parents of children with allergies.

But tap water is no longer safe to drink, unless you have installed countertop water filters to filter harmful contaminants and bacteria. Imagine water traveling miles in those pipes that have been there since you can remember. How secure are these from the infiltration of germs?

The harmful substances in tap water range from plead, microscopic parasites, E. Coli, fertilizers, and sewage spills that seep into the water reservoir. The idea of it is bone-chilling.

How Countertop Water Filters Work

If you're a mom with young and not-so-young children, your concern is their health and safety. Act on it by having the convenience of fresh and clean water anytime without the hassle of worrying about water-borne germs that lead to various ailments.

Some individuals may opt for bottled, mineral, or distilled water, while some will prefer the convenience of water filters attached to the tap. Water filters come in various designs and filtration processes. Before water reaches the glass, it undergoes six stages of water filtration using the Kinetic Degradation Fluxion (KDF) process.

The KDF process renders the contaminants in the water into harmless components, dissolves chlorine, removes lead, and inhibits bacterial and fungal growths. The water filters have incorporated with scale reduction and bacteria control.

With this filtration technology, you are assured that your drinking water is several times purer than plain tap water without those convenient water filters.

Water for Health and Life

Water is essential for life and good health. Water plays an important role in your and your family's health. If you've heard old folks telling you to drink 6 to 8 glasses of water, there's some wisdom to it. Water hydrates the body, aids in digestion, and flushes out toxins. Drinking enough water everyday eases symptoms of arthritis, headaches, indigestion, congestion, brittle nails, dry skin and dandruff, muscle pains, and respiratory infections.

Clean Water Anytime

Considering the expense and the inconvenience of ordering or waiting for the delivery of your designer water, think about having water filters in the home. There is no drinking water shortage with countertop water filters in the home. You are also assured of good tasting food and beverages when using purified water for cooking and mixing fruit juices and other health drinks.

Convenience from countertop water filters and clean water for health - make the empowering choice for you and your family.

Use countertop water filters to ensure that your family is drinking safe and clean water everyday. Visit WaterFiltersForAHealthyLife.com today.

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Water - Drugs In Our Drinking Water

Water, Water, Water

The number one killer in the United States is not cancer or heart disease. It is dehydration. The Earth is 70-80% water, and our composition is the same. Our brains are 80% water and cannot transmit electrical impulses without the conductivity of water. Because we are energy, electro-mechanical-biological and chemical beings, we depend on water to conduct every function, every nerve impulse, every muscle movement.

Since the early fifties, Americans have changed their drinking habits and the Earth's aquifers have become more polluted with herbicide, pesticide, pharmaceutical and waste runoff.

Chlorine, added to most municipal water supplies as a disinfectant, hardens arteries, destroys proteins in the body, irritates skin and sinus conditions, and aggravates asthma, allergies, and respiratory problems.

Chloroform, a powerful by-product of chlorination, causes excessive free radical formation (accelerated aging), mutation of normal cells, and cholesterol oxidation. It is a known carcinogen!

DCA (Dichloro acidic acid) is a chlorine by-product. It alters cholesterol metabolism, and has been shown to cause liver cancer in lab animals.

MX (Another chlorinated acid), is known to cause genetic mutation, and has been found in all chlorinated water for which it was tested.

Volatile Organic Chemicals (VOC's) are another group of contaminants that may be found in drinking water supplies across the nation. VOC's are those organic chemicals (pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals). that are "readily vaporizable at a relatively low temperature, with no visible characteristics, smell, or taste You have to test for them to find them VOC's can cause cancer: kidney, liver, and brain damage: and damage to the nervous, reproductive, and immune systems.

Fluoride. Massive research studies have been done on fluoride and fluoride compounds and by-products, both in the U.S. and in Europe and Canada. 98% of the European community banned the use of fluoride more than fifty years ago because of it's negative affect on neurological body systems and probable connection to increased osteoporosis and hip fractures. The studies also show that fluoride does NOT prevent tooth decay. Fluoride is actually a by-product of aluminum. If I were a major corporation who manufactured aluminum and needed to dump the by-product without penalty, I would devise a way to legally dump the product, make money by its capture, and promote it as being beneficial in one way or another. If I was really smart, I'd make sure I only funded a few studies that couldn't prove any real harm of my product, and lobby to discontinue any further study. "In my opinion, the evidence that fluoridation is more harmful than beneficial is now overwhelming and policy makers who avoid thoroughly reviewing recent data before introducing new fluoridation schemes do so at risk of future litigation," writes Dr.Hardy Limeback, Ph.D., D.D.S

Dr. Limeback was one of the 12 scientists who served on the National Academy of Sciences panel that issued the 2006 report, "Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of the EPA's Standards." Dr. Limeback is a dentist, researcher and an associate professor of dentistry and head of the preventive dentistry program at the University of Toronto.

The "crisis" of dental decay in the U.S. often mentioned is the result, to a major extent, of sugar abuse, especially soda pop. A 2005 report by Jacobsen of the Center for Science in the Public Interest said that U.S. children consume 40 to 44 percent of their daily refined sugar in the form of soft drinks. Since most soft drinks are themselves fluoridated, the small amount of fluoride is obviously not helping.

The Eleven best reasons for clean water filtration: -

1. There are 35,000 registered pesticides containing 600 chemical compounds. Yet municipal water systems are only required to test for six (6). Many of these chemicals are known to cause birth defects, nerve damage, sterility, and cancer. (ABC News).

2. - The World Health organization estimates 75% to 80% of cancer may originate in our water and environment. (Forever Living).

3. - The General Accounting Office reports that 20% of the nation's 65,000 community systems are unable to meet minimum standards set by the Safe Drinking Water Act. (Readers Digest).

4. - A recent government study found that more than 25% of all large U.S. public water systems contain traces of one or more toxic substances...public water systems do not test for the carcinogens and other dangerous chemicals that are being found. (Wall Street Journal).

5. -One federal study found 87% of the conventional sewage plants discharging excess pollutants. Even when the plants work well, they can't remove much nitrate, heavy metals, or pesticides. (Prevention Magazine).

6. - In 1982 alone, there were 70,000 violations of drinking water standards by municipal water systems. And how many more have we had since then? (Readers Digest).

7. - EPA revealed that dangerous chemicals are leaking out of as many as 16,000 landfills throughout the U.S., percolation down through layers of soil into the vast underground water reservoirs called aquifers. (Discover Magazine).

8. - Trihalomethanes are created when chlorine reacts with decaying organic matter in the water. This group of four organic halides contaminates 90% of this country's drinking water. All four compounds including chloroform, were banned as an anesthetic in 1976, and are either known or suspected of causing cancer. (Consumer Reports).

9. - Today a new specter looms over our reservoirs: cancer. There's considerable speculation that the rise in cancer deaths, now 20% for the nation as a whole, many be due in part to the pesticides, fertilizers and industrial wastes that increasingly find their way into our water supplies. (Readers Digest).

10. - Despite improvements in both public and private water treatment practices, there are still harmful chemicals in 90% of the water we consume. (New Shelter Magazine)

11.-1,268,000 new cancer cases will be diagnosed this year in the U.S. (July 12, 2002 American Cancer Society.

We have become a nation that relies on soda, coffee, tea, and alcohol for our liquids, rather than two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen, water. We don't like the way water tastes because the fifties gave us chlorinated water or salt based filters, so we look for anything that tastes better to drink, or we don't drink at all.

The phosphorous in carbonated drinks attacks cell walls and eventually destroys the cell. Colon cancer and liver disease are direct results of this cellular destruction. The colon uses hydration and dehydration to eliminate waste and cannot function without the essential properties of water. If the colon is sick, the body is sick. The liver tries to filter the leaking waste and eventually becomes full of sludge, no longer able to supply clean and nourished blood to our lungs, heart, and other organs.

Coffee and teas are just as dangerous to our bodies. They are diuretics, water eliminators, and can also leech calcium from our bones. Calcium not only keeps our bones strong, but also keeps us calm and relaxed. When we drink coffee, the loss of calcium alerts the adrenal glands, which go into high gear to try to keep us alive. Eventually, the adrenals tire and the rest of our endocrine system tries to take over. Now we have adrenal exhaustion, Epstein-Barr syndrome, thyroid and hormone imbalances, and a host of chain-reaction diseases.

Tooth decay and diabetes are direct results of sugary drinks, along with obesity and ADHD, yet we feed our children anything and everything except good water.

It boils down to, (excuse the pun), a battle between hydration and dehydration, the later being the most prevalent cause of death in the United States.

When I am asked or grilled about water, one of the most consistent arguments is that all of our food and beverages contain water, so we must be getting enough of it. Well, go to the desert and watch what happens to the plants and animals that manage to survive there. The plants have adapted to arid conditions and hold any water they can absorb. If you have ever had swollen feet or ankles, your body was doing the same thing, holding any water you've absorbed so you can survive. During a desert rainstorm, much of the water drains away or is absorbed by the sand. Your body reacts similarly if you suddenly hydrate it after sustained dryness and heat. The water doesn't have time to reach your cells and penetrate the cell walls, causing edema, nausea, and a negative body reaction. Floods in the body are the same as they are on Earth. Stagnated chemicals and waste form more sludge and our tissues can't handle the onslaught of debris.

If the desert analogy doesn't work for you, experiment with your garden or houseplants. They won't grow if you use coffee, beer, tea, or soft drinks to hydrate them.

Then, of course, we have the additional problem of chemical absorption during showers and baths, and chlorine gases released during cooking. Your skin is the largest organ, and not only acts as a barrier to germs and disease, but also allows for the absorption of beneficial oxygen, vitamin D from the sun, and water. You absorb more chemicals in a month of showers than you would drinking eight 8 ounce glasses of water a day for five years.

Boiling water, a common practice after storms that affect water quality, releases chloroform, chloramines, and other chemical by-products into the air that are not only inhaled, but are also absorbed into dry wall, furniture, clothes, and other fabric.

The Ph level in your water is also an important factor in keeping you healthy. The body needs to balance itself at a minimum Ph level of 7.4 - 8. Even if we eat a fairly alkaline diet, the acidic levels of our drinking water can erase the benefits. Disease lives in acid, and cannot survive in an alkaline environment. Check your water from several taps using a pool kit. If it's not at an acceptable level, contact your water department and find out why. As water departments can vary which chemicals and additives they use on a daily basis, it's best to check over a three day period, and then check again the following week. Also, immediately after a rainstorm is a good time to check for added chemicals and acidity.

Suddenly we are hearing about drugs in our drinking water. Not so sudden for those of us who study water. The problem with the "new" discovery is that investigators are still limited in their understanding and scope. The drugs in our water aren't just coming from people emptying prescription bottles into the toilet. They are coming from our bodies. Our drug-saturated bodies are doing the best they can to dispose of toxic waste, and then we drink them, and bathe in them.

Healthcare problems in America are serious. We need serious leadership. We don't need new ways to charge people for visiting doctors and receiving more drugs. We don't need new ways to make sure children receive more drugs. We need drug education and government responsibility for the "mess" they've caused. We need to disband the FDA and EPA and start over. We need prevention. Much of that, besides not being a drug-dependent society to begin with, starts with water.

Good water is filtered the same way the Earth filters water, through several layers of carbon and granite with electrical shocks that mimic the ionizing effect of lightning. Refrigerator filters, especially those that are never cleaned, and the small filters on water taps remove only the odors and a small amount of chlorine. Bottled water is fairly good, depending on its source, but we once again pollute the environment with millions of plastic bottles. We also have to be aware that the bottles are, in most cases, cleaned with chlorine products, and the chlorine seeps from the plastic back into the water. The billion dollar bottled water industry need to offset their financial gains with solutions to environmental problems. As a child, I spent hours collecting returnable glass bottles for 2 cents each. The incentive to return plastic bottles could keep them from going into landfills. Another solution would be glass returnable bottles, which would stop the chlorination seepage. Distilled water, though free of most contaminants, is dead water, and should only be used for specific maladies or in rotation with mineral or spring water.

There are companies that provide full-house water systems or apartment sized systems that can supply us with pure water, but even these need to be researched. Many use salt, a corrosive agent that not only destroys plumbing, but also actually can add salt to your diet. Others use simple carbon filters that only minimally remove sediment and some chlorine. Look for systems that have several layers including Centaur carbon, KDF, and granite to be sure you've removed all of the chemicals and sediment.

We are water, and we need to recognize the importance of this vital nutrient, find ways to incorporate it in our daily routines, and help each other relearn to eat, drink, and be merry.

Rayna Gangi is a holistic health consultant, multi-state licensed massage therapist, registered reflexologist, author and teacher.

http://www.earthwalk-usa.com

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Why is Bottled Drinking Water So Popular?

Despite a dedicated campaign by many municipal water companies and associations to marginalize bottled water in the eyes of the American consumer, exactly the opposite has happened - bottled water is more popular than ever and continues to grow in popularity.

Perhaps this is because the American consumer is truly an educated consumer and for years they have been misled about the purity of municipal tap water that is laced with contaminants and harmful chemicals and tainted with chlorine and other additives that impart nauseating odors and taste.

One of the most popular features of bottled water is that it does not require heavy doses of chlorine and so its taste is definitely more appealing than tap water, And, if one reads the purity reports issued by municipal water suppliers and required by the Environmental Protection Agency, it becomes evident that municipal water suppliers do not have the technology to purify large scale consumption of water.

One should read the reports carefully and note the warnings about cryptosporidium, rocket fuel, people with compromised immune systems or chronic illnesses and gasoline additives that remain in municipal water even after treatment and chlorination.

Bottled drinking water also contains no caffeine, no calories and no sugar and thereby competes with carbonated soft drinks that themselves are unhealthy in a world seeking higher health standards.

Water in bottles may seem like a relatively new idea--one born during the heightened awareness of fitness and potential water pollution during the last two or three decades but it traces its roots to the 19th century in America. The water is also be used as an ingredient in beverages, such as diluted juices or flavored bottled waters.

Water that has been treated by distillation, reverse osmosis, or other suitable processes and that meets the definition of "purified water" is the best bottled water and studies show it.

Water cannot be called purified" unless it is 99.9% free of any and all contaminants - a test that all municipal water and most bottled waters fail to meet.

Bottled drinking water has a valid place in the marketplace, so unless one is willing to give up all bottled beverages it seems a little hypocritical to single out water. It is so ubiquitous that people can hardly ask for water anywhere without being handed a bottle.

Water in bottles is the fastest-growing segment of the beverage industry, and the product has now passed both coffee and milk to become the second-most-consumed beverage. Water in bottles that crosses state lines is considered a food product and is overseen by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which does mandate that it be bottled in sanitary conditions using food-grade equipment.

Tap Water

Once, most Americans got their water only from the tap. Pioneers trekking west across the United States during the 19th century also typically considered drinkable (potable) water a staple to be purchased in anticipation of the long trip across the arid West. But, as the population grew, industrial, natural and organic pollutants fouled the source of natural drinking water found in rivers, streams and aquifers. Development of purification techniques were unable to keep up with population and pollution growth and municipal water purity disappeared.

The municipalities attempted to cover up the problem through the addition of copious amounts of chlorine and the establishment of "standards" by the EPA that allowed dangerous chemicals capable of long term damage to the human body to remain. And, the EPA testing stopped at the water treatment plant and did not consider the presence of lead, copper and other poisonous elements contained in the water pipes of houses that used tap water.

Because lead can leach from pipes as water travels from water utilities to home faucets, the EPA set an action level of 15 parts per billion (ppb) in tap water. This means that when lead levels are above 15 ppb in tap water that reaches home faucets, water utilities must treat the water to reduce the lead levels to below 15 ppb. Lead is particularly injurious to children at any level.

Many municipalities provide water that's discolored, chlorinated, and tastes like "pool" water. So if your tap water tastes poorly, it might be that your city's water system is severely under funded or is controlled by a corporation, not the same corporation that makes your bottled water, but it is obvious they have the interest in controlling where and how you get your water.

Tap water also has trace chemicals (especially insecticides) that are one of the causes of nerve diseases such as fibromyalgia, which has no known cure. There is significant contamination that water picks up in older plumbing from the source to the tap.

Beware of Bottled Tap Water

Some bottled water suppliers merely filter and bottle tap water - contaminants and all. Filtering tap water does not totally remove chlorine. Unless the label says it comes from a specific source, when the manufacturer says 'bottled at the source,' the source could be the tap. Yet sources of bottled drinking water are just as vulnerable to surface contamination as sources of tap water. One reason for the success of bottled water is that many claim not to like the taste of what comes out of the tap. But filtering out the taste of chlorine alone is not the answer.

Spring Water

Spring water is at best marketing hype and at worst misleading advertising.

Take for example the brand of water that is labeled "spring water" with the implication of purity that comes not from a fresh mountain spring but from deep wells in the undeniably less-picturesque Los Angeles suburbs, and one water supplier that sells water drawn from a municipal source in Corpus Christi, Texas-a far cry from the pristine glacial peaks suggested by its name and label. Even if the water does come from a spring, what's in that spring may be less safe than what comes out of your tap.

If the spring is near a cattle farm, it's going to be contaminated. One brand of "spring water," which had a graphic of mountains and a lake on the label, was actually taken from a well in Massachusetts in the parking lot of an industrial facility. That brand of Massachusetts "spring water" was so-named because the source occasionally bubbled up to the surface in the industrial parking lot.

In a civil case against one of the largest spring water companies, the plaintiffs charged that the supplier duped consumers by advertising that their brand of spring water came from "some of the most pristine and protected sources deep in the woods". The lawsuit alleged that ever since the original spring was shut down in 1967, the company had used man-made wells, at least one of which is in a parking lot along a busy road.

Consider These Facts

To be sure, many municipal water systems have run afoul of government water quality standards--driving up demand for bottled water as a result. Americans drank 26 billion liters of bottled water in 2004, or roughly one eight-ounce glass per person every day.

Tens of millions of consumers now shun tap water and rely on bottled water exclusively. Nearly one-fifth of North Americans use bottled drinking water exclusively for their daily hydration. Canadians consume more bottled drinking water than coffee, tea, apple juice or milk.

Become an educated consumer and read the EPA reports about municipal water carefully to determine the real purity of the water. Avoid the hype and spin so often found in reports issued by government agencies.

Use municipal water to wash your car and water the lawn, but if you want to remain healthy drink purified bottled water for the highest level of purity.

Jon M. Stout is Chairman of the Board of Element H2O an Ultra Pure bottled water company located in Chantilly, Virginia. For more information about bottled water, private label bottled water [http://www.elementh2o.com/Store] and bottled water delivery [http://www.elementh2o.com/local] go to the Element H2O website.

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Quality Residential Water Filtering Systems Can Clean All Of The Drinking Water In Your Home

There are many benefits of having residential water filtering systems. Some of these benefits might be obvious to the average consumer, while others are less commonly known. This is due to the fact that many people do not realize just how bad their tap water is to their health, and their wallet.

The best way to see the benefits of installing whole house water filtering systems is to take a look at the effects of unfiltered common tap water. The most obvious, and most common, complaint about tap water is taste. Almost any filer system that you get for your home or drinking water will improve the taste of the water.

Another common complaint about tap water is odor. Water should not have any odor at all. Unfortunately, most tap, especially in major metropolitan areas, has a definite odor that makes drinking the water extremely unappetizing. Any residential water filtering systems on the market will correct this problem as well.

There are many, less obvious effects of unfiltered tap water. It contains harmful toxins such as chemicals from pesticides as well as harmful organic compounds. Most whole house water filtering systems will filter out these toxins, which have been linked to some forms of cancer and other health problems.

A residential water filtering system can also help with skin conditions and help you have healthier hair. Tap water contains high levels of chlorine. Chlorine will dry out the skin and hair, making you more perceptible to dermatological issues such as acne. Eczema and psoriasis can also appear or worsen, especially in children. Most water filters for the home or shower eliminate or lessen the chlorine in the water you use when you bathe and shower.

Using filtered water for showering and bathing can also help your skin and your wallet in other ways. When you use residential water filtering systems that restore the PH balance in the water, you will find that you get much cleaner and are able to rid yourself of the soap film left by tap water. This soap film can cause dermatological problems to appear or worsen. It also saves you money, because PH balanced water requires less soap for cleaning.

Unfortunately, not all whole house water filtering systems are the same. Most of these filters are single filter or single stage systems. While these systems remove chlorine and most organic compounds from the water, they also strip the water of valuable minerals that are actually good for you and essential to your health. They also tend to let through more of the synthetic chemicals such as herbicides and pesticides. Additionally, you will not find a PH balance in most of the water from these systems.

The best residential water filtering systems are those that that will perform well in all aspects, and address all of the concerns about tap water at one time. The systems that do this best are those with two filters. Each filter has its purpose, and together they clean the water to a level better than any other system.

Two filters are used with these systems: one of copper and/or zinc, and one of carbon. The carbon filter is that used on most residential water filtering systems. It cleans the water of some organic compounds, chlorine, and can restore the PH balance in the water. The filter of copper and/or zinc cleans the water of synthetic chemicals and other contaminants.

Many whole house water filtering systems use a carbon based filter, reverse osmosis, or distillation. Some multi stage water filtering systems use reverse osmosis in conjunction with a carbon based filter. While this is better than reverse osmosis alone, the process still strips water of its natural properties and minerals.

It is only when the carbon and copper and zinc filters are used together that the best results will be achieved. In order to reap all of the benefits of residential water filtering systems, you should make sure that the system you choose has a dual filter using metals and carbon.

Martin Spencer is a health researcher who has been studying water filtration for over 25 years. He is a regular contributor to Water Purification Guide, a site dedicated to various methods of treating and purifying water. Learn about whole house water filtering systems on our site.

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Science Fair Project on Testing Drinking Water

You are intelligent enough to know that the purpose of most science fair projects is to teach students how to use scientific methods to solve problems on their own. A science fair project can allow students, parents, and teachers to make new discoveries together. One of those discoveries might be how clean your drinking water is.

Students may expect faucet water to be clean, but is it? A science fair project on testing drinking water can help them learn what is in the water they use. This outline will help them and you conduct a drinking water test.

State Your Hypothesis

A good example might be, "If I test drinking water from different sources, which will I find to be the best for my health?" A poor example would be, "If I drink tap water, what happens?"

Background Research

Learn all that you can about what water may contain. Research the effects of various contaminants, minerals, etc.

Develop a Drinking Water Test

What kind of drinking water test will you use? What kinds of drinking water will you test? Will you buy a kit, or simply order appropriate test materials? How will you collect the water to be sure you do not change its content?

What You Need for Drinking Water Tests

Students will need Colorimetric test strips for many drinking water tests. Kits are available from science fair websites. Water Safe Drinking Water Test is an EPA standardized, laboratory certified simple kit that identifies harmful levels of 8 different common contaminants in water: bacteria, chlorine, lead, nitrates, nitrites, pesticides, pH, and water hardness.

Predict Results

Write out a prediction of what you expect. Will your city tap water be the best water for your health? Should your family pay money to drink only bottled water? What do you predict your drinking water test will reveal?

Conduct Your Drinking Water Test

Students may choose from many drinking water tests. Here are a few possible tests. Younger students may want to use only one. Older students may combine a series of drinking water tests.

1. Basic: A basic drinking water test might allow students to test water for alkalinity, chlorine (both free and total), nitrate and nitrite, pH, and water hardness. What is the basic make-up of your water?

2. Bacteria: Along with a basic drinking water test, you might test for bacteria in the water. Water from a drinking fountain may show bacteria that collect on the bubbler and wash into the water.

3. City Water: What is in municipal drinking water? You can use the basic drinking water tests above, but check, too, for metals and sediment. Are corroding pipes contaminating the water?

4. Well Water: Since the government does not test private wells, there may be contaminants in the water taken from them. What might you find? Would you expect more sediment or less? Would your drinking water test be likely to find pesticides if the well is near a farm or garden where they are used?

5. Bottled Water: Is bottled water really pure? Is it better than tap water or worse? Run a drinking water test on it and see what you find.

6. Water Cooler: If your water cooler is typical, a large five-gallon bottle is turned upside down into the drinking water crock. Might there be germs on the bottle top? Will a drinking water test show up these germs?

7. Pet Water Bowl: Pet drinking water tests will show you what your pet's water contains. The pet bowl should not be cleaned right before the test. Allowing your pet to drink from it will show whether or not the water is still pure enough for humans.

Repeat Your Drinking Water Test

A good scientist repeats tests to be sure the results are the same. You will not have accurate results if you run your drinking water test only once.

Analyze

Analyze the results of your tests. Which water is purer? Which one tastes better, looks better, and smells better? From your analysis, do you think your prediction will hold up?

Arrive at Conclusions

Draw conclusions from your drinking water test. Look at all the evidence and decide what it means in regard to healthy drinking water.

1. Which water contains the fewest contaminants?

2. Which water contains the fewest bacteria?

3. Which water is best for your health?

Prepare Your Display

Decide early how the display will look and leave plenty of time to complete it. Will you have photographs? Will you have clear glasses containing water samples? How will you display used test strips?

Most science fair projects require a display board to communicate your work to others. A three-panel display board that is 36" tall by 48" wide when unfolded is standard. On your board, include these elements.

1. Title: Make it catchy - and big enough to read from across a room.

2. Hypothesis and research: Organize your information from top to bottom, left to right, as though you were planning a newspaper page. Put Hypothesis and research information on the left side of your board.

3. Materials and procedures: Place this information just under your title in the middle of the board.

4. Data / Charts / Photos: These go at the bottom of the center part of your board.

5. Results and conclusions: The right side of your board holds the final information about your drinking water test.

A science fair project on testing drinking water can be interesting and exciting, appropriate for any age student. The results may surprise everyone.

c2007, Anna Hart. Anna Hart, a career educator and writer, has served as school teacher and principal at schools in the United States and New Zealand. From that perspective, she invites you to read more of her articles about healthy drinking water at http://www.healthydrinkingwaterblog.com If you are involved in a drinking water test, you will want to learn more about what?s in our drinking water through Anna?s articles.

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Managing Drinking Water for The Capital Of Pakistan

Third world governments plan and make strategies and show their commitment to efficient and sustainable use of water. But, while implementing these strategies into action, executing agencies always make mistakes, mostly due to organizational inefficiency and incompetence.

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) is the Civic Authority of Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, responsible to provide save drinking water to city dwellers. Currently, the CDA gets 75 million gallons of water daily from different sources for the population of 6,350,000 but massive leakage in water supply system means city dwellers receive contaminated and short supply of water owing to lethal combination of bad water governance and incompetence.

Instead of improving water governance, CDA made a plan of massive investments to augment the water supply from Ghazi Barotha, Indus River, by spending Rs 30 Billions[ 0.5 billion dollars] instead concentrating Institutional reform to improve weak water governance that encourage overexploitation and use of water. The project would be proving disastrous to public exchequer in the scenario of country facing serious energy crises. In fact, according to the project details, water would be lifted from a site that is 915 feet below the level of Islamabad. Thus instead of trying to find out and build the new ones CDA ought to focus on efficient use of exciting water resources and rectify the situation simultaneously whereas the prescription for today is the management of "each drop of water is vital".

Rawalpindi is a old, low laying ancient city just located near Capital of Pakistan and in monsoon rainfall season face the problem of flood. The sad and brutal truth is that in the situation, where water from heights of Islamabad is wreaking havoc in Rawalpindi almost every year in the form of flood by swelling Lai River [Nullah]. Past records of the last 35 years is the witness of 23 severe floods in Rawalpindi including an historical flood occurring in July 2001 (considered as a national disaster). The fundamental cause of flood in Rawalpindi is lack of storage of rainwater coming from Margalla hills by CDA management as 80% catchment of Lai falls in Islamabad. Margalla hills were declared as National Park [reserved forest] by the effort of WWF in the year 1980 and now forest at Margalla hills converted in to thick natural vegetative cover. Analysis of rainfall data of Islamabad from 1980 to 2006 reveals due to thick forest canopy provides an excellent model' that monsoon rainfall trend is increasing. CDA management is totally ignorant to this climatic feature of Margalla hills which result in flood in Rawalpindi. Original town planner of Islamabad Constantinos A. Doxiadis and subsequently other international agencies like JICA recommend CDA time and again for an integrate approach by augmenting water of Margalla hills for drinking purpose due to its purity and mitigating flood in Rawalpindi.

Residents of the model city are the worst victims of erratic water supply. The existing drinking water supply system of old sectors was executed almost 40 years ago. The authorities concerned failed to upgrade the system in accordance with the growing sectors and population therewith despite the fact that original master plan of model city modified many times.

The mega project of water supply was justified with the hypotheses that the city is getting 60-70 million gallons daily against its requirement of about 147 million gallons. This is against the factual position as 60 to 70% of water goes unaccounted for which figure is the highest in the world.

The highest percentage of losses speaks of itself the efficiency and competence of CDA. Though Capital Development Authority engaged number of consultants, including JICA ( 1988), Nespak( 1992), MM Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd (1998) and a special study conducted with the help of Govt of Japan in 2000, for the improvement of supply system to make it model. All the consultants recommended that first 60 % leakage must be addressed before exploring new water resource. Lately in November 2005, Government of France conducted a study on "strategy for the control and management of unaccounted for water" through world reputed experts in this basic and chronic problem of water supply system. The study substantiates the previous findings as well.

According to the statistic per capita availability of water in Islamabad is more than 440 liters per person as compared to other highly consuming cities of Asia like Shinghai and Seoul, which consume 250 and 210 liter per person respectively. Besides, receiving highest per capita water residents of Islamabad get water only for one hour throughout the day. In other words it means that despite existence of sufficient water residents of the city get far less quantity which is even less than minimum right of a citizen according to charter of United Nation, i.e. 100 liters of water per person per day. CDA management, being model civic authority, neither acknowledged this right nor recognized water as an economic commodity. Otherwise conserving water and to fulfill need thereof is the best tool to eradicate the poverty.

Another gloomy aspect that illustrates gross negligence and mismanagement of CDA is none-metering and intermittent water supply operation philosophy, causing water wastage at the consumer end. This devastating policy forced dwellers to install electric pumps on water connections due to low pressure. Inadequate and irregular supply of water is also one of the fundamental causes of contamination and leakage in secondary water supply network. In the original water supply plan, meters were planned to be installed but later declared obsolete, visibly an attempt to hide massive leakage. An interesting fact that may arouse curiosity of the readers that water meters were installed in Murree in June 1887 which system is working. Effective water-metering system makes water administration accountable on water losses. Islamabad is the only capital where flat rates are charged from consumers irrespective of water consumption. Just imagine the discriminatory policy of CDA that a house in posh sectors mostly having big swimming pools installed additional illegal connections charged with same flat rates as small house in other sectors. This apartheid policy forced dwellers to store more water than needed. Not only this, inadequate and irregular supply of water due to low pressure also forced dwellers to Install electric pumps on water connections, bore holes, and dug wells to increase the supply of water; thus causing inequitable distribution and water feuds. Metering system increases the awareness of water being consumed in a household and, therefore, reduces wastage and leakages. This in turn helps to conserve precious water resources and benefits the environment.

The track record of CDA on the management of water resources is an example of its own kind. For instance in February, March 2005, more than 29000 million gallon of water from Khanpur and Simly dam spilled over and escaped to sea resulting in another artificial crises in the following month for the residents. Khanpur Dam can alone cater the water need of Capital till 2050, firstly if its conveyance root is adopted according to recommendation of JICA, WAPDA and other international experts. The same will also save more then Rs 95 Million annually on account of electricity bill alone for pumping water. Secondly, the address the chronic problem of seepage in Khanpur dam that is 35 million gallon monthly.

There is a water crisis to meet water need of Islamabad. Surely it is a crisis of management that is threatening water resources with bad governance. The need is bridging the gap between higher management sitting in the offices and ground realities pertaining to potential existing water resources. The need is to utilizing additional storage capacity of Simly after construction of Auxiliary Spillway, tapping water from seasonal water of streams of Margalla Hills, optimum use of Khanpur water resource, in addition to digital water meters, is cost effective solution of drinking water for Islamabad city. Water conservation and rain harvesting techniques is part of the building by-laws 2005 but never enforced. The immediate example for CDA authorities is in our neighbor country where rain harvesting is mandatory in many Indian cities. Even, the annual requirement of the Indian President's Palace is met from its rooftop rainwater

Foregoing paras, with legitimate facts are enough to explain that spending of 30 billion rupees on bringing water from Indus River would not only be economic disaster but also prove a catastrophy in term of operating cost. Managing efficiently existing water resources is the call of the day making Islamabad as Modal of water governance for other cities of the Pakistan as proposed and planned by the Federal Capital Commission in October 1959, while shifting capital from Karachi.

Arshad H Abbasi Can be contacted at ahabasi@gmail.com

The writer is a visiting research fellow at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute in Islamabad. Email: ahabasi@gmail.com

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Bottled Drinking Water - Pure or Impure?

Some people think it is foolish to buy bottled drinking water, and ask, "Why pay for water in bottles when you can get it from your kitchen faucet?" Others prefer having choices in drinking water. They want to know what is going into their bodies, they say. To that, the faucet-water drinkers counter, "Have you ever run tests on your faucet water and your bottled drinking water?

Whichever way you think, you should choose your drinking water carefully. You may even want to run tests - or obtain literature showing the results of tests that have been run on the various drinking waters available to you.

Take bottled drinking water. To many people, the fact that the water is bottled means it is pure. But is it? Might it be possible that your bottled drinking water contains as great a colony of "water criminals" as your tap water does?

Bottled Drinking Water Terminology

The following are definitions frequently used on the labels of bottled drinking water to describe the water's characteristics, sources, and methods of treatment. They may surprise you. These definitions are taken from the pamphlet, "Bottled Water Basics" published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

* Artesian water, ground water, spring water, well water - water from an underground aquifer which may or may not be treated. Well water and artesian water are tapped through a well. Spring water is collected as it flows to the surface or via a borehole. Ground water can be either.

* Distilled water - steam from boiling water is recondensed and bottled. Distilling water kills microbes and removes water's natural minerals, giving it a flat taste.

* Drinking water - water intended for human consumption and sealed in bottles or other containers with no ingredients except that it may optionally contain safe and suitable disinfectants. Fluoride may be added within limitations set in the bottled water quality standards.

* Mineral water - Ground water that naturally contains 250 or more parts per million of total dissolved solids.

Did you notice ...?

* Bottled drinking water is not necessarily pure, just as tap water is not pure.

* Bottled drinking water may come from an aquifer that has been treated with chemicals or not treated at all. Tap water will normally be treated.

* Bottled drinking water may contain any number of impurities such as human or animal waste - many that tap water is not permitted to contain.

* Bottled drinking water may contain disinfectants and fluorides - just as tap water does!

* Bottled drinking water may contain minerals, even lead!

Bottled drinking water is often much more impure than you could hope!

Bottled Drinking Water Standards

The USFDA does set standards for bottled drinking water. You will want to read them if you are serious about providing pure drinking water for your family.

Bottled drinking water sold in U.D. interstate commerce, including products bottled overseas, must meet the following minimum federal standards:

* Bottled drinking water must meet FDA standards for physical, chemical, microbial, and radiological contaminants. When EPA sets a new standard for a contaminant in tap water, FDA must establish a new standard for the same contaminant in bottled drinking water or find that EPA's new standard is not applicable to bottled drinking water.

TRANSLATION: Bottled drinking water need be no better than tap water. In fact, it may be held to less stringent standards.

* Bottlers must include the name of the product and type of water; the name and address of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor; and the net content on their labels.

TRANSLATION: Labels on bottled drinking water do not have to tell you what has been added to the water.

* New bottled drinking water sources must be approved by a state or local jurisdiction. Bottlers must also test their sources and finished bottled drinking water products at least once a week for microbiological contaminants and at least once a year for physical, chemical, and radiological contaminants.

TRANSLATION: Once the source is approved by the government, using EPA and FDA standards, it is up to the bottler to maintain its cleanliness.

* If bottled drinking water is found to be adulterated or hazardous to health, it is subject to FDA enforcement action, such as seizure of domestic products and refusal of entry of imports.

TRANSLATION: Bottled drinking water is not guaranteed pure by anyone. Only if actual hazards are found may enforcement action take place.

* Bottlers must operate their plants in accordance with FDA's good manufacturing practices to ensure that their bottled drinking water products are safe and produced under safe and sanitary conditions.

TRANSLATION: Your bottled drinking water is to be produced under safe and sanitary conditions, but actual contents are not strictly controlled.

Bottled drinking water is good to have on hand in case of an emergency, but don't think of bottled drinking water as pure drinking water. Purity can vary from one brand to another and from one batch to another.

2007c Anna Hart. Read Anna's articles that will help you choose your drinking water carefully at http://www.healthydrinkingwaterblog.com.

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The Health Benefits Of Drinking Water - Is Bottled Drinking Water Healthier Than Filtered Tap Water?

Water is a key ingredient in a healthy diet and lifestyle. There are many health benefits of drinking water. It helps flush impurities and toxins out of our systems. It aids in the delivery of oxygen and nutrients. In fact, nearly every system in our bodies relies on water for proper functioning. But what if your water is unhealthy?

In past decades, concerns about tap water and its impact on overall health led some people to turn to bottled drinking water instead. In those days, there were few choices. You could pay to have a company deliver large bulky plastic bottles of water for the water cooler. Or you could purchase gallon jugs of distilled or "drinking water" at the grocery store.

In recent years, there has been an explosion in the number of different bottled waters available, with big distributors such as Coke and Pepsi jumping on the bandwagon. But are bottled drinking waters like Coke's Dasani brand, Pepsi's Aquafina, or Wal-Mart's store brand really any healthier than your tap water? Or would you be better off with a drinking water filtration system?

As we've learned more about the water we drink, the technology behind drinking water filters and purification systems has improved dramatically. There are filters to remove impurities, chemicals, heavy metals, bacteria and most every contaminant you can think of. With the right size and filter combination for your specific home, your water can be exceptionally pure and healthy.

Cost Comparison

Drinking water filtration systems have also become more affordable and easy to use. Although the initial cost of a whole house system usually runs several hundred dollars, that cost is often less than $100 each year if spread out over the life of the system.

There may be additional expenses to replace carbon filters, membranes in reverse osmosis drinking water filtration system, or lamps in an ultraviolet light water treatment device. These expenses can add another $100 or so to the annual costs of operating drinking water filters and purification systems.

While some people may hesitate to spend two or three hundred dollars each year for clean, safe drinking water, they are probably paying more for bottled drinking water. Calculations show that at a price of $1 to $4 per gallon, bottled or delivered water costs an average of $400 each year, especially if you purchase individual bottles. And that doesn't take into consideration the gas needed to drive to the store or the environmental impact of all the empty plastic bottles.

Health Aspects

Many people who choose bottled drinking water understand that it is more expensive, but are willing to pay the extra money because they feel bottled water is safer and healthier than filtered drinking water. After all, bottled water is often marketed as "natural spring water" or "pure glacier water."

In reality, few bottled waters come from natural springs, and most of them use municipal tap water. The companies are able to get away with this false marketing because the regulations and standards for bottle drinking water are less stringent than those for residential drinking sources.

Bottled water quality is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), while drinking water systems are typically regulated by State regulations or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This doesn't mean that the FDA isn't doing their job. It's just that the rules for bottled water only require it to be as good as tap water, not better.

In addition, the FDA regulations only apply to bottled drinking water that is transported across state lines. If a company sells their bottled drinking water in the same state where it was bottled, the federal regulations don't apply. The result is that many bottled waters are not any healthier than filtered water, and in fact some are less pure.

This was demonstrated in a study conducted in 1999 by the Natural Resources Defense Council. They tested over 100 brands of bottled drinking water and found that about 1/3 of the waters contained contamination in the form of chemicals, bacteria, and arsenic. The study also found that up to 40% of bottled drinking waters come from a city water system.

How To Tell If Your Water Is Healthy

So how do you tell if the water you're drinking is healthy? With tap water, it's relatively easy. If you water comes from a municipal source, the suppliers are required by law to provide annual water quality reports. If you have a well, you can have an authorized lab test your water. It may cost $100 or more, but it's a small price to pay for peace of mind. Or you can purchase a kit and test it yourself, although the results are not as conclusive or reliable.

When it comes to bottled drinking water, it can be more difficult to know what you're getting. Start by checking the label or the bottle cap. Some may tell you that the water comes from a municipal source or "community water system," which means tap water.

If the label doesn't give any information, you can call the bottler and ask. But don't be surprised if you get the run around and are transferred to several different departments. Some states have a bottled water program that tracks bottled drinking water and can tell you the origin of the source water as well as other information.

Safe and healthy drinking water has become big business. Thousands of companies are vying for your hard earned cash, and some are not always honest about what their products offer. The initial investment for a home drinking water filtration system can seem expensive at first, but over time, it is usually less expensive than bottled drinking water. And with a water filter, you at least know where the water you drink came from and how it was treated.

Before going out and spending your hard earned money for bottled drinking water that may be no better than your own tap water, it's a good idea to do some research. You're likely to decide that a drinking water filtration system and/or purifier is the healthier choice and provides the best value as well.

About the Author:
C.J. Gustafson is a successful writer for Water-Filters-N-Purifiers.com, providing consumer information on water purification systems such as whole house and under sink water filters. She found out about comparing the health benefits of drinking water years ago when she learned that the bottled water she was buying came from a municipal system in a nearby city.

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A Home Water Filter - Do We Need To Filter Our Drinking Water?

Do we really need a home water filter? Can't we just assume the water that flows from our kitchen and bathroom tap is sufficiently treated for contaminants by our municipal water facility? In order to answer these questions, we need to obtain a little more background information.

Next to air, water is the most important element for our survival.

Water is an integral part of our life and we use it for many household tasks throughout the day, such as: drinking and brushing our teeth, steaming fish and vegetables, washing salad greens, face and hand washing, showering and bathing, feeding the pets and watering our plants.

Most of us take it for granted that our tap water is safe to drink and use for common household tasks. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), however, estimates that 45,000,000 people drink tap water that is polluted with chemicals, lead, germs, parasites and other impurities.

A large majority of the major U.S. cities still employ the same basic water treatment technologies that have been used since before World War I. In cities such as Atlanta, Boston and Washington, D.C. consumers are relying on pipes that are, on average, over a century old. Many people don't realize that our municipal water treatment plants are not designed to remove synthetic chemicals and as a result we find traces of health threatening contaminants in most of our public water supplies.

Situations arise when our tap water is polluted with more than the usual amount of contaminants. Municipal treatment plants have breakdowns that take time to repair. Lead leaches into our drinking water from old pipes and private wells. Smaller water-supply sources can become contaminated from agricultural and other environmental pollutants.

It is difficult to be sure of the exact amount of toxins in our water supply. The EPA has estimated that, in our modern society, we use in excess of 75,000 toxic chemicals and more than 1000 new chemicals are developed each year. The Ralph Nader Research Group, after reviewing thousands of pages of EPA documents acquired through the Freedom of Information Act, concluded that to date more than 2100 toxic chemicals have already been detected in U.S. water supplies.

Our planet earth reuses the same water over and over again, which means there is no "new water". Every single chemical used in our society, eventually winds up in our water supplies. As the use of synthetic organic chemicals increases, so does the toxicity of our water. The earth's natural filtration process is not effective at removing these toxic synthetic organic chemicals.

The human body is made up of over 70% water. The proper function of each organ system, as well as every healing process that happens inside our body, takes place with water. Optimal functioning is only possible when water, our body's transport medium is clean. Wastes form during the body's metabolism and if these wastes are allowed to accumulate through insufficient water intake, fatigue and even illness results.

If we drink water that contains chlorine or other organic and inorganic chemicals, we force our liver and kidneys to act as a filter for these contaminants. The liver purifies and detoxifies the blood of waste products and toxins. In addition to regulating the body's water balance and maintaining optimal pH, the kidney also removes metabolic waste products from the bloodstream.

By providing the liver and kidneys with water, a universal solvent and transport medium, they are assisted in their role as a natural body filter. Bombarding these organs with water that contains traces of additional toxins only hinders the body detoxification process and delays waste removal.

Water may not cure every ailment, but it is a primary ingredient that allows our body to dilute and eliminate toxins that have accumulated over time.

What Can We Do To Provide Healthy Water For Our Family?

The simplest, most effective and also the most economical way to treat municipal tap water is a home water filter. Multi-media water filters that combine activated carbon with iron exchange media such as KDF are an excellent choice.

Carbon and KDF work together to remove or reduce traces of contaminants such as chlorine, lead, Cryptosporidium and Giardia cysts, synthetic chemicals, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), MTBE, pesticides (lindane, atrazine), chemicals linked to cancer (benzene, TTHMs, toxaphene) and hundreds of other chemical contaminants that may be present causing bad taste and odors in your drinking water.

The result is healthy, great-tasting water that still contains natural trace minerals that are beneficial to optimal wellbeing and health.

© Copyright 2005 Andie Klein

Article courtesy of Home-Water-Filter-Guide.com [http://www.home-water-filter-guide.com/], where you can get the answers you need about comparing home water filter systems and filtration methods, drinking water contamination, the health benefits of drinking water and more.

Related articles from Home-Water-Filter-Guide:

[http://www.home-water-filter-guide.com/facts-about-water-pollution.html]

Understanding how traces of contaminants in your drinking water can affect your health.

[http://www.home-water-filter-guide.com/water-filter-comparison.html]

Compare the pros and cons of home water filtration systems.

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Drinking Water-Which is Best?

Water, if it is to be considered drinking water, must be consumable by humans with causing illness or disease. Drinking water must be potable, that is, it must be clean, or drinkable. All life forms on earth require drinking water. Humans, in particular, require at least 64 fluid ounces, or 8 cups, of drinking water each day for optimal health.

Your drinking water, in the United States, may come from one of several sources.

A Public Drinking Water System

The term "public water system" usually refers to any water system that has 15 or more hook-ups, or serves 25 or more people. Water systems that serve less than this are considered private water systems. Public water systems may be run by cities or towns, by state or federal agencies, by other political subdivisions like water districts and co-ops, or by private, for-profit companies. Regardless of who owns and runs the public drinking water system, that system must comply with all requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act.

A Private Drinking Water System?

The term "private water system" usually refers to any water system that serves between 1 and 14 service connections. A private drinking water system is not regulated by the government. However, owners of private wells and these non-regulated systems often have resources available to them.

What Is Done to Keep Our Water Clean?

Government laws are designed to keep our water clean. But do they work?

According to a national inventory by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), rivers and streams with water quality rated "good" fell from 65 percent in 1998 to 61 percent in 2000. Estuaries with water quality rated "good" fell from 56 percent to 49 percent over the same two-year period.

In a report, the EPA explained: "Wastewater treatment efficiencies may be leveling off, which, when combined with population and economic growth, could have the effect of reversing hard-won water quality gains. By 2016, pollution levels could be similar to levels observed in the mid-1970s."

What Is Done to Keep Our Drinking Water Clean?

Such reports are not concerned with the drinking water that comes out of the tap in your kitchen or bathroom. Is our drinking water clean?

We should not take for granted tap water purity. A study of drinking water systems of 19 U.S. cities found that many cities rely on drinking water delivery systems and treatments that date back to before World War I. Those aging pipes will break sometime. When they do, they might leach contaminants into the drinking water they carry. Those old-fashioned water treatment plants were built to filter out particles in the water, and to kill some of the parasites and bacteria, but many fail to remove modern contaminants.

More positively, many U.S. cities have updated their systems. They provide good drinking water because they:

* Guard the sources of their water (lakes, streams, reservoirs, and wells) against pollution

* Provide good quality pipes, and keep them maintained at all times

* Have modern treatment facilities that are large enough and high-tech enough to keep our drinking water clean.

The Safe Drinking Water Act, a national law safeguarding tap water in the U.S., oversees local government provisions for your drinking water.

Bottled Drinking Water

If you are concerned about your drinking water, you may decide to purchase bottled water. U.S. citizens spend billions of dollars each year on bottled drinking water. Some use it in place of other beverages. Others use bottled drinking water because they like its taste or think it is safer than tap water.

Bottled drinking water comes from sources similar to those of tap water. It comes from rivers and lakes, or from underground aquifers. Bottled drinking water's taste and quality varies among brands. It can even vary within the same brand, depending on the source of a particular bottle. Even bottled drinking water may contain at least small amounts of contaminants. It may meet USFDA standards, but those standards do not demand total purity.

Purified Drinking Water

Finally, you may choose to purify your water through one of many available filtering systems. Purification systems may be as simple as a pitcher that is filled with water, and dispenses it through a filter. You may attach a filter to the faucet in your kitchen, or to the water line beneath the kitchen sink. You might get your purified drinking water from a carbon filtration system, or you might invest in a reverse osmosis system.

Purified drinking water is more costly, per gallon, than tap water, but it may provide the peace of mind and/or the health you want.

Drinking water, if it is to be considered drinking water, must be consumable by humans with causing illness or disease. The challenge may be less or greater where you live, but it is worth meeting.

2007c Anna Hart. Read more of Anna's articles about healthy drinking water at http://www.healthydrinkingwaterblog.com.

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