Dirty Water No More

Thanks to a certain song, Boston water has a bit of a reputation. Even when we’re just singing along at a Sox game, we can’t seem to escape the idea that Boston water is dirty. Until now.

This year, Boston came out on top in the “Best of the Best” tap water taste test. To top it off, not only has the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority once again met every state and federal drinking water standard, but it has also completed a new ultraviolet disinfection facility to even further improve the quality of our drinking water.

What makes our water so special? The fact that it’s au naturel. Our water comes from the Quabbin and Wachusett reservoirs to the west. Instead of blasting our water with chemicals, according to standard practice, our water is naturally protected by the surrounding forests and watersheds. This means that our water needs minimal treatment and filtration in order to meet strict federal and state standards.

Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wachusett_reservoir.jpg

Before the water reaches our faucets, it is tested every step of the way to make sure it is free from contaminants. These test results show that Boston water has very few contaminants, well below the EPA’s standards, which gives us that delicious, high quality water we can enjoy straight from the tap!

And why not enjoy the water straight from your tap? Tap water is delivered to your home via a gravity-fed system, meaning we don’t need any gas-guzzling trucks or oil-based plastic bottles, which can leak contaminants into your water. Bottled water produces over 10,000 times more greenhouse gasses than tap water. Plus, it’s cheaper! Tap water costs less than a penny per gallon, while bottled water can cost up to $8 for a gallon.

So ditch those single-use plastic bottles and #TastetheTap. Show your commitment to reducing bottled water use by texting “TAP” to (646) 759-2644 and join the Carbon Challenge.

Want to learn more? Join us Wednesday, August 6th for a guided tour of the Waterworks Museum and panel discussion of experts in the industry. More details to come soon!

So, how do you #TastetheTap?

This blog post was written for the Greenovate Boston website and was republished here. http://greenovateboston.org/news/dirty-water-no-more/