The TapWaterSafety Blog
Independent, evidence-based guides on drinking water quality, filter technology, contaminant health risks, and how to protect your family.
European Union drinking water standards are substantially stricter than US EPA limits for lead, chromium, pesticides, and disinfection byproducts. Here's the contaminant-by-contaminant comparison.
The World Health Organization's Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality are the global standard most national regulations are built from. Here's how WHO values are set, what they actually mean, and how US tap water compares.
California's Public Health Goals (PHGs) are the strictest US drinking water targets, set by toxicology research without regulatory compromise. Here's what they are and why they matter for the rest of the country.
Most US tap water is disinfected with chlorine or chloramine. Here's what each does, the trade-offs, and which filters actually remove them.
PFAS chemicals are now detected in the drinking water of over 143 million Americans. Here's how to choose a filter that actually removes them — and the certifications that prove it.
The Environmental Working Group's health guidelines are 10-1,000x stricter than EPA legal limits for many contaminants. Here's how EWG sets its numbers, why they differ from EPA, and what it means for your tap water.
Hexavalent chromium contaminates the drinking water of over 200 million Americans. Here's what it is, where it comes from, why the EPA hasn't set a federal limit, and how to filter it.
Most US tap water is legal to drink but contains contaminants at levels modern science considers unsafe. Here's a clear-eyed look at what's in your water, what the risks actually are, and what to do.
Microplastics are detected in 94% of tested US tap water. Health effects are still being studied, but here's what's known and which filters reduce them.
Lead almost never comes from your water source — it comes from your home's plumbing. Here's how to find out if you have lead exposure, what to do about it, and what filters actually remove it.
Arsenic is detected in the tap water of approximately 25 million Americans. Even legal levels are linked to cancer. Here's how to find out if you're exposed and how to filter it.
Trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids form when chlorine reacts with organic matter in source water. They're in nearly every US municipal tap, often at levels far above health guidelines. Here's how to filter them.