What’s in Your Water: Heavy Metals

Hi, friends. Welcome back to the SOURCE blog! The following dispatch is the second installment in our “What’s in Your Water?” series, which explores some of the common contaminants found in drinking water around the U.S. Today, we’re delving into heavy metals to discuss what they are, how they get in our water systems, and how you can avoid consuming toxic levels of them. You can read the first blog in the series on PFAS or “Forever Chemicals” here.

Water is the building block of a long, healthy life. But unseen contaminants in the water we drink and cook with can come with unseen contaminants that, over time, can adversely affect you and your family’s health. Of all the dangerous things you can find hanging around in American water systems, heavy metals might be the most insidious group of toxins you’re unknowingly ingesting.

For those of us who rely on small municipal water systems or private wells, heavy metals like lead, arsenic, cadmium, copper, and others can be a severe but invisible problem lurking in our daily hydration. In this blog, we’re dissecting the issue of heavy metal contamination as part of our blog series on common contaminants in water and providing insight on safeguarding you and your family’s well-being.

Hidden Toxins: Heavy Metals

Heavy metals are naturally occurring metallic elements in the earth’s crust, called so for their dense atomic weights. But just because they’re natural for the planet doesn’t mean they’re good for our bodies. While some metals are found in food like brown rice, consuming high levels of certain elements can be highly toxic to a person’s health. Others, like arsenic, are dangerous in small amounts.

Unfortunately, one of the most common ways people consume heavy metals is through human activities that contaminate soil, crops, and drinking water. When you live near industrial operations, agriculture, or mining locales–as many of us do–your tap or well water may have unhealthy levels of one or more heavy metals.

This hidden crisis is worsened by aging infrastructure across the country, as found in places with degrading copper or lead pipes. In small, rural, or remote areas, the data can be lacking, or people may not know what comprises their plumbing system, making this issue a particularly grave reality for people regardless of zip code. Without large-scale infrastructure updates on the horizon, it’s crucial for people who live on wells or smaller systems to consider possible heavy metal contamination when they go for a gulp. Here is a short list of some of the most common metals in water systems.

These are not the only heavy metals potentially floating around in your water. Others can include chromium, selenium, and antimony, among others. To learn about possible heavy metal exposure in your neck of the woods, use Environmental Working Group’s Tap Water Database to get a full report on your locality’s documented contaminants. 

Long-Term Health Impacts 

You may have heard about lead, arsenic, or other poisoning and how severe of a toll these elements can have on the human body–and for good reason. The World Health Organization identifies metals like lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic on its list of Chemicals of Major Public Health Concern for their reported effects on people and communities' health. 

Many of these metals can cause short-term problems like fatigue, nausea, headaches, and digestive issues when consumed. However, what makes heavy metals particularly frightening is their gradual accumulation, which can lead to severe health complications that can profoundly limit, shorten, or even end someone’s life. Research shows that heavy metal exposure can cause various types of cancers, autoimmune issues, neurological disorders, and even damage to a person’s musculoskeletal system. 

Some of these metals can have a disproportionate impact on fetuses and children, which should be a cause for concern for parents, guardians, and caregivers of the next generation. Chronic or high exposure to lead and arsenic, for example, can impair brain development in babies and children, causing learning disabilities or problems with growth and healthy immune functions. Truly terrifying stuff.

It can take time before health outcomes become evident and more time to connect it back to an unsafe water source. Hence, preventing chronic exposure is the best defense to protecting your family from the avoidable consequences of heavy metal contamination.

How to Avoid Consuming Heavy Metals 

The presence of heavy metals in drinking water is a global and national issue, but smaller communities can face distinct challenges when it comes to testing/monitoring and remediation efforts. Many people in small towns or remote areas lack financial or governmental resources for sophisticated water testing or maintaining compliance with federal regulations. 

And that’s if your community receives piped water to begin with. 

As discussed in our previous article on PFAS or “forever chemicals,” well water also comes with its own set of unseen dangers regarding contamination. Rural areas, particularly those relying on private wells, bear increased responsibility, as private well owners are not mandated to test their supply regularly. Such a decentralized system leads people to unknowingly consume these hazardous materials or drink what they have without adequate alternatives. Because of this status quo, people need to think long-term about how they get and store their source of hydration.

While people can purchase testing systems or filtration, one of the best sure-fire ways to know your household’s water is 100 percent free of heavy metals from the start is to capture drinkable water from the atmosphere. SOURCE Hydropanel technology helps families worldwide, including off-grid or small communities, collect perfectly pure water vapor from the air (no matter the local Air Quality Index rating) and convert it to a liquid state. So healthy, safe hydration is available whenever you need it.

When it comes to heavy metals, it’s better to be safe and proactive than deal with unwanted health problems down the road. We’re proud to offer one method that can give you peace of mind whenever you pour H20 into a glass, reusable bottle, or a pot for cooking. Learn more about the SOURCE solution to safe drinking water on our website, which includes information on how it works, FAQs, and how to begin your journey to water independence. We also now offer a complimentary Virtual Site Survey (VSS) for folks interested in Hydropanel to understand how SOURCE would work for your property (whether a household, community, or business) and what your installation plan would look like before you complete your order. Sign up for your free VSS here.