Cheers To National Drinking Water Week!

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

11 May 2007 08:20 AM

It's that time of year again. Time to raise our glasses and offer a toast to the wonders of tap water. At least that's what the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wants you to do this week. (Okay, so I should have posted this blog on Monday, but, hey, there are still a couple days left to get in on the festivities.)

Whether you realized it or not, this week is National Drinking Water Week, a time when water suppliers join with us (water consuming individuals) to recognize the vital role water plays in our daily lives. The week was originally created 30 years ago to illustrate that North American water suppliers' number one priority is public health. These days the week is celebrated across the country with fairs, programs, and contests.

I will be the first to admit that our family does not consume much tap water on a daily basis (we drink bottled water I purchase once a week from the grocery store--but who knows that could be expensive tap water for all I know). So researching National Drinking Water Week was an eye-opening experience for me.

Here are some interesting facts I learned about the true value tap water delivers:

· Tap water is vital in the manufacturing of many products. For example, approximately 300 million gallons of water are needed to produce a single day's supply of U.S. newsprint.

· Tap water is the primary ingredient in hundreds of thousands of everyday products, including toothpastes and perfumes.

· A typical American household uses 101 gallons of tap water per capita per day.

· Only 3 percent of the tap water we use on an average day is used for drinking. The rest goes for outdoor watering, bathroom uses, clothes washing, etc.

· The number of cavities in children has been reduced by 20-40% where fluoridation of tap water has been implemented.

· In North America, you can drink from virtually any public tap, while in the developing world an estimated 3 million people die every year from preventable waterborne disease.

So, raise your glasses (all 8 recommended daily glasses) filled with one of the world's most prized resources and give a shout out to National Drinking Water Week---before its over.

Related Articles:

Dehydration and Kids

Water Woes--A Trip Gone Terribly Wrong

The Ugly Truth About Airplane Water

Travel Food and Water

Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger