J.D. Power, a data analytics and consumer intelligence company, recently ranked states based on their tap water.
They took quality, reliability, price, customer service, and even conservation efforts into account.
So, how did Alabama fare?
Yikes! It looks like we came in dead last.
Does that mean the water isn’t safe to drink in Mobile?
Let’s take a look at the data.
First off, let’s address where our tap water comes from.
Mobile’s trusty water supply comes straight from the J.B. Converse Reservoir, or as we locals know it, Big Creek Lake.
This impressive man-made lake sprawls over 3,600 acres since its construction in 1952.
It’s where all the drinking water and most of the raw water for the city comes from.
A system of eight turbines springs into action, pumping a staggering five million gallons of water every day.
All that water courses through the S. Palmer Gaillard Pumping Station, making its way through massive 60-inch diameter pipes to the reservoirs at Mobile’s two water treatment facilities.
Now, last year, there was some commotion about the quality of our water and whether or not it’s safe to drink.
MAWSS (Mobile Area Water & Sewer System) released a statement saying that some harmful compounds did show up in their testing.
However, the detection of these compounds was still above the new thresholds established by the EPA.
So, nothing to worry about there.
Share Your Thoughts!They were just doing their best to be transparent and did not anticipate that this harmless report would alarm some residents.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency even dedicated an additional $52.6 million to install special filters to remove chemicals across our local water systems.
Okay, all this sounds well and good.
But what does this mean for us?
Should we be boiling our water before drinking it?
According to the latest MAWWS report, it does appear the water from our faucet is safe to drink.
That report was released July 2022, so we imagine that the latest report will be coming out soon.
Boiling and freezing won’t reduce the concentration of the PFAS chemicals in the water.
Although, they did also say that buying a filter would help.
This could be a cheap short-term solution for your peace of mind.
We also learned that bottled water most likely has these chemicals as well.
In the meantime, MAWWS is doing its best to shift its focus upstream.
After all, the city has to hold polluters accountable and ensure that they clean up their act so that our precious water isn’t contaminated before it reaches our taps!
Still worried?
Well, you can take matters into your own hands and test your water at least once a year.
You can find all sorts of water testing kits out in the market.
They come with test strips, color-coded reagents, and even portable meters to check things like pH levels, chlorine content, or the presence of heavy metals.
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