82CardsGrad

Regarding water...

Health mag gives Phoenix water an 'F'

Amanda Chan
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 13, 2007 04:12 PM
Phoenix officials say that the Valley's water is safe to drink despite an "F" rating and a last-place ranking in Men's Health magazine.

The article, which appears in the magazine's March issue, puts Phoenix in 100th place out of 100 U.S. cities that were tested for levels of arsenic, lead, coliform, bacteria, and haloacetic acids and trihalomethanes, which are byproducts of disinfection. In addition, the magazine tabulated and compared the number of system violations at water facilities from 1995 to 2005.

"Phoenix water is safe to drink, and folks shouldn't be alarmed," said Cortland Coleman, communications director for the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. "Phoenix water is required to meet strict, safe drinking water standards."
In addition, flukes in database entry and data quality issues may have affected Arizona's placing on the Men's Health list, he said.

"Lots of data is transmitted with the federal government on a number of different issues, and we are dealing with large pieces of data," Coleman said.

An incorrectly transposed decimal place may have contributed to the poor results in Phoenix, he said.

"(Men's Health) is not saying that Arizona's water is unsafe or dirty, but it does come in at the bottom of the list," said Megan Montenaro, public relations manager of Men's Health magazine. "Compared to the way other cities clean their water, though, it came in last."
The levels of arsenic in Phoenix water were calculated to have 16.1 parts-per-billion, whereas Denver water did not contain any amounts of arsenic, she said.

However, these traces of arsenic do not pose a health risk, so long as they abide by the EPA's standards.

Arizona has some of the highest levels of naturally occurring arsenic, due to the geology and hydrology of the state, Coleman said.

"Phoenix has been working very hard to meet the new federal arsenic standards, which have been changed from 50 parts-per-million to 10 parts-per-million allowed in the water," he said.

As long as Phoenix continues to meet the standards imposed by the EPA, the water is safe to drink, Coleman added.

Denver was given an "A" rating and ranked No. 1 by the magazine for the cleanest water among the cities, which includes Los Angeles (an "F" rating and 97th), Tucson (a "C" rating and 63rd), Austin (a "C" rating and 50th), New York (a "B" rating and 37th) and Honolulu (an "A" rating and 10th), according to the article.

As of 2005, Phoenix's water came primarily from surface water, which comes from snow packs, streams, rivers and lakes. Most of the water comes from the Salt, Verde and Colorado rivers. Approximately 5 percent of the water used comes from groundwater wells.

The Central Arizona Project treats water from the Colorado River, and the Salt River Project treats water from the Salt and Verde rivers, according to the City of Phoenix Water Services Department.

Men's Health magazine is a lifestyle magazine targeted for men between the ages of 25 to 49, and covers issues related to health, nutrition, finances, relationships and gadgets.

dreamcastrocks

I heard that on the radio and thought, "No ish".

I could have told you that without a story.

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'Just to reiterate, Derek Anderson isn't hurt.... he has just been benched.'
-Sam Rosen

Mulli

I once heard an Al McCoy commercial about the tap water in Phoenix. It was basically admitting Phx water was bad but told all to put a lemon in it or put some in the fridge b/c it might taste better cold.

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dreamcastrocks

I literally get a stomach ache if I even try to drink tap water.

__________________
'Just to reiterate, Derek Anderson isn't hurt.... he has just been benched.'
-Sam Rosen

Linderbee

wuss. Water's water. At least here. Won't drink the water in Mexico...now THAT'S bad water.

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dreamcastrocks--My Hero!!

dreamcastrocks

Yep, pretty much. I can tolerate ice made from tap water, but usually everywhere I go, the water used in the ice has been filtered "some".

I won't step foot in Mexico without 5 gallons of water in the trunk of my car.

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'Just to reiterate, Derek Anderson isn't hurt.... he has just been benched.'
-Sam Rosen

KingofCards

I don't drink our tap water.

One of the best X-mas gifts I ever got was a water cooler. Cost me $2.50 to fill up two 5 gallon jugs with good water from the water store near my house.

Can't live without that thing.

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"Let the rabbits wear glasses."

Heucrazy

I used my water cooler to make ice cubes and cook with when I lived in the valley. That thing saved my life.

Valley tap water almost made me gag just brushing my teeth with it.

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Have fun storming the castle.

HeavyB3

We have a little saying here in Springfield. If it's brown, drink it down. If it's black, send it back.

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Originally Posted by HeavyB3
I wasn't serious in my post.. I don't really give a crap.