Excellent and thoughtful article.  It is interesting that the public skepticism about drinking water quality and continuous increase in bottled water consumption and installation of POU filters, has grown in the USA, at least, starting after passage and implementation of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Regulations have been implemented and sanitation -related identified waterborne disease outbreaks have been in continuous decline since then. The exception is the increase in distribution-related microbial regrowth disease-legionellosis, from inhalation of aerosols.  So water in the  USA is safer and  much higher quality than it has been in perhaps more than 100 years, yet bottled water sales continue to rise.  The rapid expansion of the abiliity to analyze trace chemicals at ppb and ppt is the cause  and the reports and press exageration and pressure group tactics have caused the public to lose confidence in public drinking water supplies. Obviously, the smaller the concentration the smaller the risk. You should also know that all of the press articles about lead in Flint and brain damaged children were wrong. Several good technical articles explain it.   Thousands of blood lead measurements from the Centers for Disease Control demonstrate that there was no significant increase of lead, and what small amount (about 2 ug/dl) that occurred was in about 2 % of the children. The situation was unconscionable, but the water was so bad that virtually no one drank it, thus no significant blood  lead increases. So, the moral of the story is that we should not expect to be educated by press reports written by people who do not understand science, and who are motivated to get headlines rather than to educate the public. .

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Excellent and thoughtful article.  It is interesting that the public skepticism about drinking water quality and continuous increase in bottled water consumption and installation of POU filters, has grown in the USA, at least, starting after passage and implementation of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Regulations have been implemented and sanitation -related identified waterborne disease outbreaks have been in continuous decline since then. The exception is the increase in distribution-related microbial regrowth disease-legionellosis, from inhalation of aerosols.  So water in the  USA is safer and  much higher quality than it has been in perhaps more than 100 years, yet bottled water sales continue to rise.  The rapid expansion of the abiliity to analyze trace chemicals at ppb and ppt is the cause  and the reports and press exageration and pressure group tactics have caused the public to lose confidence in public drinking water supplies. Obviously, the smaller the concentration the smaller the risk.

You should also know that all of the press articles about lead in Flint and brain damaged children were wrong. Several good technical articles explain it.   Thousands of blood lead measurements from the Centers for Disease Control demonstrate that there was no significant increase of lead, and what small amount (about 2 ug/dl) that occurred was in about 2 % of the children. The situation was unconscionable, but the water was so bad that virtually no one drank it, thus no significant blood  lead increases. So, the moral of the story is that we should not expect to be educated by press reports written by people who do not understand science, and who are motivated to get headlines rather than to educate the public. .