What's in tap water?

Water is the main component of our body, and its purity directly affects our health. Approximately 60-70 percent of the human body is water. In many countries, including Georgia, tap water is officially “drinkable,” but what do you actually find in it? Sometimes, seemingly clean water can be full of quite strange and even dangerous substances…

Chlorine and its compounds

Chlorine is one of the most widely used disinfectants in drinking water because it effectively destroys bacteria, viruses, and other harmful microorganisms, reducing the risk of infectious diseases such as dysentery, cholera, and other intestinal infections. However, when chlorine reacts with organic substances in water, it forms chlorine compounds, including trihalomethanes (THMs), etc. These compounds can cause skin irritation, acne, eye and respiratory problems, dry hair, allergic reactions, and increase the risk of developing certain types of cancer.

Heavy metals

Heavy metals such as lead, mercury, and cadmium can enter drinking water through corrosion of pipes, industrial waste, or natural processes. They are particularly dangerous to health: regular exposure can cause neurological disorders, kidney and liver damage, and in children, mental retardation. Some heavy metals, especially lead, accumulate in the body and can remain for a long time, and even small amounts are dangerous, especially for children. What is most dangerous is that these substances are often invisible in water, and they have no taste or smell.

Bacteria and parasites

Drinking water can contain harmful microorganisms, such as bacteria (such as E. coli), viruses, and parasites (such as Cryptosporidium and Giardia). They enter the water through damage to the water supply system or improper cleaning. Chlorination kills most bacteria and viruses, but some parasites are resistant to chlorine and can survive. Such microorganisms cause intestinal infections, diarrhea, nausea, and sometimes serious complications, especially in children and immunocompromised people. Many of them are invisible in water and can only be detected by special analysis.

Mechanical impurities

Drinking water often contains mechanical impurities - for example, sand, clay, dust, rust, debris and other small solid particles. These impurities enter the water from the ground surface, from old pipes, as a result of damage to the water supply system or as a result of repair work. Mechanical impurities are usually not toxic, but they make the water cloudy and unpleasant. Mechanical impurities damage household appliances, clog pipes and cause a change in the taste and smell of water, and in some cases, even cause gastrointestinal irritation.

Tap water, which seems clean on the outside, often contains various harmful impurities - chemicals, microorganisms and heavy metals, which imperceptibly harm human health. These can be nitrates, pesticides, industrial waste, heavy metals and harmful bacteria, some of which cause skin irritation, chronic diseases or even serious health problems, especially in children and pregnant women. That is why it is necessary to be careful, control the quality of water and understand the importance of clean water - because clean water is one of the main conditions for health