An updated article from Earth911 addresses concerns over bad-tasting U.S. tap water, emphasizing that taste does not always indicate safety. It highlights contaminants like PFAS affecting millions and offers filtration advice amid bottled water risks. The piece, revised in October 2025, stresses checking local water quality via databases.
Americans often worry about tap water quality due to news of unsafe drinking water and marketing for bottled alternatives. However, the article notes that 80 percent of U.S. tap water is safe, despite 324 contaminants detected across nearly 50,000 water systems, per Environmental Working Group data. Over 143 million people have PFAS, or 'forever chemicals,' in their tap water, and the EPA's 2023 report shows only 72 percent of public systems had no violations.
Bad taste stems more from dissolved minerals, which enhance health benefits, than hazards; pure distilled water tastes awful and can leach minerals from the body. Dangerous pollutants like PFAS often do not alter flavor, so the EWG Tap Water Database allows zip code searches for contaminants and filter recommendations.
To improve taste, the CDC's guidance recommends filters targeting specific issues. Recent advances include advanced membrane filtration removing particles as small as 0.001 microns, MIT's silk and cellulose materials for PFAS and heavy metals, AI-enabled smart systems for real-time monitoring, and UV or ozone for chemical-free purification. Refrigerator or pitcher filters may enhance flavor but fail against PFAS or heavy metals; reverse osmosis effectively removes lead, copper, chromium, arsenic, and PFAS but also beneficial minerals and needs maintenance. Keeping water cold helps minimize off-tastes.
Bottled water poses risks, with Columbia University and Rutgers research finding 240,000 plastic fragments per liter, 90 percent nanoplastics under 1 micrometer—10 to 100 times more than prior estimates. Regular bottled water drinkers ingest 90,000 extra microplastic particles yearly, per a Journal of Hazardous Materials review. While the FDA sees no proven risks, a Concordia University review links microplastics to respiratory diseases, reproductive issues, neurotoxicity, carcinogens, and hormonal disruption; nanoplastics cross barriers to organs like the brain and carry hazardous chemicals, with 25 percent of 16,000 plastic additives deemed toxic.
Simple fixes include adding lemon, fruit infusions, or switching to tea. The article, originally from October 1, 2019, was substantially updated in October 2025 to reflect new research.