My WATER Must Be Good.... Do you really think so? by Henry Pine

My WATER Must Be Good....

Do you really think so?

by Henry Pine

The simple answer is NO.  We hope…believe…and trust that the system works, but we know that most city governments, including Houston, are in big financial trouble. Houston has a deficit of approximately  $126 million which has been passed on to the new Mayor.

So some things get done and others do not. You all remember about the squeaky wheel getting the grease. Right now in Houston there are a lot of squeaks……pot holes big enough to tear your wheel off, pension funds with not enough money , etc, and all of the new promises.

Water quality is normally a fairly quiet subject, so it may not get the attention it deserves until a big problem surfaces. Water us our life blood.

In my last article, I wrote about the bad water last summer in much of Houston. Residents complained loudly to the city and TV news about their foul-tasting and smelly water, and the reply from city services was, “we are meeting state requirements.” 

I don’t know if any serious health issues occurred, or what was done to correct it----but it did happen right here in Houston. The public will probably never know the actual truth and consequences of that event, but the people in Flint, Michigan are absolutely sure, with horrible proof and serious deadly consequences, of their city’s failure to protect them and their water.

In 2014, and since, Flint, Michigan has had seriously contaminated water with high levels of lead. The lead levels in children climbed 2-3 times over previous levels. Why? Because the City of Flint is in financial trouble and they decided to get their water from the local river, (like Houston does) rather than from the lake that they had been using for many years….because it was cheaper. They did not know how to fully evaluate the effects of that change because the river water was more corrosive causing old water pipes to release lead that had been trapped in the pipes for many years.

Now, here is the serious and scary part for all of us. City services thought that they were doing things right, but they actually did not know. Higher up, they received information about the potential problems and the need for better testing, but it got bogged down, covered up, and not acted upon in time. The way they were testing was to flush the lines real good before taking test samples, effectively washing away much of the lead that was actually there. Children will be affected for the rest of their lives because of this devious hiding of the truth.

Are you just waiting, hoping, and trusting that your water is always pure and healthy for your family?

In Flint they knew about an additive that would significantly reduce the leaching of lead from old water pipes. They were told about it more than once, and they actually lied and said they were using it until pinned down, and it came out that they were not, maybe due to the cost. Aren’t our lives worth the cost?

You have to decide for your own family. Should I trust the government with my mainstream basic health, or should I be proactive, just in case.

Flint switched to the river water in April 2014 and the river water was so corrosive that GM would not use it. City officials knew just months after and only recently (October 2015) switched back to the lake. Kids are sick and people dead. Thus far, there are 87 cases, 10 fatal, from the Legionella bacteria, probably from the bad water in Flint. The EPA actually knew of the problems in February 2015 and did not do anything, stating “It is the state’s responsibility.”

In an article by James Brewer, interviewing Dr. Mona Hanna-Attishay, the pediatrician who uncovered the spike level of lead in Flint children’s blood last September, said, “This experience has really shattered my trust in government. It’s not that I was naïve to start with, but you’d expect that utilities, states, federal agencies, would take their jobs seriously and try to protect people rather than deliberately mislead, lie and make up excuses not to protect public health.”

The effects of lead poisoning in children are irreversible and show up in many future stages of life, lowering IQ, seriously harming behavior and health. Lead was found in Flint’s children at 4%-6% levels, and up to 15% in some of the areas.

No Home Water Filtration will protect you from every circumstance, but they do a lot to greatly safeguard your water and health. Like everything else, there are better systems, and poor systems. The more steps that the filter/treatment system takes to clean your water, the better, and naturally, they will cost more.

If you have not read my articles on water treatment in the December 2015 and January 2016 issues, I urge you to do so. There is a serious and growing need to take action on your part. You are exercising more, eating more organic, and generally trying to be healthier and live longer...so don’t forget the water in your home.

I will be happy to help you understand the difference between a water softener and a water treatment system and sort out all of the different water treatments and their claims. I believe you should not buy during the salesman’s first visit, and their demonstration sometimes does not really show the health benefits that are most important.

Buy the best system that you can afford…your life and that of your family may depend on it.

Henry Pine

Accent H2O

23206 Interstate 45

Spring, TX 77373

281-773-5441 or 281-651-7600

[email protected]


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