Elia E. Levi asked:


Do you know what kind of drinking water is administered to your children while at camp, at school, at their care facility? Well, you may think, why should one worry about that? Tap water should be safe to drink everywhere. You are right, except that unfortunately, according to various reports from official and journalistic sources, the water at the tap of many distribution systems is often lacking in quality, at times at least. Even if declared safe because it contains sufficient quantities of disinfectants like chlorine and the like, it may still include unsafe contaminants. And it may taste be so bad that many children, compromising their health, avoid drinking the quantities of water they need if only to shun the distasteful potion. Or they may prefer instead sweetened beverages that, besides being unhealthy, impose an unnecessary burden upon family budgets. In principle it is all taken care of by official orders and regulations. But if you care about the health of your children would it not be better to check? You could do one of two things, besides taking a draught to taste it yourself: either ask the facility officials to show you all the documentation on its compliance with the ordnances in force, or just take a clean bottle, fill it at the tap of the place and have it tested for suitability with current drinking water standards. Unless spurned and kept honest, people all over the world may tend to be lazy, to cut corners, to delay implementation of maintenance or controls, especially if performing those tasks takes time and involves some effort. The incentive to wrongdoing is that, should something go wrong just then, it may prove extremely difficult to demonstrate the individual responsibility of the lazy person relative to specific mishaps. Authorities in charge of enforcing drinking water quality regulate public water systems. They oversee water recycling projects and authorize water treatment devices, and they support and promote water system security. But they cannot check every single drop flowing in the systems. In many places Drinking Water System Operators must be instructed, examined and certified in order to be able to perform their duties, that pertain to correct installation and operation of Municipal Residential Water Systems depending on water supply from surface sources. Even if the water quality is barely acceptable, authorities in the field recommend, as a matter of precaution, to improve safety, quality and taste of drinking water, to install a suitable filter at the distribution point. At school, at home, everywhere, a good water purifier is a must for health and safety.