Safe Water?

I live in an affluent community in a forest on the coast of California. Recently, new water pipes about 8 inches to 10 inches in diameter were installed outside under our street. At first my neighbors complained of foul tasting water and said that for Thanksgiving they had had to buy bottled water and thought this a terrible outcome. Now, on their behalf I must say that these are long retired folks from a different era than I when drinking tap water was the norm. However, having been to college in the last 20 years and having studied about water I no longer drink tap water anywhere except maybe in Mt. shasta on the mountain from a well fed by underground springs filtered by lava rocks. Otherwise, I don't drink tap water anywhere without either boiling it or through a reverse osmosis water filtration system installed by companies like Culligan in the U.S.

The reason for this is simple. Giarrdea (protazoa) in water is common at certain times of year in all municipal water sources in the United States during some times of the year. Cryptosys, for example, does not die in Chlorinated or Fluoridated water. IF SOMEONE, FOR EXAMPLE, WITH HIV DRINKS THIS WATER UNFLITERED, THEIR IMMUNE SYSTEM COULD BE FULLY COMPROMISED AND THEY COULD DIE WITHIN 6 MONTHS. Though I don't have HIV or does anyone in my family this gives me pause and causes me to only drink reverse osmosis water or bottled spring water(which is boiled before bottling).

Though there are different contaminants in every tap water on earth (including the U.S) I prefer not to worry about this at all. So as I said I prefer bottled water first, my favorite is Arrowhead Spring Water or if I'm feeling like it once in a while, Fiji Water from Fiji or Glacial Water from Canada. However, these last two I do very rarely for a treat. Mostly I buy 24 bottles at a time in a case. However, my more fanatical friends use only glass bottles over and over. Though I understand this I have been cut on too many glass bottles that have broken over the last 40 years usually getting out of my car. So because of this I gave up on glass bottles. I don't like broken glass in my feet or hands etc. I guess we all choose what we do. For example, I use a microwave for cooking and other of my more purist friends will not use one. To each his own.

Having had giarrdhea for 6 months that I got during my 4 months in India and Nepal in 1985-6 I am sensitive about clean water, safe water, and feces blowing in dust in country or city. Since all these things were going on when I was last in India and Nepal I am very aware when these things are going on. Luckily, I didn't get sick until 2 weeks before I left Asia after being there 4 months. Of the 5 of us, my son and I were the sickest on our return flight and looked so skinny we looked like we were starving since the protozoa in giarrdhea eats your food before you do and you slowly starve. Black spots before my eyes wasn't fun either. So for this reason and more I am religious about washing my hands and pure water the last 20 plus years since then. When I returned home from Asia I saw a foreign diseases specialist and she said it would slowly sluff off over 6 months of exposure to an entirely new ecosystem here in the U.S. She also said that most medicines to kill it quickly would cause liver damage unless my life was at stake in the process which it wasn't. I was just skin and bones but still healthy but I was the skinniest I had ever been during my 20s or 30s at any time in the U.S.