One of the major problems with some public water supplies is the serious issue of unregulated contaminants. These consist of an array of compounds like pain killers, hormones, heart meds, cancer meds, endocrine disrupters, caffeine, cocaine, etc. These compounds are not regulated and therefore they are not listed on your local water quality report.
If your water source is a river and there are cities upstream of your city, then these compounds are in your water. The only technology known to remove them is reverse osmosis.
I have long suspected that activated carbon filters would also reduce complex compounds such as the unregulated contaminants in drinking water. Continue reading