Eh… Most large urban areas have invested heavily in water treatment and sanitation, promising potable water to around 80% of the population at large.
Once you get into the more rural neighborhoods, you’ll find people relying on less developed municipal water systems. The real outlaying areas are reliant entirely on well water and self-treatment. Especially in areas that have undergone extensive fracking, well water is subject to contamination.
So most of the US plumbing system has minimal health risks. But if you’re driving through Idaho or upstate Alabama or rural Pennsylvania or the more radioactive corners of Nevada, YMMV. That’s before you get into the areas of the country that still rely on lead pipes, which tend to be older, poorer, and more industrial but also tend not to have large populations.
Is wondering if municipal tap water is safe to drink whenever you go to a different area a reality in the US?
It’s a major, multi-year news event when it’s found a municipal’s drinking water isn’t safe to drink in the US.
The most common complaint is that a city’s water may not taste as good as another city’s. A problem which is commonly remedied by adding a filter.
Most of the USA has safe drinking water
Eh… Most large urban areas have invested heavily in water treatment and sanitation, promising potable water to around 80% of the population at large.
Once you get into the more rural neighborhoods, you’ll find people relying on less developed municipal water systems. The real outlaying areas are reliant entirely on well water and self-treatment. Especially in areas that have undergone extensive fracking, well water is subject to contamination.
So most of the US plumbing system has minimal health risks. But if you’re driving through Idaho or upstate Alabama or rural Pennsylvania or the more radioactive corners of Nevada, YMMV. That’s before you get into the areas of the country that still rely on lead pipes, which tend to be older, poorer, and more industrial but also tend not to have large populations.