Getting an adequate supply of pure drinking water is essential to your health and wellbeing. While most city water supplies are treated, the resulting water may be fine for washing and cooking but can have health implications if regularly used as drinking water.

Here's a look at the contaminants you typically find in drinking water.

Chlorine is not a contaminant as such but a disinfectant added to the water supply to kill pathogens. It does however form by-products such as total trihalomethanes. These are formed when chlorine reacts with the naturally occurring organic matter in the water they are disinfecting. Chlorine also affects the taste of water as well as give it that 'swimming pool' odor.

As for actual contaminants, industrial pollutants can result in serious problems. These pollutants, which include carbon tetrachloride, enter the water system when factories discharge waste into the environment. They can cause a host of physical problems affecting the nervous system, liver and kidneys among others.

Next there are agricultural pollutants. These are the herbicides and pesticides which farmers use to protect their crops. The trouble is that these chemicals can get into the water supply. Substances such as lindane and toxaphene can cause damage to organs such as the liver and kidneys. Others such as atrazine can cause a slew of health problems such as heart and nervous system disorders.

Then there are the heavy metals, especially lead. These enter your water supply via the pipes and tubes that brings it to your taps. Lead has especially serious health implications for babies and young children and can cause delayed mental and physical development and an array of symptoms such as learning disabilities.

Next we have sediment. This means small particles of matter such as sand and dirt together with metal derivatives such as rust. The volume of sediment can be gauged from the water's turbidity - which means how cloudy it is.

On the organic front, one common water pollutant comes in the form of cysts. These are form parasites take on when they leave their host. Cysts are dormant in the wild but come to life again when they enter your body. Here they can cause a range of gastrointestinal problems.

The last pollutant we'll look at is one that has become increasingly serious in recent years - that of prescription drugs. These are the excess drugs that are flushed out of people's bodies into the water system and hence into the water supply.

The trouble is that conventional water treatment facilities are not set up to handle these chemical compounds. While the volumes are quite small, drinking tap water for extended periods could result in a build up of these substances in your system. And many of them can cause serious side effects.

With all these potential health hazards in your water supply, it makes sense to
treat your water before drinking it. Visit Best Water Filter Review for a comprehensive look at water filters.