A glass of Fort Worth tap water, please

By Bob Ray Sanders

bobray@star-telegram.com

Bottled water is a staple at our house.

Bought cases at a time, there are usually several plastic containers of H {-2}0 in the refrigerator for family and guests because many people today think it is the safest they can drink.

Not me. I'm a tap water guy. Give me a glass of ice and the kitchen faucet, and I'm fine.

Drinking from a clean public water fountain is OK with me. Besides, I've always felt that most bottled water comes from somebody's tap to begin with.

Occasionally when I'm out on a hot day and there is no other source available, I'll settle for a bottle of store-bought water. But otherwise, just give me the stuff that my city water department provides for drinking, bathing and watering lawns.

After receiving my latest "Drinking Water Quality Report" for 2011 from the Fort Worth Water Department, I was even more convinced -- reassured, if you will -- that the water from my tap is among the safest anywhere.

Since 1998, as required by a 1996 amendment to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, water utilities have provided customers with information regarding their drinking water quality. I must admit that until a couple of years ago I treated the annual report as junk mail, simply tossing it into the recycling bin with old newspapers, plastic containers and aluminum cans.

But lately I've found these reports to be fascinating reading about where our water comes from, the treatment it receives before it gets to my house, the results of testing for everything from arsenic to fluoride, and interesting factoids about the history of municipal water filtration and the massive infrastructure it takes to supply clean, safe water for a city the size of Fort Worth.

It made me realize just how much I have taken this essential natural resource for granted, expecting it to be there every time I wanted it, needed it and, yes, wasted it. Each person uses about 160 gallons of water a day, the report says, and an average of 9,340 pounds of water a week -- "that's more than an adult elephant!"

Fort Worth, which treated and pumped more than 205.43 million gallons of water a day in 2011, has more than 3,500 miles of water pipes, enough to reach from Miami to Seattle. The water supply comes from six lakes, and the city has 26 storage tanks (12 elevated and 14 ground level) with 90 million gallons of capacity.

I'm especially grateful for our country's water supply when I consider that about 8,000 people around the world die every day from preventable water-borne diseases, according to the American Waterworks Association. Water-borne illnesses are quite rare in the United States because of the water quality.

The water quality report, printed in English and Spanish, is mailed to every customer with a water account (not to those with wastewater, storm water or sanitation accounts), said Mary L. Gugliuzza, the water department's coordinator for media relations and communications who authored the document. She said it costs about $85,000 to produce, and most of that is for postage.

She said the Environmental Protection Agency rules under the act require water utilities to make a good-faith effort to get the report in the hands of those who are consumers but not customers.

"Apartment dwellers fall into this category because they are not individually billed by us but do receive our water," Gugliuzza said. "Our mail service contractor purchases a multifamily list, and we mail to apartment units. People that work in Fort Worth and live elsewhere are also consumers. Hard copies are also available at the public libraries and community centers."

If you haven't read it yet, you might want to go pull it out of the recycling bin or check it out online (under "News & Information" at fortworthtexas.gov/water). It will make you feel better about your municipal water supply and perhaps keep you from contributing so much to the multibillion-dollar bottled water industry.

Bob Ray Sanders' column appears Sundays and Wednesdays. 817-390-7775

Twitter: @BobRaySanders

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