geez...You people should try well water with so much sulfur that it's yellow. Even that doesn't taste THAT different from the water here.

If anything, I think the different tastes of water come from the container it's held in.

Originally Posted by lawleypop

a) boo hoo
b) that's not the issue. "omg is itsafez we r obvs a 3rd wurld kuntry"

Actually, some parts of Hamilton have an average life expectancy that is roughly on par with poorer countries. ie- Average life expectancy in India or Pakistan is higher than average life expectancy for people living in poorer areas of Hamilton. (Although that figure comes from the Hamilton Spectator, so its probably worth taking it with a grain of salt).

- - -

One factor people seem to be forgetting is that tap water has to travel a long distance to get from a water treatment plant to your tap. It will travel through KMs of pipes, which may or may not leave residue that has taste, that might be damaged causing particulate matter to seep in, and might contain toxins from the pipes themselves, the sealing, etc. If the water is running through the pipes the issue is probably not too bad, but when it spends time sitting in them or a hot water tank, it can get contaminated. Which is the reason you're advised to let tap water run for a few minutes before drinking it.

The water from the taps and fountains at my old work (Costco in Ajax) was clearly not fit to drink. It looked fine while running from a tap or fountain, but when you filled a clear container you could see that it was actually a chalky white colour. That's why none of the employees would drink from it. It might have been safe, but the taste and colour difference was enough to scare people away. And with good reason- it might not have been safe. You wouldn't eat food that tastes and looks off- why would you do the same with water?

In addition, there's a huge difference between water you plan to injest vs. water you're using for washing. There's a reason that places that collect rainwater for bathroom uses warn you not to drink the tap water, but that its fine for washing with. Washing your hands in water with trace amounts of lead will probably not do any lasting damage, even if you do it daily. The same can't be said for consumption of it.

Using a water filter is more a case of better safe than sorry. We expect our tap water to be clean, but it isn't always. Look at walkerton, or the buildings in Mac where the water did contain lead.

Originally Posted by lawleypop

And honestly: [email protected] liking tap water. >_< How brainwashed are you to think there's a huge difference in taste.

Cool story. Tell that to the POS bottled water I bought a month back that came from a Quebec company - tasted like ass, and it was supposed to be some Natural Spring Water shit.

I filter the tap water in res. And every time I look at the container that the water goes into for filtering, there's always black crap left at the bottom after all the water has been filtered.

Originally Posted by Marlowe

Actually, some parts of Hamilton have an average life expectancy that is roughly on par with poorer countries. ie- Average life expectancy in India or Pakistan is higher than average life expectancy for people living in poorer areas of Hamilton. (Although that figure comes from the Hamilton Spectator, so its probably worth taking it with a grain of salt).

Not because of the water though.

Hamilton's residents are plain dirty. I've never seen more drunkards, handicaps, creeps, etc in my entire life than I have in Hamilton.

Plus it used to be a factory town.

But just because the residents are dirty, doesn't mean the govt is. ;D

Cool story. Tell that to the POS bottled water I bought a month back that came from a Quebec company - tasted like ass, and it was supposed to be some Natural Spring Water shit.

I genuinely don't know what you're trying to say... So you like tap water?

Originally Posted by Marlowe

In addition, there's a huge difference between water you plan to injest vs. water you're using for washing. There's a reason that places that collect rainwater for bathroom uses warn you not to drink the tap water, but that its fine for washing with. Washing your hands in water with trace amounts of lead will probably not do any lasting damage, even if you do it daily. The same can't be said for consumption of it..

You honestly believe that MAC's residences run a completely separate set of pipes so that we can use rain water to bathe rather than the same tap water? Really? And any buildings with lead pipes HAVE TO either replace the pipes or install a separate source for clean water and inform the residents, so lead poisoning is hardly a problem.

Originally Posted by particle

I filter the tap water in res. And every time I look at the container that the water goes into for filtering, there's always black crap left at the bottom after all the water has been filtered.

I'm pretty sure that black crap is from the filter and not the actual water itself. I drink res water all the time and i never see any black crap in it.

The pipes have the 2nd most affect on water quality, aside from the water itself. There's many places in Hamilton (not sure about res), where the pipes which the water runs through is old, dangerous material, or just plain filthy. Just sayin'

Originally Posted by Replekia

You honestly believe that MAC's residences run a completely separate set of pipes so that we can use rain water to bathe rather than the same tap water? Really? And any buildings with lead pipes HAVE TO either replace the pipes or install a separate source for clean water and inform the residents, so lead poisoning is hardly a problem.

I think I was less clear than I should have been.

I was pointing out that there's a big difference between water you plan to ingest and water you plan to use for washing. The rain water example was meant to illustrate this- I did not suggest that McMaster collected and used rainwater.

McMaster is probably one of the safer places to drink water from the tap, since they do test regularly. I would be much more worried about that off campus- many older houses still have lead in the plumbing system. I was speaking more broadly than just the McMaster residences.

Originally Posted by particle

I filter the tap water in res. And every time I look at the container that the water goes into for filtering, there's always black crap left at the bottom after all the water has been filtered.

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=...ater+filtering

Originally Posted by Marlowe

I think I was less clear than I should have been.

I was pointing out that there's a big difference between water you plan to ingest and water you plan to use for washing. The rain water example was meant to illustrate this- I did not suggest that McMaster collected and used rainwater.

McMaster is probably one of the safer places to drink water from the tap, since they do test regularly. I would be much more worried about that off campus- many older houses still have lead in the plumbing system. I was speaking more broadly than just the McMaster residences.

Well the thread is about residence water, so I assumed that is what you were referring to.

Originally Posted by Replekia

Well the thread is about residence water, so I assumed that is what you were referring to.

Marlowe's post was in reply to someone saying how people don't think twice about taking a shower in their res or washing their hands, but they're sketchy about drinking it...so it was directly related to residence water.

Originally Posted by lawleypop

I genuinely don't know what you're trying to say... So you like tap water?
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That's not my point; you say that there's no huge difference in taste for tap water, yet I know personally that bottled water can taste different (as to why, I have no clue - perhaps the filteration methods are different - I don't know). I've had terrible tasting bottled water, so it's incorrect for you to say that there isn't a big difference in some cases. And that is regardless of whether I like tap water (and I am alright with it just to state the point)

Maybe I'm just going crazy, but 4/4 people in my home + 1 dog can agree that this water was POS. No it did not sit somewhere for a long time (as in, while in our possession - not sure about the grocery store), it was just that bad. And yes, my dog.

Originally Posted by RoyK

That's not my point; you say that there's no huge difference in taste for tap water, yet I know personally that bottled water can taste different (as to why, I have no clue - perhaps the filteration methods are different - I don't know). I've had terrible tasting bottled water, so it's incorrect for you to say that there isn't a big difference in some cases. And that is regardless of whether I like tap water (and I am alright with it just to state the point)

Maybe I'm just going crazy, but 4/4 people in my home + 1 dog can agree that this water was POS. No it did not sit somewhere for a long time (as in, while in our possession - not sure about the grocery store), it was just that bad. And yes, my dog.

Yea.. bottled "spring water" can be kind of sketchy. I've seen bottled water with 140 ppm Chlorine in it before. Just to you know swimming pools are usually between 2-3 ppm.

So for everyone that boils the water that you drink... do you also boil the water you use to brush your teeth?