MedlinePlus: Drinking Water

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- Services and providers for Drinking Water in the U.S.
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Drinking Water

Every living creature needs clean and safe drinking water. How much do you need? It depends - your size, activity level and the weather all make a difference.

The water you drink is a combination of surface water and groundwater. Surface water includes rivers, lakes and reservoirs. Groundwater comes from underground. The United States has one of the safest water supplies in the world, but drinking water quality can vary from place to place. It depends on the condition of the source water and the treatment it receives. Treatment may include adding fluoride to prevent cavities and chlorine to kill germs.

Your water supplier must give you annual reports on drinking water. The reports include where your water came from and what contaminants are in it.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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Ground Water and Drinking Water: Frequently Asked Questions(Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water)
Water: Meeting Your Daily Fluid Needs(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Basics	Learn More	Multimedia & Cool Tools
Overviews Latest News Prevention/Screening	Nutrition Specific Conditions Related Issues	Pictures & Photographs Videos
Research	Reference Shelf	For You
Research Journal Articles	Dictionaries/Glossaries Directories Organizations Law and Policy	Children

Overviews
- Drinking Water and Health: What You Need to Know(Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water)
  Also available in Spanish
- Healthy Drinking Water(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Latest News
- Well Water Might Raise Bladder Cancer Risk(04/27/2009, HealthDay)
- One Easy Remedy for Overweight Kids -- Water(04/06/2009, Reuters Health)
Prevention/Screening
- Preventing Cryptosporidiosis: A Guide to Water Filters(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Nutrition
- Water: How Much Should You Drink Every Day?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
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Specific Conditions
- Arsenic in Your Drinking Water(Environmental Protection Agency) - Links to PDF
- Basic Information about E. Coli 0157:H7 in Drinking Water(Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water)
- Basic Information about Radionuclides in Drinking Water(Environmental Protection Agency)
- Drinking Water Contaminants(Environmental Protection Agency)
- Ground Water and Drinking Water and Mercury(Environmental Protection Agency)
- Is There Lead in My Drinking Water?(Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water)
- Radon in Drinking Water(Environmental Protection Agency)
- ToxGuide for Perchlorate and Perchlorate Salts(Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry) - Links to PDF
- Water Fluoridation: Frequently Asked Questions(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
  Also available in Spanish
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Related Issues
- Airline Water Supplies(Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water)
- Bottled Water Everywhere: Keeping It Safe(Food and Drug Administration)
- Bottled Water, Home Water Treatment Systems, and Fluoride Exposure(American Dental Association)
- Emergency Disinfection of Drinking Water(Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water)
  Also available in Spanish
- Keeping Food and Water Safe After a Disaster or Power Outage(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
  Also available in Spanish
- Lead and Drinking Water from Private Wells(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Private Drinking Water Wells: What to Do After the Flood(Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water)
- Private Ground Water Wells(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Risks from Food and Water (Drinking and Recreational): Health Information for International Travel(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Source Water Protection(Environmental Protection Agency)
- Tox Town(National Library of Medicine)
  Also available in Spanish
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Pictures & Photographs
- Arsenic in Ground Water of the United States(U.S. Geological Survey)
- Sources of Groundwater Contamination(Groundwater Foundation)
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Videos
- Safe Water in a Disaster(Healthy Roads Media)
  Also available in Spanish
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Research
- Study Supports Benefits of Community Water Fluoridation for Older Adults(American Dental Association)
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Journal Articles
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
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Dictionaries/Glossaries
- Drinking Water Glossary(Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water)
- Water Science Glossary of Terms(U.S. Geological Survey)
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Directories
- Local Drinking Water Information(Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water)
- Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Program(Environmental Protection Agency)
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Organizations
- Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water
- National Center for Environmental Health(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-borne, and Enteric Diseases, Division of Parasitic Diseases(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- National Drinking Water Clearinghouse
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
  Also available in Spanish
- U.S. Geological Survey, Office of Water Quality
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Law and Policy
- Introduction to the Clean Water Act(Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water)
- It's Your Drinking Water: Get to Know It and Protect It!(Environmental Protection Agency)
- Safe Water Drinking Act Basic Information(Environmental Protection Agency)
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Children
- Drinking Water and Ground Water: Kids' Stuff(Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water)
- Groundwater: Kids Corner(Groundwater Foundation)
- Water Science for Schools(U.S. Geological Survey)
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