I live in North East London. I've heard that there are hazards
associated with drinking tap water, ranging from lead in the pipes to
fluoride put in by the government for purposes of social control. Now
i'll be honest - it doesn't taste great, but - is it actually bad for
me to drink?

NB I've already seen some information about the quality of water in
the UK in general, but i understand this varies wildly, so am
particularly intersted in the water in my area specifically (i.e
Thames water board)

Dear parislondon-ga,

The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) regulates public water supplies
in England and Wales. It is independent.  The DWI ?is responsible for
assessing the quality of drinking water in England and Wales, taking
enforcement action if standards are not being met, and appropriate
action when water is unfit for human consumption.?
http://www.dwi.gov.uk/

The below quote is from a detailed report on water quality in Thames
Water, taken from the Drinking Water 2004 report.

?Nearly all the tests met the relevant mandatory quality standards
(148 failures out of a total of 335,073 tests) demonstrating the good
quality of drinking water in the region.?

Fluoride was tested on 2078 occasions and on each occasion was within
the limits set down.

When you read the report makes sure you have the pdf bookmarks open on
the left as the pdf has links to other parts of the report.
http://www.dwi.gov.uk/pubs/annrep04/Thames%20Region.pdf

The home page of DWI has links to other general facts about water
quality and advice which you may wish to explore.

I?m not sure as to what you mean by fluoride is put in as a social
control, fluoride is argued to be beneficially for dental hygiene. In
any event, Thames Water has naturally occurring fluoride, so none is
added.

British Medical Association.
?Northumbrian Water Ltd., Yorkshire Water Services Ltd. and Thames
Water Utilities Ltd supply water in which flouride occurs naturally,
to some areas approaching one part per million.?
http://www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/Content/Water+fluoridation

Reading report on the environment - page 13 confirms the above.
http://www.reading.gov.uk/Documents/ourenvironment/stateoftheenvironment/Chap005_Water.pdf

I know this is not independent, but this is from Thames Water itself.

?Fluoride
Fluoride occurs in soils and rocks and therefore may occur naturally
in drinking water. The concentration of fluoride in water depends on
the type of rock or soil the water has come into contact with. In the
Thames Water area concentrations are generally between 0.1-0.4mg/l,
although in an area to the south and west of Reading the
concentrations are typically around 1mg/l due to the local geology.

Fluoride concentrations in drinking water of 1mg/l are considered to
reduce the incidence of tooth decay and for this reason fluoride is
added to some water supplies. Fluoride was not added to any Thames
Water supply during 2004. All of the 2,078 analyses for fluoride
complied with the standard of 1.5mg/l.?

There is also a section on lead which indicates that is lead in
householders? properties which is the cause of any lead pollution.


I hope this answers your question. If it does not, or the answer is
unclear, then please ask for clarification of this research before
rating the answer. I shall respond to the clarification request as
soon as I receive it.
Thank you
answerfinder

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Request for Answer Clarification by parislondon-ga on 01 Feb 2006 05:00 PST

Hi, 
thanks for your answer - some interesting stuff there.
My only comment is that while the dwi is independent, it's still a
government agency.
So although it criticizes the Thames water board, the criticsm seems
very measured, and it takes for granted that reccomended 'safe' levels
of pollution are wholly acceptable for human consumption.
It would be insightful to have a perspective on this subject from a
truly independent source - a journal or newspaper report for instance.
Thanks again,
Joby

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Clarification of Answer by answerfinder-ga on 01 Feb 2006 11:31 PST

Dear parislondon-ga,

I believe that I have answered your question and that your
clarification is a further question.

The DWI standards are based on the 1998 European Drinking Water
Directive standards which in turn ?reflect the current World Health
Organisation Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality.?
http://www.dwi.gov.uk/pubs/annrep03/chapj.htm
And
http://www.dwi.gov.uk/consumer/faq/dwi4.htm

If you require articles that criticise these standards then perhaps
you could post a separate question.

Hope this clarifies the position.

answerfinder-ga

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Request for Answer Clarification by parislondon-ga on 02 Feb 2006 02:37 PST

Hi,

Considering my initial question was "is it actually bad for me to
drink?", i think my follow up request was fair. Anyway - i'm grateful
for your thoughts, even if the issue still remains a little cloudy...

cheers,

Joby