Drinking ‘raw water’ a half-baked idea

Drinking “raw water” is now a thing.

In the age of Flint, Mich., and other lead contamination reports, fluoride deniers and pollution concerns, some companies are now touting the benefits of drinking untreated spring water.

The water is purported to help keep the bacteria in your gut balanced, rejuvenate your skin and heal maladies such as arthritis and kidney disease. But before you buy into this health craze, know that drinking raw water can — like an earlier fad for raw milk — present serious health risks.

“Don’t,” said Charles Haas, a professor of environmental engineering at Drexel University. “You don’t know what is being fed into the streams in terms of potential sources of pollution.”

Municipal tap water in the United States is high quality and does not pose risks to human health, Haas said. “And it is far cheaper,” he added.

Even the most pristinelooking streams can be vulnerable to agricultural and animal pollution. Think of what might be out of sight in the water, Haas said.

Even rainwater should be cleaned before it is used as a drinking source, Haas said. Though it may be relatively clean as it falls, once it hits a surface, it gets mixed in with whatever it touches, such as dust or animal debris.

According to the CDC, U.S. water disinfection and chlorination is among the 10 greatest public health achieve- ments of the 20th century. In 1908, Jersey City, N.J., was the first U.S. city to begin routine disinfection of its drinking water. Diseases like cholera and typhoid dropped significantly once cities began treating water, the CDC reported.