This Website Will Tell You If Your Tap Water Could Be Unsafe

With the internet never more than an arm’s length away, people have the ability to research countless products. Cars, films, and even other people are aggregated and dissected by apps and sites for anyone to examine. But, strangely, when it comes to the quality of a person’s drinking water, the information is often opaque — if it exists at all.

Fortunately, a new database released yesterday by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group affords those with concerns over their home’s water the ease of access that, say, Rotten Tomatoes does for film buffs.

This video issued by the EWG offers a look at the simple and effective alternative to the Environmental Protection Agency’s archaic attempt at sharing drinking water data.

The most recent update of EWG’s database suggests that 4 million Americans live in areas with access to drinking water containing contaminants in excess of the legal limit. That sobering fact is unknown to many, but it’s EWG’s hope that the dissemination of simple, clear facts will effect change in the areas suffering from contamination.

As eyes continue to turn away from the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, EWG hopes to ensure that citizens are as sophisticated about their drinking water as they are about all the other products they consume in their lives. Speaking to Gizmodo, EWG Healthy Living Science Director Nneka Leiba said: “The legal limits that are set for drinking water often include political and economic compromises. They’re not purely based on health limits, so that’s part of the education process.”

That education process will serve to ensure that new stories such as the one below create the attention they deserve.