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El Paso Water customers may have received notices recently from companies urging them to call a number regarding their water quality. The call usually leads to an offer to test the customer’s water, and then a pitch to purchase a home filtration system. While some customers might be compelled to move on the offer, EPWater recommends doing some serious research before spending thousands of dollars on one of these systems.
As part of National Water Quality Month, EPWater reminds customers that our tap water is safe to drink. To access the highest quality water, it’s as easy as turning on your faucet.
EPWater is regulated by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which holds utilities across the state accountable for meeting EPA safety thresholds for metals, microbiological components, and other substances in tap water. The utility makes every effort to meet and even go beyond these standards. After all, El Paso Water employees are customers too.
“I only drink tap water because I know it’s safe to drink,” says Teresa Alcala, Manager of EPWater’s International Water Quality Laboratory. “We actively monitor water quality and collect 45,000 samples from treatment plants throughout the El Paso region and perform more than 370,000 tests annually.”
Dr. Kristina Mena, Dean of the El Paso Campus for the University of Texas – Houston School of Public Health, specializes in microbial risk assessment. She says EPWater treatment plants are already providing the most optimal public health safeguards while filtration systems come with risks.
“If the homeowner can’t logistically or financially properly maintain the filtration system, they could create an environment for certain types of bacteria to grow, which is a health hazard, said Mena.”
There are home filtration systems on the market that use reverse osmosis (RO) and deionized water (DI). But some systems are nothing more than water softeners, which Alcala says is purely aesthetic and doesn’t provide any additional filtration.
Ultimately, Alcala encourages every consumer to be vigilant and informed when it comes to their drinking water.
“Our tap water is safe to drink and has essential minerals,” she said. “Some home filtration systems may result in drinking water that is stripped of those minerals in addition to higher sodium and pH levels.”
EPWater encourages customers to verify information about your water. Customers can call 915-594-5733 to ask questions or visit our Water Quality page for information and videos. Remember, any correspondence from El Paso Water will have our official logo, address, and telephone number.