¶ … existence of tap water contamination. The topic interests me due to the fact that I have long heard that tap water is contaminated and that, in order to avoid this contamination, one has to spend money on any number of schemes ranging from the comparatively cheapest of buying bottled water to the enormously expensive project of retrograding and dismantling the entire water system with a purification procedure. It strikes me that it is particularly important to find out whether this is simply a moneymaking scam on the part of businesses or whether there is any reality to this situation. Even were I to adopt the cheapest of all alternatives, which were to buy bottled water, in the long run the accumulation of expense is worrisome. On the other hand, purifying the tap water may be a necessary step as safeguard for my health. To that end, it may be well worthwhile for me to expend the required amount of money. Assumptions

I assume that tap water is not as contaminated as some claim it to be. I assume this due to the fact that more publicity would be conducted on the matter were this so. Smoking, for instance, exemplifies this, where the government goes to great lengths to warn the public against cigarettes. Programs have been established at government expense to encourage reduction of smoking. If the tap water were in dubiously contaminated, the government may well implement warnings and cost-reduced systems aimed for purification. Endeavors are launched and maintained to purify the streams and activists monitor the situation....

The water may have been somewhat contaminated at one time. I think the situation to have improved.
The search

To, nonetheless, be certain, I conducted some internet research starting off with a basic Google search that turned up a lot of false ends most of which attempted to sell me some purification scheme (the amount and diversity that exist is boggling!). Some of the sites, however, helped me giving me a clearer picture of the problem and its origins as well as the current situation.

I found Google Scholar to provide me with a more nuanced description of the matter although it took me a while to ferret up a review of the case. Google Scholar, with its mass of academic articles, generally approached the subject form one or other scintilla. This was not always helpful.

Discoveries.

The reality was more ominous that I thought.

Two liters of water has been the measurement that is used to estimate the health risk associated with water-laden chemicals, but exposure assessment models, pharmacokinetic models, and experimental data measuring breath concentrations of chloroform associated with inhalation intake and dermal exposure to contaminated water (as, for instance, from showering) have shown that there are other situations that can contribute to water penetrating the body (Weisel & Jo, 1996). More so:: "the dose of volatile compounds associated with showering is similar to the dose resulting from ingesting 2 litres of water, the exposure upon which regulations…