How Good Is YOUR City's Water?

Illustration by: Dung Hoang

A recent article in Men's Health magazine had citizens living in Phoenix, Arizona fuming when they saw their beloved city ranked as having some of the worst water in the country.

Men's Health magazine conducted a recent study, grading cities A through F based on how safe their water is to drink. They examined the most recent data on levels of arsenic, lead, halo-acetic acids and total trihalomethanes (linked to cancer), and total coliform bacteria, plus the number of EPA water-system violations from 1995 to 2005.

All the water supplies came in below the EPA's Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for 2005, although some, like Denver's, are farther below the MCLs than others. As for water-system violations--given for exceeding an MCL or making a monitoring mistake--many cities (uh, Phoenix) racked up thousands.

You'll be VERY happy to hear that Men's Magazine also recommended people use a water filter, particularly, one from Multi-Pure!!!

To get the most updated report on exactly what is in your city's water, go to the Environmental Working Group's web site at www.ewg.org
I thought you'd be curious to see what their findings were:

Least Pure
100. Phoenix, AZ F
99. Indianapolis, IN F
98. Charlotte, NC F
97. Los Angeles, CA F
96. Charleston, WV D
95 Fort Wayne, IN D
94. Hartford, CT D
93. Greensboro, NC D
92. Billings, MT D
91. Raleigh, NC D
90. Yonkers, NY D
89. Manchester, NH D
88. Newark, NJ D
87. Columbus, OH D
86. Seattle, WA D
85. Columbia, SC D
84. Burlington, VT D
83. Bakersfield, CA D
82. Salt Lake City, UT D
81. Oklahoma City, OK D
80. Orlando, FL C
79 Sioux Falls, SD C
78. Cleveland, OH C
77. Las Vegas, NV C
76. Boise, ID C
75. Houston, TX C
74. Jacksonville, FL C
73. El Paso, TX C
72. Portland, OR C
71. Anchorage, AK C
70. Bangor, ME
69. Toledo, OH C
68. San Diego, CA C
67. Durham, NC C
66. Tampa, FL C
65. San Jose, CA C
64. Fort Worth, TX C
63. Tucson, AZ C
62. Tulsa, OK C
61. Grand Rapids, MI C
60. Jackson, MS C
59. Lubbock, TX C
58. Chicago, IL C
57. Cheyenne, WY C
56. Pittsburgh, PA C
55. Boston, MA C
54. Milwaukee, WI C
53. Sacramento, CA C
52. Providence, RI C
51. Madison, WI C
50. Austin, TX C
49 Wichita, KS C
48. Miami, FL C
47. Washington, DC C
46. Cincinnati, OH C
45. Minneapolis, MN C
44. Colorado Springs, CO C
43. Little Rock, AR C
42. Omaha, NE C
41. St. Louis, MO C
40. Albuquerque, NM C
39. San Antonio, TX B
38. Wilmington, DE B
37. New York, NY B
36. Philadelphia, PA B
35. Riverside, CA B
34. Spokane, WA B
33. Atlanta, GA B
32. Aurora, CO B
31. Dallas, TX B
30. Corpus Christi, TX B
29. Lexington, KY B
28. Arlington, TX B
27. Detroit, MI B
26. Buffalo, NY B
25. Richmond, VA B
24. Rochester, NY B
23. Fresno, CA B
22. Louisville, KY B
21 San Francisco, CA B
20. Des Moines, IA B
19. Jersey City, NJ B
18. Lincoln, NE B
17 St. Paul, MN B
16. Fargo, ND B
15 Anaheim, CA B
14. Modesto, CA B
13. Nashville, TN B
12. Birmingham, AL B
11. Fremont, CA A
10. Honolulu, HI A
9. Montgomery, AL A
8. St. Petersburg, FL A
7 Oakland, CA A
6. Baltimore, MD A
5. Memphis, TN A
4 Norfolk, VA A
3. Kansas City, MO A
2. Baton Rouge, LA A
1. Denver, CO A

-Trina-