The truth is many of us don't spend much time thinking about the quality of our drinking water supplied by muncipal. Often we are lulled into a false sense of security that our water quality is top-notch, while in reality there may be alarming amounts of contaminants in our residential water supply.

For home owners with a well, the issue of water quality is more prevalent than those supplied by municipal water. Well owners are generally more aware of the need for some vigilance in monitoring water quality, especially those located near potential sources of run-off including agricultural run-off. Well owners should be testing their water on a regular basis (at least 4 times a year) and they must take special care to have the water tested for micro-biological contamination (bacterial and viral pathogens) regularly too.

Micro-biological contamination, most commonly bacterial pathogens such as E.coli and Colorine can be a major cause for concern as these pathogens can do great harm to your health. The presence of either of these pathogens simply must not be tolerated and you must take action to ensure your water is free of contamination by killing these organisms before they get a chance to infect your family.

Traditional disinfection has been done by adding chlorine (usually chlorine bleach) to the well and waiting for a period of time while the bacteria is killed in the well. This process is cumbersome and in addition must be done on a regular basis as new pathogens are introduced into the well water. The other draw back of this method is that chemical disinfection can create byproducts which in themselves can be harmful to your health.

Those supplied with municipal water should not think that they are necessarily immune from water quality problems. A quick search of stories related to boil water orders alone issued by municipalities will convince you that the ultimate responsibility to ensure your own water quality rests in the end with you.

The chemical-free way to ensure that your water is completely safe is to use Ultra Violet light (UV) to kill all bacterial and viral pathogens in real time (as you use the water) and around the clock. UV is a time-tested technology, completely safe, absolutely effective and environmentally sound. There is no better way to ensure safe drinking water, and no more cost effective method per unit volume.

UV systems are available in a wide range of sizes to suite the smallest residence to the largest. Maintenance is minimal (change a lamp once a year) and the system is ready to work for you all year, without the hassle of buying, storing and using harsh chemical treatments.

UV is the environmentally superior option as no byproducts are produced and there is never any risk of chemical overdosing in water treatment. UV is the future of safe, sustainable water purification and this is proven by the number of municipalities now installing UV as a primary disinfection technology to serve their customers.