A study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition used data from a national health survey of over 12,000 Americans.

The findings were "people who drank more 'plain water' tended to eat more fiber, less sugar and fewer calorie-dense foods."

The lead researcher, Dr. Ashima K. Kant, pointed out that this does not prove that drinking more water leads to a healthier diet. But she did say the data suggests a connection between higher water consumption (instead of soft drinks and other beverages) and improved eating habits.

Hey, good enough for me...gotta go drink some more water. Bye!

Here's the link to the Reuters story on water's effect on diet.

The town of Mount Desert in Maine has voted to remove fluoride from their drinking water supply.

Usually, the news is about some town that decided not to add fluoride to their water, but to actually vote (229 vs. 42) to remove fluoride is something new. Even more amazing is that the local water officials are happy about the vote.

It will be interesting to watch and see if this is the first of many, or just an isolated case.

You can read the full story at Maine Coast Now.

If you live in a town where fluoride is still added to the water, I've got a solution for you.

The US Geological Survey New Hampshire and Vermont Water Science Center created a model for predicting locations where ground water will contain high levels of arsenic.

This information will be used by water system planners and as an exposure assessment in an epidemiological study of bladder cancer in the region.

Interesting facts from the abstract:

In eastern New England, 20-30% of private wells exceed the arsenic drinking water standard of 10 micrograms per liter.

Previous studies suggest that arsenic in bedrock groundwater may be partly from past arsenical pesticide use. Variables representing historic agricultural inputs do not improve the model, indicating that this source does not significantly contribute to current arsenic concentrations

Indications are that the arsenic is from naturally occurring sources.

You can read the abstract here.

In an interview about her new book, The Works: Anatomy of a City, author Kate Ascher tells an interesting story about how the two existing tunnels that bring water to New York city are leaking. These tunnels cannot be shut down for inspection or repair because the city is so dependent on them.

If you live in the Big Apple, don't worry, a third tunnel is under construction. Expected completion is in 2020.

So much for trusting your city infrastructure.

Here is a snip of the article (emphasis added):

Kate Ascher: The two main water tunnels serving the city lose many thousands or millions of gallons of water that just pour out of them each day because they are leaking. But they can't really attack those leaks, and do the maintenance work that is required, until there is a backup system.

I'm not an expert on this, but as I understand it the tunnels essentially can't be maintained, can't be checked, because we're so dependent on them. Nobody wants to shut off the water moving through the tunnels because we're reliant on them, but also in part because they're afraid the tunnels may implode when that pressure is removed.

So the idea is to have this third water tunnel, start using it, and then be able to take those other tunnels out of service to be maintained in turn.

You can read the full article at the link below, lots of other fascinating stuff about NYC infrastructure.

http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/fea/20060213/202/1755

A water quality manager fired by the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority in 2003 was ordered reinstated and awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars yesterday by a judge who said she was improperly terminated after warning federal authorities about excessive lead in the District's tap water.

That is the opening paragraph of a story on the Washington D.C. lead in the water scandal in the Washington Post.

Unfortunately, all municipal water systems are run by humans, and we humans all make mistakes.

Kind of obvious that Mr. Water Filter sees an opportunity to protect yourself from this sort of problem. ;-)