10 Best Water Filtration Systems

How Safe Is Our Drinking Water Supply?

Major U.S. cities, European cities, Canadian cities… all face a risk of global terrorism and all out acts of war.

Potentially Shocking Information … Thanks To Reuters

I’m going to start off with some potentially shocking information. Do you know just how safe your drinking water is? It doesn’t matter whether you have a well or rely on ‘city water’ from a reservoir. You could be drinking things you’d rather not have anything to do with.Before we discuss the present day actions of ISIS in the Middle East — and the poisoning of local water supplies to certain cities — first lets look at the many present day dangers that can and do take place in Western nations like the U.S. For example, Flint, Michigan.

But even before Flint, Michigan, and the high concentrations of lead found in the water that locals were drinking and bathing in, there have been periodic dangers to water supplies for a lot long longer than that. In this special report by Reuters, over 3,000 cities across the U.S. have had lead problems worse than Flint’s. Is your city one of them?

Toxins and poisons contaminating water supplies is an ongoing problem dating back to ancient history. Today, many of us seem immune to the idea that one day those dangers could come back — and they could come back with a vengeance.

Should we take steps to protect our families and be prepared?

Contaminants And Toxins That Water Filtration Can Protect You From In The Modern Day

There are four basic types of contaminants commonly found in drinking water. They are:• Physical. These contaminants basically change the appearance of water. They may or may not actually impact the quality or health of the water.

• Chemical. These contaminants are elements or compounds. They can either be man-made or naturally occurring. They can include bleach, metals, pesticides, toxins that are produced by bacteria, and even human-based drugs.

• Biological. These are organisms founded in the water. More commonly referred to as microbes or microbiological contaminants, these include viruses, protozoan, parasites, and bacteria.

• Radiological. These contaminants are chemical elements that have unstable atoms and can emit ionizing radiation. Some of these contaminants can include plutonium, uranium, and cesium.

As for specific contaminants that may be found in groundwater across the United States and in other parts of the world, the list is long. We have provided a truncated list for those interested in learning more and while your particular groundwater, drinking water in this case, may or may not contain them, the federal government has regulations on how many parts per million or parts per billion are permitted before the water is considered officially ‘contaminated.’ Some of the inorganic contaminants that are possibly found in groundwater include:

• Aluminum

• Arsenic

• Barium

• Cadmium

• Chloride

• Copper

• Cyanide

• Dissolved solids

• Fluoride

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• Iron

• Lead

• Mercury

• Nickel

• Selenium

• Silver

• Sodium

• Sulfate

• Valium

• Zinc

Some Commonly Found Organic Contaminants In Groundwater Include…

Volatile organic compounds, which can include plastics, dyes, rubbers, solvents, insecticides, crude oil, inks, paints, disinfectants, gasoline-based products, pharmaceuticals, including prescription medication and other drugs, preservatives, spot removers, degreasers, and much more.Pesticides, which can be insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, rodenticides, and algicides.

Chlorinated solvents, plasticizers, and other materials that are often used for sealants, solvents, linings, disinfectants, wood preservatives, and more.

While it’s easy to assume your drinking water is clean because it’s clear, many of these contaminants cannot be seen by the naked eye. When they are in low concentrations, they may not affect the color, texture, or even the smell of your drinking water. And while city-based drinking water, such as that which comes from a reservoir is often treated, it doesn’t necessarily remove all of these potential contaminants.

Government Corruption Can Hide Dangers From The Public

As we all saw in recent years from Flint, Michigan, drinking water can become contaminated and with government corruption and other problems, it can be difficult for the average citizen to really understand what’s going on with their drinking water.

What About Fracking? Dangers From Fracking To Drinking Water

Fracking is a process by which oil companies get as much oil as they can out of the ground by injecting water at high rates of speed. The fracking usually takes place several hundred or several thousand feet below the Earth’s surface.There have been numerous opponents to fracking claiming it can potentially increase the risk of certain natural disasters, including earthquakes, but also poses a serious risk to groundwater.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released a draft report that was more than 900 pages long that basically stated that fracking has “not led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources, [but] there are potential vulnerabilities in the water lifecycle that could impact drinking water.”

When you take a closer look at this report, it becomes clear that fracking certainly does pose a serious issue to drinking water. Currently, fracking is taking place across many states across the country, including:

• California

• Utah

• Montana

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• Wyoming

• Colorado

• New Mexico

• Texas

• Oklahoma

• Kansas

• Nebraska

• North Dakota

• Indiana

• Michigan

• Ohio

• Pennsylvania

• West Virginia

• Virginia

While some of these states may have local bans or moratoriums on fracking, there still may be some fracking processes going on. It’s especially important for people in the states to understand the various risk factors involved in fracking and how it could potentially impact their drinking water quality.

Even for homes that rely on well water, fracking and the improper disposal of chemicals and other solutions, including flushing pharmaceuticals down the toilet, can potentially impact drinking water significantly. That’s why it’s a good idea to have a high quality water filtration system in place.

What About Reverse Osmosis?

Maybe you’ve heard about reverse osmosis water filtration systems, so wouldn’t these be better for your home and family? Well, in short, reverse osmosis essentially removes all trace elements from the water, which ultimately becomes distilled water. Distilled water is fine for a quick detox, but if your body doesn’t get some of those beneficial trace elements (minerals), then you’ll begin feeling ill and it could lead to a number of other problems.

Outside of reverse osmosis, the most common “water filtration” method that you’re likely to see is filtration via activated charcoal. For example the Brita-style water filters that many people use activated charcoal as a filtration method.

You can certainly purchase an additive through Amazon that will add some of those important trace minerals to your water (by the drop). Adding trace minerals to either distilled or reverse osmosis purified water is a great way to stay healthy and protect yourself and your family’s health into the future. In addition, Himalayan pink salts are also rich in trace minerals and can be easily (and cheaply) added to your daily diet, whether drinking this kind of ultra-purified water or just in your daily life today. Essential and trace minerals both add together to keep us healthy, slow down aging, and help prevent several types of poor health conditions.

Finally, Let’s Talk About Terrorism

Terrorist Threat To U.S. Water Supplies

This is probably not something you want to think about, but ISIS (the terrorist organization operating throughout Iraq and Syria) has been known to poison the drinking water of their enemy, and with so many people fully aware they want to attack the U.S. and other ‘Western’ powers, the water supply systems in these countries certainly sit front and center as a point of attack.What would happen to you and your family is a ISIS sympathetic individual managed to work for a water treatment facility and was able to poison your water supply? If you don’t have a powerful filtration system, you could be stuck begging for bottled water and what if there’s simply not enough? Then you have some serious issues to contend with.

Don’t let that happen to you and your family! Consider a water filtration system that actually works. U.S. officials have caught terrorists and their sympathizers doing surveillance for several years now at many would-be “soft targets” across the U.S.; unless you have your head in the sand, realize that these Radical Islamic terrorists are out to do the most harm to the U.S. that they can, and nothing is off limits to them.

If they can kill our children, they will. Bin Laden himself promised to kill 2,000,000 American children, essentially claiming that these deaths would be vengeance for the millions of Islamic children he blamed the West for killing, believing these Islamic children died due to Western actions in the Middle East over the years.

Whatever the exact truth is, we may never know all the details. But at this point, Radical Islam wants to destroy us and they will only keep on coming. Enough said.

The Top 10 Water Filtration Systems

1) Apec Water ROES-50 – Apec Water ROES-50 –An advantage to this particular water filtration system is that it treats all types of water. This can include hard water, water that has various pH levels, and well water. It also has the ability to remove many different contaminants.

An advantage of this particular filtration system over some others is that the filters only need to be replaced every 6 to 12 months, on average. It has a long life span, so you won’t have to worry about replacing it every year or every other year. It comes in at just under $200, on average, so this unit can provide a great resource for those looking to improve the quality of their drinking water.

It relies on a three filter system for cleaning water in five stages.

One of the main problems with this particular filter is that you don’t get any warning about when it’s time to replace the filters.

2) iSpring RCC7 WQA Gold Seal Certified 5-Stage Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water Filter System iSpring RCC7 Reverse Osmosis Water Filter System –

Sometimes user reviews help determine who the winner is on a top 10 list, and in this case the iSpring RCC7 seems to be a clear winner. Not only do you get the wide range of water purification that a reverse osmosis system can give you, with the iSpring RCC7 you get a 1 year money back guarantee and as well as lifetime customer support from the manufacturer. The iSpring RCC7:

Encourages water consumption, reduces spending, and eliminates the need to transport and dispose of bottled water

Filters 1,000+ water pollutants including common adversaries chlorine and fluoride

Thin-film composite semipermeable RO membrane filters down to 0.0001 micron (a human hair is approximately 50 microns).

Streamlined DIY filter installation; fits under sink cabinets.

Water Quality Association (WQA) Gold Seal Certified

1 year money-back guarantee

3) Kenmore Elite Reverse Osmosis System – Kenmore Elite Reverse Osmosis System –

At about $170, the Kenmore Reverse Osmosis system has a convenient light that will indicate when it’s time to replace the filters. However, this particular water filtration system does not reduce herbicides, bacteria, or mercury from drinking water. It can handle a lot of other contaminants, though. It can reduce up to 25 contaminants from the water and for a lot of people that notification light can be important as a reminder when it’s time to replace the filters. It offers a relatively straightforward and easy installation system and relies on a reverse osmosis system to filter the water.

4) WaterChef U9000 – WaterChef U9000 –

Coming in at nearly $380, this particular water filtration system offers a lifetime warranty, but it doesn’t have the ability to remove various bacteria, asbestos, or mercury from the drinking water.

However, it is one of the best filters available and has numerous features that really stand out. It is an under the sink water filtration system so it can be stored out of sight. It can filter out more than 50 contaminants and even helps put back in essential minerals that can be lost with other filtration systems.

It can generally last about 12 months with a basic filter before they need to be replaced. It is compact and comes complete with its own faucet.

5) Pelican Pro 6-Stage RO – Pelican Pro 6-Stage RO –

Another water filtration system that has a bit of a hefty price take on it, just over $300, is the Pelican Pro. It has a six stage RO system that has the ability to remove more than 50 contaminants and help clean water better than most other water filtration systems. It requires a great deal of general maintenance to keep up and make sure you read all of these benefits, including yearly maintenance. It doesn’t take up a lot of space underneath the sink and is compact. It includes a faucet and comes in three different styles to help make sure you get the exact one that works best for you.

6) Express Water 11 Stage UV Ultraviolet + Alkaline + Reverse Osmosis Home Drinking Water Filtration System – Express Water 11 Stage Home Drinking Water Filtration System –

Because we don’t have the resources to personally test each of these systems out, we have to go with our research and what we can dig up online, looking for the best and omitting the ones not worth a top 10 mention. This is a great looking system, but at the time of this writing it is not widely reviewed, thus a number 6 on our list. It might be the best one here. And it might not be. Let us know your thoughts in the coming weeks if you give it a go. Among it’s claims, the Express Water is said to removes up to 99% of contaminants including lead, fluoride, chlorine, arsenic, bacteria, virus, heavy metals etc… As discussed earlier, reverse osmosis systems ultra-purify water, removing even healthy trace minerals

This system by Express Water stands out because it’s designed to put essential and trace minerals back into the water, before you drink, making your ultra-purified water healthy for long term consumption.

7) Multipure AquaRO – Multipure AquaRO –

One of the pricier water filtration systems on the market is this one, which offers a five stage filtering process. One of the downsides for the average consumer is that it is highly recommended to have this installed by a professional plumber. If it is not installed properly, damage can result and it may not be as effective as it could be.

It is one of the best filters out there on the market, but it doesn’t have replacement notifications. Installation can be potentially costly, especially when you have to hire a professional plumber.

However, it can remove up to 82 contaminants from the drinking water through a five stage process. It does fit neatly underneath the kitchen sink and comes with its own faucet.

8) GE Reverse Osmosis Filtration System – GE Reverse Osmosis Filtration System –

For those looking for a more cost-effective option when it comes to water filtration systems, the GE Reverse Osmosis Filtration System can certainly offer that. It can handle water pressure ranging from 40 to 125 psi.

It can only remove about 16 contaminants, so it may not be as beneficial for those who are looking for a more thorough water filtration system. You get a faucet included for the kitchen sink and it can easily be installed under the counter.

When compared with the other, better water filtration systems that can remove more contaminants, this one, though cost-effective, coming in at about $150, doesn’t really provide the benefits you might want.

9) Aquasana 3-Stage Under Counter – Aquasana 3-Stage Under Counter –

This particular water filtration system has the capacity to reduce up to 99% of 68 contaminants including lead. One common problem people face, though, with this one is poor customer service and support.

The great thing about this particular system is that it is not bulky. It is designed to fit under the counter so it’s out of view. It has earned several awards for excellence and is NSF certified and can remove chlorine, organic chemicals, heavy metals, and more.

Installation is relatively easy and replacing the filters takes a little time. At $115, at the time of this writing, it is one of the least expensive systems featured here.

10) EcoWater ERO 375 – EcoWater ERO 375 –

Coming with a five-year warranty, this water filtration system is NSF certified and has the ability to remove more than 24 contaminants from drinking water. It also provides an electronic monitoring system that can let you know when it’s time to replace the filters.

A major downside to this particular system, though, is that it doesn’t have the ability to remove a great many of the potential contaminants that affect drinking water regularly.

The warranty and alert system is certainly beneficial, and for those with money to spend, this is one more option to helping improve the quality of your drinking water in your home. Though it’s made out top ten list, it probably deserves to be low on the top 10 due to it’s price ($675 according to Consumer Reports) and that it doesn’t purify as well as are top rated water filtration systems at the top of our list.

The Bottom Line

When you’re concerned about the cleanliness and health of your drinking water, you begin to realize just how many threats there are out there. For the average individual, though, these threats are off in the distance and not something they really think about or realize until something bad happens.As we’ve seen in many places across the country, entire communities have become sickened, even with life-threatening conditions, due to contamination in the drinking water. They didn’t have a clue there was a problem until the pieces started to be put together years later, when it was far too late.

Don’t wait for that to happen. Even if there is no fracking going on in your state, there may be pesticides, chemical solutions, and other contaminants being poured into your drinking water without you realizing it. Just because the federal government through the EPA has set minimal requirements in parts per million or parts per billion to determine whether water is officially contaminated, that doesn’t mean it’s still safe for you to drink.

Consider getting one of these top water filtration systems for your home and family.

See More of Our Articles on Survival Gear and Supplies

Here at Secrets of Survival we’ve got a number of gear guides, recommendations for survival gear and supplies. If you need more inspiration when it comes to survival themed gifts, check out some of our other articles about the best survival gear you can get your hands on:

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Best Survival Food Kits: Get a Headstart on your Stockpile

The 5 Best Survival Books To Learn From in 2020

Best Survival Bracelets for the Outdoors

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References:

Map: The Fracking Boom, State by StateFracking poses risks to drinking water, EPA says…

EPA: Types of Drinking Water Contaminants

USGS: Contaminants Found in Groundwater

Reuters: Worse Than Flint, Michgan: Over 3,000 Cities High in Lead