On Wed, 28 Jan 1998, Jackson wrote:

> Unfortunately, I didn't notice any bleachy taste in the water, and being
> folks who are always on the underside of the high cost of living we've
> been drinking the water.  We have seven in the family and need a good
> justification for expensive filters, bottled water, etc.  Looks like I
> just found one though!  Mary J.

According to Gary Null in his book  "Clearer, Cleaner, Safer, Greener":

----------------------quote:

Chlorine was introduced in 1913 to disinfect water by killing bacteria and
viruses. In a never-ending battle to fight pollution, water authorities
across the country have been adding increasing amounts of chlorine to
"purify" our drinking water. In cincinnati, for example, by 1970, the
cincinnati Water Works had increased its use of chlorine 200 percent
during a fifteen-year period. this may seem like a responsible reaction.
If the water is dirtier, add more of a longtime dependable cleanser.
Unfortunately, it does not work that way. Though a glass of water may look
and smell clean as a result of chlorine treatment, it is becoming
increasingly apparent that wter is not made safe by remedial purification.
Instead, the only way to have clean water is to keep it from getting
polluted in the first place.

But that is only part of the chlorine problem. When it is used in high
levels, chlorine can cause genetic damage and several forms of cancer.
This is partly because of the toxic character of the chlorine itself, but
also stems from extremely dangerous by-products that ar formed when
chlorine-treated surface waters interact with organic matter. These
by-products, called trihalomethanes (THMs), are much more toxic than the
chlorine itself nd are recognized carcinogens.

According to the US Council on Environmental Quality, "The wide practice
of chlorinating public drinking water appeared to increase the risk of
gastrointestinal cancer over anindividual's ifetime by fifty to one
hundred percent."

----------end of extract.

Lucia