4 Surprising Ways Age Influences Your Water Quality Needs

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Ask any doctor, and they’ll tell you that age isn’t just a birthday marker but also a significant risk factor for many health issues. Case in point: research suggests that school-age children exposed to microbes in tap water are less likely to experience severe outcomes from an infectious disease than infants and older adults.

An important takeaway is that while poor-quality drinking water threatens everyone’s health, certain groups of people can face more serious effects from contaminants in their drinking water. Understanding this, you must be extremely wary of the water you consume and provide to those in your care, mindful that our water quality demands change drastically throughout different phases of life.

Here, we’ll discuss how age influences water quality needs and how to improve your drinking water quality at home. That way, you’ll be more equipped to defend against illness-causing pollutants potentially lurking in your home’s water supply.

First off, what exactly is drinking water quality?

Drinking water quality refers to how clean or polluted a water source is and whether it is safe for drinking, cooking, and other purposes. Typically, water quality is assessed by analyzing various factors, such as pH, turbidity, and contaminant levels, as they can alter the water’s safety, taste, odor, and appearance. Government agencies like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have established water quality standards and monitor drinking water sources to help ensure your drinking water meets specific safety standards.

Learn more: EPA Proposes First-Ever Federal Regulations for PFAS in Drinking Water | EPA Proposes Ban on Toxic Chemical Found in U.S. Drinking Water

How Your Water Quality Needs Change Based on Age

You can learn a lot about someone by their age—their perspective on life, physical and mental capacity, and even the possible impact(s) of water contaminants on their health. It’s true, water quality isn’t just about what’s in your water; the age of the person consuming it also matters.

Let’s dive deeper into how water quality requirements change throughout our lives and the possible reasons behind these shifts.

Babies and Young Children

Early childhood is a crucial life stage, setting the foundation for a child’s development. It’s also during this period that we—whether parents or guardians—should be more mindful of what’s in the water we feed our children, especially infants and toddlers.

Babies are substantially more exposed to toxicants in drinking water than older children and adults. This is because infants drink more water relative to their size, increasing their exposure to waterborne contaminants, the Minnesota Department of Health notes. On top of that, the Environmental Working Group says children have immature immune systems, so they’re not as able to fight off bacteria, viruses, and other germs that could make them sick. An undeveloped immune system means infants are more susceptible to waterborne illnesses and their associated health risks.

Moreover, kids’ growing bodies also make them more prone to the ill effects of contaminated drinking water. According to an article published in Environmental Toxicology: Children at Risk, their developing bodies are poorly equipped to metabolize, detoxify, and excrete many toxic compounds, possibly leading to more injury or damage to their growing organs and tissues from harmful chemicals.

Consequently, young children may absorb up to 4–5 times as much lead as adults from an ingested dose, increasing their risk of lead poisoning. The EPA says infants are also more sensitive to waterborne microbial contaminants, such as Giardia, Cryptosporidium, and E. coli.

Perhaps even more saddening, the Population Reference Bureau says children under five represent around 10% of the global population. Yet, they account for roughly 40% of individuals experiencing physical illnesses associated with water contamination worldwide. These conditions include dehydration, diarrhea, allergies, asthma, and lead poisoning.

So, while the water flowing from your tap may seem fine, your child could suffer from drinking it.

Older Adults and Seniors

Let’s face it—when we’re older, bouncing back from illnesses isn’t as easy as it once was. That’s one reason the quality of our drinking water matters so much as we age and enter the “golden years.”

As Pathways Home Health and Hospice points out, older people have a higher risk of chronic illnesses and weakened immune systems. As such, seniors are more likely to experience certain diseases from exposure to water contaminants than other groups.

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), our immune systems naturally decline with age. As this happens, the body produces fewer white blood cells—the cells most important for fighting infection. Consequently, these immune cells take longer to react to harmful germs and struggle to fight off developing illnesses from dangerous microbes. As a result, a minor contamination that a younger person might fend off could become a serious health problem for an older adult.

Beyond that, one study found that liver function deteriorates with age, and so does kidney function, according to separate research. Because of this, seniors’ bodies tend to process chemicals differently than younger folks. A kidney or liver already working overtime or compromised becomes less effective at filtering out ingested drinking water toxins like PFAS, pesticides, and heavy metals.

What Contaminants Are Babies and Older People Especially Susceptible To?

For reasons discussed earlier, the associated health risks from drinking water contaminants are especially more pronounced and severe in infants and older adults. However, specific contaminants pose an even more significant threat to these vulnerable populations. Let’s look at a few of them.

Lead

Once babies are exposed to lead, the World Health Organization says it can permanently affect their brain development, resulting in reduced IQ, behavioral changes including reduced attention span, increased antisocial behavior, and reduced educational attainment. For older adults, lead exposure can be just as dangerous, but in different ways. Over time, lead can accumulate in the body and affect mental sharpness, even increasing the risk of dementia if exposed from childhood, one study emphasizes.

Learn more: The Health Risks of Lead & How to Remove It From Drinking Water

Arsenic

Arsenic is another contaminant that should raise alarms for everyone, especially babies and older adults. Exposure to this chemical element in early childhood can hinder a child’s intelligence and ability to learn and memorize. Studies have also linked it to increases in mortality in young adults due to multiple cancers, lung disease, heart attacks, and kidney failure. Older individuals are not spared from arsenic’s dangers either. One study links long-term exposure to various cancers and other serious health problems.

Nitrate

Often an ingredient in fertilizers and agricultural runoff, nitrate also poses a grave threat to babies and older people. High nitrate levels can cause infants to develop methemoglobinemia, better known as “blue baby syndrome.” This condition affects how blood carries oxygen, making an infant’s skin appear bluish. It’s a frightening sight for any parent and can be life-threatening if not addressed quickly, the Minnesota Department of Health warns.

Various studies, such as this one, suggest a possible link between high nitrate exposure and increased risk of certain cancers, particularly colorectal cancer, which could be a concern for older adults due to their higher cancer risk profile.

Learn more: 5 Reasons to Avoid Nitrates in Drinking Water

Microbial Contaminants

When harmful microbes like viruses, bacteria, and parasites contaminate drinking water, they can have dire consequences for babies and older adults. These pathogens can cause gastrointestinal illnesses like diarrhea and vomiting. They can also lead to other symptoms, such as cramps, nausea, headaches, fever, and fatigue. Unfortunately, infants and children are more likely to get sick or die from infectious diseases caused by these microbes.

Older adults face similar risks from microbial contaminants. Weakened immune systems make them more susceptible to infections stemming from contaminated water.

Learn more: 15 Dangerous Diseases Caused by Contaminated Drinking Water

Key Factors That Affect Drinking Water Quality

As explained earlier, the quality of our drinking water significantly impacts our health and well-being, especially the youngest and oldest among us. However, several factors can affect the safety of the water flowing from our taps, including:

Environmental Factors

flooding of rural street

Mother Nature influences water quality in ways you probably haven’t imagined. For instance, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection says rocks and soil can leach minerals like arsenic and uranium into groundwater, whereas erosion caused by wind and rain can carry sediments, plant matter, and animal waste into water supplies, the World Wildlife Fund explains. But even without pollution, the quality of water sources like rivers and lakes can fluctuate with the seasons.

Learn more: How Climate-Fueled Storms & Floods Affect Drinking Water

Human-Related Factors

fertilizing field

Not just nature; humans also play a massive role in influencing drinking water quality. Regrettably, our actions are the culprits behind most water quality issues.

For instance, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxics Release Inventory reporting program shows that in 2019, U.S. industries and businesses discharged 204 million pounds of chemicals into rivers and streams, some of which serve as drinking water sources. Plus, of the 1 billion pounds of pesticides used in the United States each year, research shows that a percentage end up in waterways like rivers, lakes, and streams that supply drinking water to many utilities.

Beyond that, when we dispose of chemicals, plastics, pharmaceuticals, and other toxic materials down drains or into the broader environment, they could contaminate surrounding waterways.

Water Treatment and Distribution

The journey water takes from source to tap involves a multi-step process designed to make the water as safe as possible for consumption. Even with this, how the water is treated and distributed may degrade its quality.

If your water comes from a municipality, it’s most likely treated with chlorine (we explain the entire water treatment process in this article). This helps destroy harmful microbes like bacteria, viruses, and parasites that could otherwise make you sick if ingested. While chlorine does a remarkable job at preventing microbial contamination, it can react with natural organic matter in water to create hundreds of potentially dangerous compounds called disinfection byproducts (DBPs). Furthermore, some water municipalities struggle to remove specific contaminants (like cryptosporidium), causing them to end up in the treated water sent to your homes.

America’s water infrastructure is also partly responsible for the country’s water quality issues. Many of its water distribution systems are aging and in dire need of repair. When pipes corrode, their walls become compromised, and heavy metals may dislodge and enter the water passing into your home. The service lines may also crack and develop leaks that can leach poisonous contaminants from the surrounding environment into treated water flowing to your tap.

Learn more: The Infrastructure Bill and What It Could Mean for City Water

How to Test Your Water Quality at Home

Water quality isn’t something most of us think about daily. We turn on the tap, fill a glass, drink, and go about our day. However, no matter how clean and refreshing your water tastes, looks, or smells, it could be riddled with potentially toxic pollutants. That’s why water testing is so important.

While there are various water testing options, we always recommend certified laboratory testing. It’s one of the few ways to precisely determine the concentrations of pollutants possibly present in your drinking water. Even at low levels, lab testing can detect otherwise “invisible” contaminants, which is crucial for those like lead, for which no level is safe. Because children, infants, and fetuses are so sensitive, you want to know whether trace contaminant levels exist.

Testing your water is easy: Purchase a water test kit, and the lab will send you a package with everything you need to collect and ship the sample. Once they receive the sample, they’ll perform the chosen tests and provide results with a snapshot of your water quality in a few days or so.

If you’re on a public water system, be sure your test checks for lead (and other heavy metals), disinfection byproducts (incl. total THMs and haloacetic acids), VOCs, and general water parameters (hardness, TDs, pH, etc.). For private wells, ensure testing includes analysis for coliform bacteria, nitrates, arsenic, lead, VOCs (particularly pesticides), and general water parameters.

Learn more: 10 Common Problems a Water Test Can Detect in Tap Water

How to Improve Water Quality in Your Home

Despite your home’s water source, water quality can be (and often is) a major issue. If your water lab test reveals contamination issues in your water supply, the best way to protect you and your loved ones (especially young children and elders) is to install a water treatment system in your home.

Water treatment systems like water filters and water purification systems are designed to help reduce the concentrations of various drinking water contaminants, including microbes, heavy metals, chemicals, and sediment. Whole-house water filters and reverse osmosis filters are two popular options.

Whole house filters like the Springwell CF1 treat water at the main entry point of your water supply, using a multi-stage process to eliminate contaminants, including chlorine, chloramine, PFOA, PFOS, pesticides, herbicides, haloacetic acids, and more. It can also improve the water’s taste and smell.

To address lead and other harmful contaminants, SpringWell’s Lead and Cyst system is best suited to help. The SpringWell Lead Water Filter is strategically designed to remove BOTH forms of lead contamination from the whole house in a single filter.

For more targeted filtration at your sink, the Moen Reverse Osmosis Water Filter System provides more water purification by filtering water at the point of use, like at your kitchen faucet. From there, it reduces contaminants in your cold water, such as arsenic, fluoride, TDS, bacteria, viruses, lead, mercury, chlorine, and pharmaceuticals.

Determining the best treatment method will depend on the specific pollutants detected in your drinking water and where you want access to the treated water. If you have questions or need help determining which treatment option would work best for you, contact Springwell by calling 800-589-5592 or scheduling a call. You can also message us via the chat feature on our website.

Final Thoughts

Whether protecting a newborn, caring for an older parent, or just looking out for yourself, understanding water quality at different ages is vital for family health. Depending on your age, you’re more prone to the harsh effects of water toxins. Therefore, paying close attention to the water you and your loved ones consume is essential.

The best place to start is to arrange with a state-certified laboratory to have your drinking water tested. If detected, a whole-house water filter or reverse osmosis under-sink filtration system can be your ally in the fight against these invisible threats, helping to ensure that every sip you take supports your health and adds more years to your life.