A new study found that a home's environment plays a huge role in the safety of household drinking water — in particular, the containers used to store water.
What's happening?
A team of researchers from the University of California-Berkeley found that bacteria such as E. coli is easily spread through drinking water. This is especially true when the water is stored in containers such as jerry cans or buckets.
The findings, published in the journal Nature Microbiology, showed that a home's environment plays a large role in how safe drinking water is, and that water is a key source of transmission for harmful bacteria, particularly in developing nations.
Most previous studies, researchers said, had focused on how bacteria is transmitted from animals to humans. But the study found that water had a higher rate of bacteria strain-sharing than human stool or animal feces.
"We were interested in understanding the role of the household environment in bacterial transmission to humans," researcher Amy Pickering said in a release. "And our findings showed that water is actually one of the most important transmission pathways for pathogenic and drug-resistant bacteria."
Why is water quality important?
Clean, safe drinking water is vital to human health. But in much of the world, that is difficult to find.
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A 2024 report found that 55% of the world's population doesn't have access to enough clean water. And as global temperatures continue to rise, the study estimated that two-thirds of the world wouldn't have enough clean water by 2100.
Bacteria is certainly one danger that exists in drinking water, but it's not the only one. In fact, PFAS, otherwise known as "forever chemicals," have been showing up in the water of more locations.
Research from last year discovered that PFAS levels were higher than the recommended guidelines across much of the United States, Europe, China, and Australia. In the U.S. alone, it's estimated that those chemicals are found in half of the country's drinking water. These chemicals are especially prevalent in bottled drinking water, which serves as a good reminder to avoid using single-use plastic products whenever possible.
What's being done about water quality worldwide?
As part of the study, Berkeley researchers also found that homes with access to chlorinated water had a lower rate of E. coli contamination in their stored drinking water. This leads them to believe that chlorinating water at a community level could be a practical way to keep families safer.
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Always 👍 "Overall, our study's findings highlight the importance of safe drinking water in mitigating the spread of pathogenic and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which is critical to safeguarding children's health in these communities," researcher Daniel Daehyun Kim said in a release.
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