Is water with a high pH safe to drink?
Experts feel that water acidity (low pH) or alkalinity high pH) is neither harmful or beneficial to health in and of itself as long as it is in the acceptable pH range.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends an acceptable pH range for drinking water at a pH level of 6.5 to 8.5.
What is pH?
You may remember from school, acidic solutions have a lower pH value (below 7), while basic or alkaline solutions have values above 7. Normal, clean drinking water has neutral pH of around 7.
What about alkaline water health claims?
Products marketed as “Alkaline Water” have a higher pH level than neutral tap water, typically in the 8 or 9 range or even higher.
There is no scientific evidence that drinking high pH water will affect your body’s overall pH. The human body tightly regulates pH levels to maintain a pH of about 7.4. When alkaline water hits your stomach, your gastric juices go right to work to re-acidifying it. Essentially, you pay a lot more money for water that won’t affect your body’s pH level. More research on the health effects of pH and drinking water is needed.
The Bottom Line
Rather than focusing on your water’s pH, it is more productive to make sure that your drinking water is free of contaminants.
Low pH water can smell unpleasant and taste metallic or sour and cause your plumbing fixtures to corrode. High pH water may taste like baking soda and leave deposits on faucets and fixtures. High-pH water is often hard water.
A sudden significant change the pH value of your drinking water could be an indication pollutants or unwanted chemicals are present. Chemicals, minerals, pollutants, soil or bedrock composition, and other contaminants can interact with water to create an imbalance, either high or low.
If this happens, get your tested for contaminants. Your water could be unsafe to drink.
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