# Holy Crap! Don't Drink The Water In Las Vegas! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 16, 2008, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-dont-drink-the-water-in-las-vegas/445567 "2008-04-16T07:13:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-dont-drink-the-water-in-las-vegas/445567/1 "2008-04-16T07:13:50Z")
We have a pool in our backyard and now, with summer coming soon, it was long overdue to drain the pool and put in new water - supposed to do it every couple of years due to all the chemicals and stuff you throw in. Before draining it, we tested the chemical and boy did it need it…chlorine normal, but the acidity and hardness was off the charts. So we drained it about 4/5 and then re-filled it. Tested the water - expecting the chlorine to be really low and the acidity and hardness to be back to normal. WRONG! Oddly, the chlorine level was kind of high, and the acidity and hardness was still really high. OK, so we figured the remaining 1/5 of the water had so much gunk left in it that it didn’t really help much. Damn. Then my SO said, “Let’s test the tap water.” Sure, why not. HOLY CRAP…the tap water chlorine level was HIGHER than we normally keep our pool!! And the acidity and hardness was just as high as after all the chemicals we throw in. We might as well scoop out a pail of water from the pool this summer and make Kool Aid - that water is just about the same as what comes out of the tap here! ---
**Author:** ![bbs2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@bbs2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbs2k)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-dont-drink-the-water-in-las-vegas/445567/2 "2008-04-16T07:44:01Z")
What kind of test was it? Color solution? Test strip? ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-dont-drink-the-water-in-las-vegas/445567/3 "2008-04-16T07:53:45Z")
[QUOTE=bbs2k] What kind of test was it? Color solution? Test strip? [/QUOTE] Color solution. Basic kit. Recommended by most pool builders and pool supply stores to keep tabs on your levels. Five drops each in two different vials of the water. Then shake up the water solution and compare the colors to the charts. ---
**Author:** ![bbs2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@bbs2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbs2k)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-dont-drink-the-water-in-las-vegas/445567/4 "2008-04-16T08:03:34Z")
This seems bizarre, as a lab rat (me) I would be trying to find ways of performing some quality control on the test. In the meantime I say “Holy crap! Don’t drink the water in Las Vegas!” ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-dont-drink-the-water-in-las-vegas/445567/5 "2008-04-16T08:12:14Z")
[QUOTE=bbs2k] This seems bizarre, as a lab rat (me) I would be trying to find ways of performing some **quality control on the test**. In the meantime I say “Holy crap! Don’t drink the water in Las Vegas!” [/QUOTE] Regarding quality control…cleaned out the vials, used the tap water from the kitchen sink and did the test twice, as we couldn’t believe the results the first time! ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-dont-drink-the-water-in-las-vegas/445567/6 "2008-04-16T09:10:10Z")
Do it one more time, with 3 vials: tap water pool water bottled drinking water from store as a control. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-dont-drink-the-water-in-las-vegas/445567/7 "2008-04-16T09:50:53Z")
And if the bottled water turns out to be normal, just fill the pool with that. Problem solved. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-dont-drink-the-water-in-las-vegas/445567/8 "2008-04-16T10:30:25Z")
Welcome to the 21st Century! A **lot** of the stuff that comes out of the taps these days is pretty nasty, and municipalities are doing a whole lot of nothing about it. This is one of the reasons I can’t get upset about bottled water. It may not be all that good for the environment, but the tap water you get might not be all that good for _you._ ---
**Author:** ![The\_Them](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@The\_Them](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Them)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-dont-drink-the-water-in-las-vegas/445567/9 "2008-04-16T11:03:00Z")
What are you complaining about? At least you don’t have to worry about [ARSENIC POISONING!](http://http://reno.injuryboard.com/wrongful-death/fallon-nevadas-arsenic-problem.aspx?googleid=228304) OR DO YOU? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Frosted\_Glass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frosted_glass/32/3926_2.png) [@Frosted\_Glass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frosted_Glass)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-dont-drink-the-water-in-las-vegas/445567/10 "2008-04-16T17:28:24Z")
When I live out in Vegas we had a [water softener](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_softener) in the garage. Since it was the first and only place I have ever seen one, I had always assumed that it was a Las Vegas area issue. Too bad you need to drink a lot of water out there. ---
**Author:** ![Cowgirl\_Jules](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@Cowgirl\_Jules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowgirl_Jules)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-dont-drink-the-water-in-las-vegas/445567/11 "2008-04-16T17:53:53Z")
Check with the water agency, and get a copy of their latest Consumer Confidence Report, which they’re required to put out. That will tell you what actual health-hazard contaminants are in the water. I’m guessing though, that the chlorine is high because they draw from Lake Meade, and that lake level is down way low so their water quality is affected. You can also have the water agency come out to pull a sample of your water, and measure the chlorine from that. I wouldn’t count on those pool tests being all that very accurate for things like hardness. What were the actual numbers? ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-dont-drink-the-water-in-las-vegas/445567/12 "2008-04-16T18:13:22Z")
I lived in an apartment in California for a year where the tap water tasted like swimming-pool water. I always bought bottled. ---
**Author:** ![Kuboydal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@Kuboydal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kuboydal)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-dont-drink-the-water-in-las-vegas/445567/13 "2008-04-16T18:18:22Z")
I buy canned water from Milwaukee. My well water is just fine, but I like the flavored stuff from Pabst. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-dont-drink-the-water-in-las-vegas/445567/14 "2008-04-16T18:19:48Z")
Since most bottled water is tap water , that does not become a safety option. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-dont-drink-the-water-in-las-vegas/445567/15 "2008-04-16T18:26:37Z")
[QUOTE=Tristan] Do it one more time, with 3 vials: tap water pool water bottled drinking water from store as a control. [/QUOTE] Did just that this morning and tested again: Pool - good chlorine and OK acidity (we just added chlorine tabs and about half gallon of pool acid, so it takes a day or so to level out). Tap water - much higher chlorine and higher acidity than recommended for pools! Bottled water (all I had was Propel flavored water in fridge today) - no chlorine whatsoever, and the acidity was also non-existant. ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-dont-drink-the-water-in-las-vegas/445567/16 "2008-04-16T18:45:38Z")
Would a bit of Tom Lehrer singing pollution be appropriate right now? [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JPrAuF2f_oI/hqdefault.jpg "Tom Lehrer - Pollution") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPrAuF2f_oI) Just two things of which you must beware Don’t drink the water and don’t breath the air ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-dont-drink-the-water-in-las-vegas/445567/17 "2008-04-16T19:16:51Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] Since most bottled water is tap water , that does not become a safety option. [/QUOTE] Generally, however, bottled water is filtered to remove chlorine and other contaminants. (Says so rght on the label.) ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-dont-drink-the-water-in-las-vegas/445567/18 "2008-04-16T19:30:37Z")
[QUOTE=Kuboydal] I buy canned water from Milwaukee. My well water is just fine, but I like the flavored stuff from Pabst. [/QUOTE] 😃 ---
**Author:** ![velvetjones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5f9b8f/32.png) [@velvetjones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velvetjones)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-dont-drink-the-water-in-las-vegas/445567/19 "2008-04-16T20:17:34Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] Since most bottled water is tap water , that does not become a safety option. [/QUOTE] The bottled water I buy is labeled “Purified drinking water”. Yes, it may be tap water, but it’s purified. Are you saying that doesn’t mean anything? ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-dont-drink-the-water-in-las-vegas/445567/20 "2008-04-16T20:27:10Z")
[QUOTE=Kuboydal] I buy canned water from Milwaukee. My well water is just fine, but I like the flavored stuff from Pabst. [/QUOTE] Yeah, I used to be fine drinking from Milwaukee’s water supply until me and 403,000 of my closest friends got hit with [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milwaukee_Cryptosporidium_outbreak) back in 93’. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-dont-drink-the-water-in-las-vegas/445567.md?page=2)