After you find out, it's possible that you might not want to know after all. But, to keep yourself and your family safe, it's important that everyone finds out what is in our drinking water. Every drinking water system will have a slightly different makeup, but there are a few common dangers that they all share.

Water treatment plants are there to get most of the contaminants out of water. However, they don't claim to take them all out. They aren't even required to- they are actually allowed by law to leave small particles of toxic chemicals in the water.

Even lead, one of the most toxic contaminants found, is allowed in very small amounts. The EPA recently found that the amount of lead they were allowing to remain was too high and reduced the acceptable amount. This raises questions about what else they will find has been allowed at toxic levels and whether they will later have to reduce the amount of lead again.

Nitrates from fertilizers are increasingly finding their way into every drinking water system. DEET from pesticides has been showing up in some systems. Others have been having trouble with their copper levels being too high.

A disturbing new trend is medications that are showing up at alarming levels. Millions of people have been drinking other people's medication that entered into their water supply. These medications have been allowed to stay, and no regulations are in place to do anything about it.

Drugs like Prozac, pain pills and antibiotics have all been found in municipal water supplies. These have been found with independent testing, but the EPA still has no requirement that water treatment plants ever have to test or treat their water for them.

Micro-organisms have repeatedly been found in water that has already been treated. Those have caused serious illnesses in the people who relied on that drinking water system. For those wondering what is in our drinking water and whether they have micro-organisms in their own, it can be hard to tell.

Most of the bacteria and other contaminants that can infiltrate the supply are tasteless and odorless. There is often no way to tell simply by looking at or tasting the water whether it is contaminated or not. And, many of them are not required to be tested.

Municipal water treatment facilities are highly regulated and forced to comply with the EPA regulations, but wells and private companies that supply water are not. People who depend on a drinking water system like these are responsible for testing their own water and making sure that it's safe. Wondering what is in our drinking water is a noble question, but don't be prepared for straight answers.

Dominic Anderton is a passionate researcher on the health benefits of purified drinking and bath water. Visit his site now at http://www.pure-and-safe-water.com to learn what contaminants may be affecting your drinking water system.