National Hydration Day is June 23
Got milk? Or water? Or a sports drink? Good. If not, get one and raise a glass on June 23 to National Hydration Day.
How much hydration you need varies from person to person, depending on your health, activity level, and the climate you're in. The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine determined that an adequate daily fluid intake is:
- About 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids a day for men (1 cup = 8 oz.)
- About 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day for women
These recommendations cover fluids from water, other beverages and food. About 20 percent of daily fluid intake usually comes from food and the rest from drinks. And the adage to drink eight glasses of water a day, while not up to Academy standards, still stands as a reasonable goal.
While drinking any fluid helps, water remains the best hydrator. Sodas and sports drinks contain sugar or sugar substitutes. New studies suggest those substitutes may negatively affect your body by tricking your system into thinking it's taken on real sugar. That's counterproductive to weight and blood sugar management. And caffeinated beverages are a diuretic, causing you to lose fluids at a faster rate. Again, however, drinking any fluid (except an excess of alcohol) is better than not hydrating at all.
So why all the fluids? According to the Mayo Clinic:
Water is your body's principal chemical component and makes up about 50 to 70 percent of your body weight. Your body depends on water to survive.
Every cell, tissue and organ in your body needs water to work properly. For example, water:
- Gets rid of wastes through urination, perspiration and bowel movements
- Keeps your temperature normal
- Lubricates and cushions joints
- Protects sensitive tissues
Lack of water can lead to dehydration — a condition that occurs when you don't have enough water in your body to carry out normal functions. Even mild dehydration can drain your energy and make you tired.
Water quality
Speaking of hydration, we'd be remiss not to mention what in some parts of the world, water contamination or a lack of water altogether is a humanitarian crisis. Many developing countries face a lack of fresh water, leading to dire distress. Around the world, 703 million people lack access to clean water. That's 1 in 10 people on the planet. This issue is so important that the United Nations designated March 22 as annual World Water Day to highlight the importance of fresh water and advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. Each year's theme focuses on topics relevant to clean water,
sanitation and hygiene (WASH).
In addition to water scarcity, water pollution is another major issue. According to the World Health Organization:
- In 2021, over 2 billion people lived in water-stressed countries, which is expected to be exacerbated in some regions by climate change and population growth.
- In 2022, globally, at least 1.7 billion people used a drinking water source contaminated with feces. Microbial contamination of drinking-water as a result of contamination with feces poses the greatest risk to drinking-water safety.
- Safe and sufficient water facilitates the practice of hygiene, which is key to prevent not only diseases, but also acute respiratory infections and numerous neglected tropical diseases.
- Microbiologically contaminated drinking water can transmit diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio and is estimated to cause approximately 505,000 deaths each year.
Drinking Water Standards & Regulations
The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets forth standards and regulations for many different contaminants in wastewater and public drinking water, including disease-causing germs and chemicals.
The Clean Water Act was passed by Congress in 1972. According to the EPA:
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948 was the first major U.S. law to address water pollution. Growing public awareness and concern for controlling water pollution led to sweeping amendments in 1972. As amended in 1972, the law became commonly known as the Clean Water Act (CWA).
The 1972 amendments:
- Established the basic structure for regulating pollutant discharges into the waters of the United States.
- Gave EPA the authority to implement pollution control programs such as setting wastewater standards for industry.
- Maintained existing requirements to set water quality standards for all contaminants in surface waters.
- Made it unlawful for any person to discharge any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters, unless a permit was obtained under its provisions.
- Funded the construction of sewage treatment plants under the construction grants program.
- Recognized the need for planning to address the critical problems posed by nonpoint source pollution.
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) was passed by Congress in 1974 to protect our drinking water. Under the SDWA, the EPA sets the standards for drinking water quality and monitors states, local authorities, and water suppliers who enforce those standards. Gain more information on EPA drinking water standards and regulations
here. By the way, the SDWA does not apply to bottled water. Bottled water is regulated by the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, not the EPA.
Water and Wastewater Testing
Municipalities regularly test drinking water out of concern for public health and to document compliance with local, state and federal standards and regulations. Municipal and industrial wastewater must be tested to ensure health hazards don't leach into the environment, that treatment processes are working and to document regulatory compliance.
The use of Wastewater Based Surveillance (WBS) to detect pathogens, illicit drugs and other chemicals reached new heights when it was applied to detect and confine the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Today, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), known as “forever chemicals," are a health and environmental concern in the scientific community and the media, and for industrial, municipal and regulatory audiences.
Accurate PFAS sampling requires specific processes and sampler construction materials that do not add PFAS to samples or absorb it from them. Teledyne ISCO has developed
Best Practices for Collecting Water & Wastewater Samples to Test for PF AS. We also provide a
PFAS sampling kit for our samplers to make PFAS sampling easy. Kit materials are based on U.S. guidelines to avoid adding or absorbing PFAS from the sample.
Water and Wastewater Samplers and Flow Meters
You obviously have to gather samples before they can be analyzed in the lab. Teledyne ISCO's lineup of
flow meters and programmable, automatic water and wastewater samplers offers a wide range of features and benefits.
IRent and ICell
Not in it for the long haul? No sweat - we've got you covered.
IRent is the easy, cost-effective way to obtain Teledyne ISCO water and wastewater flow measurement and sampling products on a temporary basis. Want to take something for a test spin? Looking to suit a specific project within a limited timeframe? Just need additional equipment for that one big job? IRent is what you're after.
Then there's
ICell, our cellular service program available in the United States. When you need a durable and adaptable flow meter or automated sampler that's also hi-tech and precise, you turn to Teledyne ISCO. Now, when you need cellular service for two-way communication with those units, you can turn to us, too. ICell is dedicated cellular service for ISCO products with set-up, account management and customer service — all from Teledyne ISCO.
Application Notes, Case Studies and Webinars
Teledyne ISCO not only is a leader in the design and manufacture of samplers and flow meters, but also a leading provider of information that helps you do your job better and easier. Our
Application Notes and
Case Studies are part of those efforts, as are our regularly scheduled
webinars and webinar recordings.
Fonts of knowledge
National Hydration Day is a time to recognize the importance of water to our health and wellbeing. If you've been falling short of your daily allowance of hydrating fluids, it's a good day to start a healthy new habit. Beyond its original intent, it can also be a day to consider what we can do to assure a sustainable future for water supplies and how we can help those less fortunate to obtain a clean supply of this precious commodity.
For more information, visit the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
Water, Hydration, and Health page at
www.nutrition.gov. For important information and a selection of water and wastewater samplers and flow meters from Teledyne ISCO, we invite you to visit
www.teledyneisco.com.
