The EPA has set forth testing standards for personal water filters or Microbiological Water Purifiers (Guide Standard and Protocol for Testing Microbiological Water Filters, submitted April 1986; revised April 1987). However, since these standards are not really enforced by the EPA, claims and advertisements of personal filtered water bottles, straw filters and other small water filter products are left to the discretion of the manufacturer. A company can pretty much claim anything to sell their product to unassuming, trusting consumers.
Are there companies out there whose claims may be exaggerated or even false? Unfortunately, that has been the case, which is why Aqua Veritas was created.
What’s True or False about Your Personal Water Filter?
Manufacturers can say what ever they choose about the water filter product they are selling and there is no one policing their claims. If you have ever purchased a water filter claiming to filter a million gallons of water, have you asked yourself “how do they know that”? Or just assumed they were advertising proven facts. The only way to know if a water filter will actually effectively filter a million gallons – is to test it for a million gallons – an excruciatingly long and expensive process.
Some companies have gone so far as to say their microbiological water filter devices will provide clean water for “for a lifetime”. These claims are simply not true, virtually impossible and have no data to back them up. This leaves the consumer in a real bind, especially when they are purchasing personal water filters for use in areas where they will be encountering seriously contaminated water, or in case of emergency when we may be forced to drink turbid water, hopefully successfully filtered by our water filter device. We needed a solution for this problem.
Aqua Veritas LLC, Micro Water Filter Quality Association, has created a platform for manufacturers to provide documentation to the public to back up their claims on personal microbiological water purification products.
Aqua Veritas is here to help manufacturers prove their claims, assuring their customers that the products they are buying are as effective as the label says. All manufacturers of Microbiological Water Purifiers are invited to submit their test results to Aqua Veritas for publication, free of charge. All tests must meet certain criteria and be done by qualified independent water laboratories in order to verify their validity – backing up their claims, so consumers can feel good about the filter they have chosen.
Aqua Veritas is a non profit organization created to ensure consumers are accurately informed about personal water filter bottles, straws, and other small water purification devices they may be purchasing.
Now, as a consumer, you can verify the quality of the personal water filters on the market before purchasing something which will be totally ineffective. Quality you can depend on to provide clean, safe drinking water for you and your family everyday – and in times of emergency.