Enjoy a safe summer with these water tips

Planning a summer barbecue for the Fourth of July? Besides following the CDC’s guidelines for physical distance and sanitizing, the Northwestern Water and Sewer District has a few tips to keep anything water-related from spoiling the party.

Proper hydration is absolutely essential for our overall health and is especially important during the hot and humid days of summer. Dehydration can be dangerous and cause muscle cramps, dizziness, headaches, nausea, and fainting.

Have a reusable water bottle on hand for any summertime gatherings. This not only minimizes waste but will encourage you to get the recommended eight glasses of water a day.

Taking a drink of water from a garden hose on a hot summer day may be a fond childhood memory. But in reality, most outdoor faucets and garden hoses aren’t meant to be used for drinking water.

While using your hose to water plants, fill water balloons, or run your sprinkler are all great ideas, most don’t meet the safety standards required for drinking water. They can contain lead or be made from materials that leach chemicals into the water.

However, there are faucets and garden hoses that are safe to drink from if maintained properly. If your garden hose or outdoor faucet is NSF/ANSI 61 or NSF/ANSI 372 certified, it means the products meet certain safety standards to be used for drinking water.

Consider installing a backflow preventer on outdoor spigots.

Coolers full of drinks and ice are a summertime staple. But there are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to the safety of ice.

Bagged ice is considered a food product and is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Ice manufacturers must produce, hold and transport ice in clean and sanitary conditions and use clean, safe water to make their product.

However, once you dump that bag into a cooler full of food or drinks, or someone at your party goes elbow deep in search of a cold drink, the ice is no longer safe to consume.

It’s best to have a separate cooler designated for ice that goes in drinks. Clean and sanitize the cooler before adding ice and use a clean scoop or pair of tongs to grab ice to add to drinks.

When it comes to the ice in your refrigerator, the tap water delivered to your house is great for making ice. If you have an automatic ice cube maker, keep in mind that the quality of the ice will depend on how often you clean and maintain it.